The Mighty Cross...HE IS RISEN

As we reach the most important weekend of celebration throughout the year, many things come to mind. During this week attitudes change, thoughts are captivated and consumed with this Godman named Jesus, and thousands of unsaved sinners flock to churches in hopes of finding "hope" for the year. What is that hope? How do we find it? The reality is my friends there is only one source of REAL tangible, feel-good, lifealtering hope...and that is found in JESUS CHRIST and Him alone.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God… 1 Peter 3:18



It seems as though it takes Passion week for us to reflect vividly upon the work of the cross. We have heard the message countless times, we've seen the movies, and we've wept tears of sorrow and joy. But why is it that it takes this week for those thoughts to come into our minds? The Gospel is the most important message in all of history. The day it changed you is the most important day in your history. Why do we refuse to reflect on the reality of the Cross? Is it too shaming...too emotionally riveting...or maybe it has become dull in our minds.

We should daily remember the work of the cross. My friends, your GOD in all of His splendor, perfection, majesty and might humbled Himself even to the point of death in coming to this sinful, wicked earth and walking as a man. But not only did He come, He lived a sinless...yes perfect life and was rejected! He was mocked, flogged, beaten and bruised for YOU! He wept as the whip ripped the flesh from his very bones. Blood dripped as thorns were impaled into His skull. And in agony He endured steel nails being driven deep into his hands and feet. In all of His glory He hung battered and bruised. And then, He paid the price. He experienced all of God's divine, righteous, and frightening wrath for EVERY sin that EVERY PERSON had EVER committed and would commit in the future...and then He breathed His last. He died for YOU and for me. AND THEN THREE DAYS LATER HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD!!! PRAISE GOD!!!

What did we, mere mortal sinners deserve you might ask? DEATH, eternal separation from God. But what a indescribable gift we have been given. Without one fiber of our being, Christ bestowed His righteousness upon us so that we might stand blameless before our heavenly Maker. Did we deserve this? Absolutely not. What love this truly is. Unfathomable, unconditional, and neverending. It is a love that has captured the hearts of many generation after generation and it is a love that should motivate us to live EVERY breath for His glory in a life of holiness.

Don't make this Easter season the only time you reflect upon what Christ did for you and worship Him for it and praise Him for HE IS RISEN...remember always and let that motivate you to live for Him!!

“Jesus Christ our Lord, moved by a love that was determined to do everything necessary to save us, endured and exhausted the destructive divine judgment for which we were otherwise inescapably destined, and so won us forgiveness, adoption and glory. To affirm penal substitution is to say that believers are in debt to Christ specifically for this, and that this is the mainspring of all their joy, peace and praise both now and for eternity.” J.I. Packer

“When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to himself. We would almost think that God loved us more than he loves his Son! We cannot measure such love by any other standard. He is saying to us: I love you this much. The cross is the heart of the gospel. It makes the gospel good news: Christ died for us. He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat. He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that he loves us.” Sinclair Ferguson