Do I Truly Understand?

Do I truly understand the cross? By that, I mean do I truly understand exactly how powerful the work was that happened on this piece of wood that held the body of Jesus in place?

There was nothing magical about the cross. At one point it had grown wild on the hillsides beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Lovers may even have carved their initials there on some starry night. Many had sat in the shade it provided from the sun and the sweltering heat of day. But ultimately it was taken down and shaped by Roman hands to become an instrument of death.

You see, you don't compromise with the cross. You don't make deals with the cross. If you were standing outside the walls of Jerusalem and you say a man exit through the gates and he was carrying a cross. You were looking at a man who was not coming back. How many were crucified during this time? Hundreds, possibly thousands. But it was the Crucifixion of the carpenter of Nazareth that defined the cross forever. It was His death on this cruel instrument that brought life and opportunity to the world. Through the shedding of Jesus' blood and his death and subsequent resurrection, Jesus broke the power of hell, death and grave once and for all time. The curse and power of sin was broken and no longer would humanity be held under the whip hand of Satan.

Romans 6:23 reads: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:9-10 reads: That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This event, the cross of Christ, was of such importance to the Apostle Paul that he stated in I Corinthians 2:2 that "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Imagine that! Probably the most intellectual Christian of his time put aside all of his learning and intellect concerning the Scripture and focused only on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

No matter how society changes---

No matter the moral or social climate---

the message of the cross never changes. We need to live in the shadow of the cross. We need to place our hands and faces upon the rough wood--feel the grain. Feel the weight of it. Remember who chose to die here. Jesus! Remember who chose the time of his death. Jesus. Remember that he did it because it was a demonstration of the love he had.

John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me."

Jesus said He was the way. The way leads through the cross. There is no other way.

Jesus said He was the truth. The only way to know real truth comes as you embrace this death along with your own spiritual death at the cross.

Jesus said He was the way. He was the direction and voice that would lead us.

Study in the Word about Jesus and the cross He carried.
Until tomorrow...
God on you................

mb