The Message of the Cross

1Corinthians 1:18 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Just what is the word of the cross? What can we express in our message about the cross? What can we truthfully preach about it? This is crucial for the believer to know because the cross is the message of salvation to others and a deeper walk with Jesus for all who believe. We will never outgrow the message of the cross. It is EVERYTHING to us! I would like to point out that it is through the cross of Jesus that we are justified, sanctified and glorified. The message of the cross is justification and not good morals or religion! We want so badly to provide our own way of justification that we can "almost" justify any of our own wrongs by our own reasoning or standard. The problem with that is, we aren't going to be judged according to our own reasoning or standard. God is our judge.  He is righteous, and according to His standard our penalty is death and separation from Him! The Bible says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of God's glory." Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life." The gift of eternal life came through the cross! The sin debt was paid! We are justified through the Cross of Christ! The message of the cross is sanctification and not self preservation. It's is not a message of safety! Too many believers are trying to live safe and self-preserving lives: bigger houses, nicer cars and more money in the bank.... "The American Dream".  Jesus went to the cross with nothing to gain on this earth. Giving all for the salvation of the world. In Luke chapter nine, He made statements like this: (Verse23) "If anyone would come after me let him first deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me"; (Verse 25) "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself." Earlier in the chapter Jesus says that foxes have holes and birds have nest but the Son of man has no where to lay His head. As we give up our lives and take up our own cross then the message of the cross is sanctification as we experience God's incredible provision as we follow Him. Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." It is impossible to experience sanctification and live as though we are in self preservation mode. The message of the cross is to take it up and follow Jesus wherever He may lead. Finally, the message of the cross is Glorification and not lamentation. We tend to look at the cross as something to be sad about. There is an element of dread that comes with the cross and rightfully so. Jesus prayed that the cup of the cross would pass from Him. However, we must remember that it was through His obedience to the Father that victory came by way of His cross! He took our sin. It went to the cross with Him and He took it upon Himself! (2 Corinthians 5:21) We have no reason to morn or feel shame or guilt. Jesus took it on the cross! Jesus knew something as He endured all of this pain and suffering! He had an assurance. In Hebrews 12:2 the Bible says, "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus had joy in front of Him. He would provide a way for us to be with Him and He would be seated at the right hand of the Father! This gives us great hope in the cross. We can take it up knowing that we have a home in Heaven. It won't always be like this! We won't always deal with the pain and suffering of this world. One day we will be glorified with Him. He will redeem what He has paid for with His own blood! Take up your cross with confidence and not dread. One day He is coming oh glorious day! I want to challenge every believer to preach the message of the cross. Through the cross of Jesus we are justified, sanctified and we will be glorified! Be bold for the message of the Cross!

Conveinience

 Salvation, God's great act of love. We all need it but not all will receive it. I sit here in the quiet, the outside is peaceful, there is no noise to speak of. It has been a quiet and uneventful morning. To be truthful, morning came too soon. All though the outside is quiet, on the inside there is a violent rush of thought. My heart races and my mind will not be quiet! I have prayed that God would give me a heart like His. I have asked Him to help me to see how He sees and I believe He has given me a little part of His heart and vision. The reason I say a "little part" is because I do not posses the strength, the emotion nor the mental faculty to handle God's full heart and vision. He loves us so much and desires that all people should be saved! But not all people will! People will rebel against and reject the message of the GOSPEL. They will not accept it no matter how it is presented. My heart is heavy and sad because of this fact. 
  Even people who say they have trusted this GOSPEL do not honor Him. I don't understand this! It breaks my heart. Why or How can a person confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe that He rose from the grave, know that they will one day be with Him in heaven, yet shun worship like it means nothing! How can someone who has heard the story of the cross and believed it, place anything above the worship of the One who gave Himself for us? Maybe people do not fully grasp the passion that Jesus has for us. The word "inconvenience" comes to mind when I think about this. I believe that it is because of this lack of understanding and hardened hearts that people view God as an inconvenience. You name it: time, talents, money, etc. are spent elsewhere because to spend them on God would be an inconvenience. For many people who confess that Jesus has saved them it seems to be an inconvenience to place Him very high on their priority list. Surely we are missing something here! What's wrong? It must be the fault of the churches we attend. Yes!!! We can blame them! They do not hold the services at a convenient time for me to worship God. Maybe they should rearrange their schedule to fit mine. The worship services to God are too long and it is simply not convenient for me. I don't have that kind of time. There are people there that make me feel uncomfortable, they are too needy or they sin more than I do. I just can't have my children in that kind of environment. The church is always asking me to give money and help serve in a ministry and I'm just not into that. Besides to do something like that would cause me to depend on Jesus more than myself and that would be very inconvenient. Yeah, it's gotta be the church... the leadership is just a bunch of fanatics who have nothing else to do with their time. If they had all these bills to pay or worked the long ours that I work they would be just like me. They just don't have anything better to do with their time, talents and money.
 It could be the Pastor's fault! He never preaches what I want to hear. He is just not feeding me spiritually! He just doesn't live in my reality. How can he understand me and my circumstances? He just spends his time studying the Bible and praying. He is totally dependent on the church. He doesn't live in the real world. He doesn't even know the meaning of inconvenience.
 I know! It is God's fault, Yes!!! He expects way too much of me. He knows nothing of inconvenience. Sure, He sent Jesus, but God is timeless so was that really a big deal?
  I wonder if Jesus had thought it too inconvenient to leave perfection to walk in a world of harsh elements, sin and death, how would that effect me? Would I still know that God loves me? What if it would have been too inconvenient for Him to take my place on the cross? Would I have my assurance of God's love for me? If God had decided that I wasn't worth wasting His time on because there were bigger priorities in Heaven, would I walk in the peace and comfort of His awesome love? The evidence is overwhelming that we are not an inconvenience to God! The Bible says, "For God so loved the world" and the very actions of our God prove this to be true! So I will close with a statement then a question. Those who are saved confess to LOVE Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. Is there enough evidence in your life to prove it or is Jesus an inconvenience?