Cross-stitched life, observed from the underside.
My thoughts on The Cross? So glad you asked, Carly!
Here it is, in one sentence:
The Great I AM
Who knew me before He created the world;
Planned for my redemption,while I was yet a sinner,even born of a sinner;
By leaving His Lofty, Royal Throne and lowering Himself to be born as a helpless human infant, of a virgin, no less;
Because only a blood relative, a Kinsman-redeemer, can purchase another person from slavery;
And I was indeed in slavery, to sin, and in need of this Kinsman-Redeemer;
So, the Great I AM crashed into this world of sin-sick humanity, of whom I am chief, and loved not His own life, even unto death, even death on a cross;
To pay my debt owed to God, which debt was death;
For all have sinned and fallen far short of the glory of God;
And because the only just and right penalty of sin is death;
By the shedding of His own blood, for only the pure spotless blood of a lamb can atone for this type of sin, for life is in the blood;
The Great I Am, came down to planet Earth, born as the
Lamb of God,
as the Son of man,
for the sole purpose of death for my sin, even yours, even death on a cross--the most humiliating kind;
With His human flesh exposed for all the world to see, for me, for you;
Willingly giving His UNIQUE life, that I might live, and you also, if only we BELIEVE,
And I do,
Not only that, but hallelujah, the cross is empty, as He was resurrected on the Third Day;
Just as He promised His disciples, just as was prophesied hundreds of years prior to His miraculous birth, which was also prophesied;
And because of this cross, and because I choose to believe in what He did for me;
I died with Him, was resurrected to newness of life, became a new creature, resulting in the fact that it is now no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me;
Putting my fear of death to death, even the sting of death and hell, because Jesus tasted death for me, even for you;
By the simple act of taking Him at His Word, and believing that He did it for me, not because I was good enough or worked hard at pleasing Him or any other useless thing on my part, but that it was ALL His doing, and nothing that I did to merit His lovingkindness towards me, who deserved death and hell for my acts of disobedience;
Just believing and accepting His work on the cross was done for me, because He loved me and not because I deserved it, but just because of His great and mysterious unconditional love for me; because all that is good originate in Him;
Knowing that everything is from Him and for Him and back to Him, even me;
All because of that beautiful act of His obedience to our Father,
ON THE CROSS!
Now, what are YOUR thoughts?
This is taken from my daily inductive devotional, dated February 8, 1 Corinthians 13:4b. I hope you enjoy it.
WORD STUDIES
Love: #26 Greek (agape)
To love; the love that originates from God; the kind of love that is inclined to do good, kind, charitable acts. When speaking of God’s love for man, it means that God does what is best for mankind not necessarily what man wants. For example, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” The Greeks have more than our one word for love. Phileo speaks of the love between friends; eros is the love a man has for a woman, an adoring love. God showed His love for man by giving what he needed for salvation: His own Son’s life. That is agape love; benevolent love.
Arrogant: #5448 Greek (phusioo)
To inflate, breathe. To blow or puff up with pride or conceit so as to elevate oneself above another. Unwarranted pride, haughtiness.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Psalm 119:21
Thou dost rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from Thy commandments.
Proverbs 14:21
A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless.
Proverbs 28:25-26
An arrogant man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered.
1 Corinthians 4:4-7
For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God. Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
OBSERVATION AND APPLICATION
1. Dear child of God, have you ever seen a hot air balloon? It is so full of itself, isn’t it? It is a funny analogy of one who is arrogant; it is puffed up with its own hot air! That is exactly what arrogance is—hot air! Isaiah 37:29 tells you that your arrogance rises to the ears of God; just like a hot air balloon. Ask the Lord to take His big sharp-pointed sword and pop your arrogant balloon! See that balloon release the hot air and humbly float back to earth. Pride is the machine that puffs you up with arrogance. Knowing that everything you are and have is a gift from God humbles you and keeps you ‘well-grounded’.
2. Where is your balloon today? Is it on the ground or soaring somewhere high in the sky?
1. Spend the remainder of your devotion time pondering this truth. Let the Lord minister to you. Allow the love of God to inflate you!
Getting involved in an argument that is none of your business is like going down the street and grabbing a dog by the ears. Someone who tricks someone else and then claims that he was only joking is like a crazy person playing with a deadly weapon. Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarreling stops. Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive. Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it! Insincere talk that hides what you are really thinking is like a fine glaze on a cheap clay pot. A hypocrite hides hate behind flattering words. They may sound fine, but don't believe him, because his heart is filled to the brim with hate. He may disguise his hatred, but everyone will see the evil things he does. People who set traps for others get caught themselves. People who start landslides get crushed. You have to hate someone to want to hurt him with lies. Insincere talk brings nothing but ruin. Proverbs 26:17-28
I guess my prayer today is “LORD, let my words be few”….That reminds me of a song (yeah, I know, everything does).
(LET MY WORDS BE FEW, by Philips Craig & Dean)
You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth
So I'll let my words be fewJesus,
I am so in love with You
And I'll stand in awe of You, Jesus
Yes, I'll stand in awe of You
And I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You
The simplest of all love songs
I want to bring to You
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus, I am so in love with You
Often, I think of Jesus’ words; how they were few, but they were powerful. Not one of His Words fell to the ground void. Not one of His Words were useless or in vain. Not one of His Words were wasted or sinful. Paul had the humble gumption of saying, “Imitate me, then, just as I imitate Christ” 1 Cor. 11:1. Oh, to be that brave! I want my words to be few and yet, truthful. Truthful and yet, full of love and mercy. Full of love and mercy and yet, direct. Full of mercy, direct and yet, worthy of following. Words of worth, spoken by a person of worth; not worthless words spoken by a worthless person. I don’t want to be worthless. I tremble at 2 Kings 17:15, “They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them”. We are not to imitate worthless people. We are to imitate Christ; in word and in deed. When I ponder Hebrews 13:7, “Remember your former leaders, who spoke God's message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith”, I remember my 1st Spiritual mentor, Gayle Shaw. She was worthy to imitate, because she always sought to imitate Christ. She wasn’t perfect, but she tried to be…humbly and without telling a soul.
So what does the Scripture teach us about our words? Well, Psalm 37:30-31 says: The words of good people are wise, and they are always fair. They keep the law of their God in their hearts and never depart from it. King David knew how to choose his words, as it is written, My thoughts will be clear; I will speak words of wisdom. I will turn my attention to proverbs and explain their meaning as I play the harp. Psalm 49:3-4. Wisdom instructs us, My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Never say anything that isn't true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. Proverbs 4:20-24
Well, it all sounds easy enough, except when we are wronged. When we are lied about and our character is slandered. What about the times we want to defend ourselves or defend God’s ministry on the earth? Immediately, Wisdom speaks the answer, The LORD sees to it that truth is kept safe by disproving the words of liars. Proverbs 22:12 Do I really believe God is Truth and there is no lie in Him. Do I really believe that though every man be a liar, God is not a man that He would lie to me? Do I really believe that God keeps His Word and promises to me and no matter what the circumstances seem to be, that God will keep His words? If I believe God, then I have to believe Proverbs 22:12. He will disprove the words of liars. He will see to it that truth is kept safe. But I have to let my words be few. I guess my prayer today is “LORD, let my words be few”….That reminds me of a song (yeah, I know, everything does).
