The Cross - Part 2

Today we are reprinting a final excerpt from the 1993 book, Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross.  

"The cross puts everything to the test," wrote Martin Luther. How much more powerfully and righteously we will live if we learn to ask in every situation: "What does the cross mean here?"

The Cross - Part 1

Today and next Monday we reprint two final excerpts from the 1993 book, Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross. These final two segments were written by Tom.

 Before the cross we stand amazed. How can one event be so rich in meaning? How can something once so repugnant and loathsome now point to solutions to every human problem? Only through the working of God could it be so.

Turning the Tables

Today we again feature excerpts from the 1993 book, Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross. These thoughts are by John McGuirk who now leads the church in Paris, France.

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil. . ." (Hebrews 2:14).

Double and triple teamed even from birth by Satan, who regarded him as public enemy number one, Jesus never gave in to sin, not even once. Satan pulled out all the stops, and he stopped at nothing.  He had the home court advantage, and Jesus was in his deadly sights at all times. 

Jesus never earned the wages of sin and did not deserve to die, and in fact didn't have to die.  However, as Satan lost his effort to pull Jesus into sin, he no doubt took satisfaction in seeing Jesus accused, despised, abused and executed. Watching so many people doing his bidding had to give him a feeling of power.  But it was short-lived.  What looked like Satan's greatest hour became God's greatest victory.   The tables were dramatically turned as Jesus burst forth from that grave on the first day of the week.  Evil seemed to have the upper hand, but righteousness walked away in triumph.

Denial without Regret

Today we again feature excerpts from the 1993 book, Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross. These thoughts are by Javier Amaya who lived in Boston at the time and now has returned to serve the church there again.

"Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers" (1 John 3:16).

 And Jesus said, "That's enough!. . .Have him do it not me!. . .That's not my responsibility!. . .I'm tired; let somebody else do it. . .I'll do it later!. . .Why me?. . .You do it. . .It's too late, and I've done enough. . .That's not my job. . .Get off my back!. . .I'll do it at my pace and when I feel like it."

Life through Death

This week we are reprinting an excerpt from a chapter by Gordon Ferguson in Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross.

  

"Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:23-25).

We human beings are our own worst enemies.  We want control.  We want our own judgment, our opinions, our desires, our power!  We refuse to deny self daily and stay surrendered.  Therefore, failure and frustration creep in once more. 

Who Gets the Credit?

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Galatians 6:14)

 The cross affirms our worth.  The cross frees us from performing, from making sure we get the credit due us.  In our old natures, we take that credit and very carefully wrap our sense of worth around it.  We are fearful of losing any credit, because that would lessen the amount of worth that we could wrap around it.  Less credit—less worth, we reason.

Watch Out for the World's Mold

“With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” (Romans 12:1-2, J.B. Phillips New Testament in Modern English)

New life in Jesus means a different life in Jesus. It means saying “No” to a whole system of thinking that is all around us, trying to press us into its mold. It means saying “Yes” to a radically new way of thinking that presents itself as the Age to Come breaks into this present age in the form of the Kingdom of God. Sadly, too many say “Yes” to Jesus and then proceed to just baptize their culture and keep living by its dictates instead of letting Jesus remold their thinking and lead them on a new road altogether.

If that is all you have time for today, let me suggest you just meditate on that idea, but when you have time for a much longer read, I hope you will check out this piece on “Jesus, Politics and Social Media” which is found on our new “Articles” tab on the Mind Change site.