The Wonderful Cross

I once heard someone say, "Man... You can't have enough songs about the cross." One of my favorite songs about the cross is Chris Tomlin's "The Wonderful Cross." A part of the chorus is:

O the wonderful cross

O the wonderful cross

Bids me come and die 

and find that I... may truly live!

Listen to it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skxiHGj6lIU

When you think about the cross... does it seem wonderful to you? What makes the cross wonderful? It was horrible! It was cruel execution. So why can we say that the cross was beautiful? The cross itself was not beautiful. It was not wonderful. We can say that the cross is beautiful because of what Jesus did for us on the cross! 1 Jn 4:10 teaches us that because God loves us, Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. I believe we can sing "O the wonderful cross" because worship begins with the cross. 

When Jesus "breathed his last" on the cross... one of the centurion that had crucified him responded in this way... "And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God'" (Mk 15:39). 

This centurion responded to the death of Christ with worship! For him... it began at the foot of the cross. He heard the cries of the cross! My favorite way to define true worship is, "Our response to who God is and what God did for us on the cross." Worship is who we are. It is what we do. We are responding. But to who? 

Today is Ash Wednesday. Today begins what most refer to as Lent. It is the season leading up to Easter. I encourage you to observe this time in some way... not because we must but in remembrance of the cross. One way is to read through the gospel accounts in the New Testament. Check out www.biblegateway.com and look for reading plans. They have one for Lent. 

There is nothing more beautiful than the cross of Christ. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13). In order to truly live as the song says... we must be "...crucified with Christ" (Gal 2:20). We must remember the cries of the cross! That is the gospel. That is wonderful. That is beautiful. 

Reflect on the cross as we approach Easter. Remember what Christ did for us. Gather with others to worship Him for what He has done. Celebrate His victory and His life! Worship Christ alone! We have reason to sing!!! This is our Lord... and He loves us. 

Blessings

Give Me Jesus

There is a song called Give Me Jesus by Fernando Ortega. The lyrics are...

In the morning when I rise

In the morning when I rise

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus, 

You can have all this world, 

Give me Jesus

When I am alone

When I am alone

When I am alone, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus, 

You can have all this world, 

Give me Jesus

When I come to die

When I come to die

When I come to die, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus, 

Give me Jesus, 

You can have all this world, 

Give me Jesus

Please listen to and watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7INRn4LRrE&feature=related

Billy Graham has been a servant of Jesus Christ along with his wife Ruth for decades. His crusades have seen millions of people commit their lives to Christ! God has taken the surrendered hearts of this couple and used them to reach an entire world with the love of Christ and the power of the gospel! They were a great team. Its been said that every great spiritual leader or pastor has a great godly helper and partner by his side. Ruth Graham devoted her life to serving God and her husband and went home to be with the Lord in 2007. Together they raised five children to know Jesus! One among them being Franklin Graham who leads Samaritan's Purse and will be his father's successor.

Paul knew what it meant to live a life devoted to Christ! For Paul nothing was more important than Christ. 

1 Cor. 2:2 says, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 

Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am sure that neither death not life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It is all about him!!! Nothing else matters!

Jesus himself said, "... apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5). 

I try so many times to live my life without him. As a follower of Christ I should follow him! He alone is good. He alone is what I need. As the song says, "Give me Jesus... You can have all this world... You can have all this world... You can have all this world... but give me Jesus!!!"

He loves us! He died for us. Give me Jesus! "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13). Jesus then then says, "These things I command you so that you will love one another" (v.17). 

You see God is love (1 Jn 4:8). Love is not God but God is love. We sometimes get confused that we can love without God being our first love. This thinking could not be more insane. There are various types of love. Google the Greek words for love and read about them. We must remember that "love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God" (v.7). The greek word being used in this passage is agape. This is the same love that is described in 1 Cor 13. From this love all other forms of love are shared. Without it we cannot love. 

To keep Christ as our first agape (Rev 2:4) is to live a life of worship to our God!!! I love God because he first loved me. He saved my soul! He made me new. He is my Lover, my Savior, my Lord, my Friend and my Life. He is Jesus. 

Give me Jesus.  

The Transforming Power of the Gospel

Mk 14:3-9, Matt 26:6-13, Jn 12:1-8

Just before Passover we find Jesus in Bethany. There is a party and He is the guest of honor. From a cross-reading of the gospel accounts we find that some of the other people present consisted of Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Simon the Leper and various disciples including Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray Him). 

At this party we find a woman (Mary), who demonstrates extravagant worship of Jesus! Why would she do this? I mean there are many other people around, but she doesn't seem to even acknowledge them. To her it's all about Jesus. Understanding that Mary is the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom Jesus just raised from the dead (Jn. 11:38-44), we can begin to get a glimpse of why Mary is acting the way she is. She sees Jesus as Lord and worthy of worship. This heart of worship Mary demonstrates is also found in the story of Mary and Martha where Martha invites Jesus into her home and becomes distracted with the preparations while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus listening to His words (Lk. 10:38-42). Mary is a worshiper! Mary is a Jesus lover!

This outpouring of worship from Mary's heart is contrasted with the irritated reaction the disciples demonstrated (specifically Judas) when they questioned her stewardship of this costly perfume (Mk. 14:4-5). They scolded her for her expression of worship. Jesus however felt quite different about her sacrifice. 

I think Mary understood what was about to happen to Jesus. She anointed His body beforehand for burial (v.8). She had obviously been transformed by Jesus. And as a result of this transformation she expressed her worship in a beautiful way (v.6b). 

I wonder myself if I am living a life like Mary lived her life. Am I expressing my worship to Jesus while others are simply reclining at the table or complaining about money? Does my worship even come close to resembling what Jesus would call a beautiful thing? 

I heard C.J. Mahaney preach on this passage recently and he asked the question, "Are you still skipping?" You see sometimes we allow ourselves to loose the passion our worship once possessed. C.J. urged us that when this happens we must get close enough to the cross to hear the cries of the cross! Remember what Jesus did for us! Remember that he poured out his blood for our sins! Remember the cries of the cross. The things Jesus cried out as he took the weight of the world's sins on himself! This is the gospel! Jesus saves! Jesus redeems! Jesus loves! We are living in a world where people are going to hell. It's true! We can help...

Are we living our lives in a way that demonstrates beautiful worship of Jesus? Who do we look like to the people we are with everyday? 

Mary or Judas?   

Promotion or Devotion?

One of the most common Scriptures that I hear quoted is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." It is a powerful, motivational and great claim to grab on to this truth! The concern I have is that most of the time I hear people quoting it they are speaking of "all things" in reference to their worldly ambitions. Is this you? Do you say, "I will get that promotion, or I will achieve this goal"? 

The word ambition comes from the Latin word meaning "campaigning for promotion." I have often thought of myself as an ambitious guy. When I was 18 I couldn't sleep one night thinking about what I was going to do with my life. The year before was the year of 9/11 when our towers fell because of terrorist's ambition. I got out of bed and researched online about the military. The next day I spoke with a recruiter. The next week I enlisted in the Marine Corp. I was very ambitious. I think I even remember saying, "I can do this through Christ who strengthens me." It is true that Christ could strengthen me to serve in our nations military but was he asking me to that or was I simply compelled by my own ambition? I've learned that the later is true. A year later God provided a way out of this commitment that I had made and through a series of events I ended up in my first ministry position as a youth pastor. 

The amazing thing to understand is that Paul was referring to living a life of being content without in any situation. Read vv.10-12 to see what I mean. Never single out a verse and claim it apart from it's context. 

Think of how this applies to a believer's service to the kingdom of God and the body of Christ. Are we really ready to be a servant as Christ was a servant. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life..." (Mk 10:45). Oswald Chambers said, "It is one thing to follow God's way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a doormat under other people's feet" (Utmost for His Highest; Feb. 5th). Are we servants when in all circumstances or just the easy ones? I pray all! 

It is not wrong to want better. Ambition is no sin. The sin is in the heart of the ambitious. By what are we compelled? Promotion or devotion? J Oswald Sanders said, "Ambition which centers on the glory of God and welfare of the church is a mighty force for good" (Spiritual Leadership, p.13). Chambers asks, "Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted - not seeking to be ministered to but to minister?" (Feb. 5th).

It is this type of service Jesus was talking about when he said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24). I believe it is this type of servant who can truly cling to the proclamation "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). 

Blessings! 

Copyright: Jonathan Spencer, 2009.

    

What a Thought!!!

God is good! If we get that today then we've moved forward. 

Blessings.

Have you ever been on a mission? I'm reminded of the Mission Impossible movies with Tom Cruise (what is it about that guy anyway that women like so much). In the movies he is presented with a mission. It usually sounds something like this, "Your mission, if you choose to accept it..." and the message device always explodes in a matter of seconds. 

As a disciple of Christ we have all been given a mission to proclaim the gospel of Christ and make disciples (Mt 28:19). Unlike Cruise we are commanded by our Lord to make disciples. But like Cruise, because of God's mercy and our free will we have a choice to accept the mission. We have been entrusted with the most precious treasure there is. The gospel of Jesus Christ! There are many philosophies of how to best communicate and share this gift with the world, but there is one unifying truth which is that we are to share it. In the words of the great missionary Paul, "... woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Cor 9:16)! 

I just returned from my first cross cultural mission trip. With a team I had the privilege of going to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. The most obvious and popular response is the emotional reflection on the physical need that the Haitian people have. In our American culture we know no poverty like the average Haitian. But I found a unity with these beautiful people. A spiritual depravity which left untreated leads to certain death. Romans 3:23 says, "We have all fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death." 

I pray our hearts are consumed and heavy with weight of the world's spiritual depravity! Also, I pray that we would not sin against God by failing to accept the mission he commands of us! 

Blessings.