Time to Rejoice

My Utmost For His Highest

“The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.”  CHAMBERS

‘For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND BRING TO NOTHING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRUDENT." Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.’ (1 Corinthians 1:18-21)

It requires spiritual understanding to comprehend the significance of the Cross.  The ability to understand spiritual things comes in a moment, an instant, when we suddenly understand the truth of God’s provision through Jesus.  It is a simultaneous .. instantaneous event.  One nanosecond earlier we considered the message of the Cross foolishness .. and then it was clear and its eternal and present significance loomed large before us.  It suddenly made sense to us and we saw that it was the answer to life. It meant nothing and then it meant everything.  To those around us, it still meant nothing, they didn’t understand .. they thought we had gone off the deep end … they thought that we would get over it .. not understanding that we had just stepped into an eternal relationship with the creator God. 

That is what the Cross did for us .. we were floundering, struggling in this life and then suddenly our feet were on solid ground.  The fear, the panic was gone .. replaced by peace and joy.  That is what the Cross did for us … But the cross does not only represent the death of Jesus, the cross is empty .. Jesus is not nailed to it … He is RISEN!  He triumphed over death and the grave. 

‘In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)

He bore our sins and the punishment for them.  He is our propitiation (appeasement)  .. our mercy seat … (the mercy seat was on the ark of the covenant where the blood sacrifice was offered to satisfy the wrath of God’s judgment for the sins of the nation)

Don’t let this celebration of Easter escape you .. take time to reflect on the great gift that Jesus is … that He had to die .. but more than that, He had to rise … fulfilling His purpose for stepping out of Heaven .... Jesus is the way and truth and life … this is a time for rejoicing … He is Risen!

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)