I have sinned. So have you reader. We gave an inch to the tempter: he stole a mile from us. Paul called himself “The chief of sinners:” Me too.
Between me and my sin can be the cross of Jesus, the Messiah – the Savior sent for the whole world; for you and for me. On the cross he died for all.
Today, I survey the cross––think on it––take time away from that which strangely demands my time.
The whole earth is looking for hope. We have the hope that will never fail us.
Charles Wesley wrote some of the most beloved hymns of all Christian history. He said he would rather have written this hymn of Isaac Watt’s than all of the hymns he did write.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Not one who has taken up our own cross, set his course, and followed Jesus has been spared from the mix of sorrow and love. In this world it cannot be otherwise.
Every parent worth much knows some of this pain. No spouse can permanently hide from it. No person to carry the evangel of God will be spared this mix.
God’s love is an invasion on earth. We determine whether His love will invade through us or not. Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him.
Believing is an act of the will followed by action. Press on! Invade!
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14).
Buddy