Theme: Beyond: Next Level Living, Week Three - Honesty
Read: As we approach Easter this weekend it's always good to take time to prepare our hearts and minds for what we'll celebrate and how God will speak to us. Afterall, this is truly the pinnacle of all of what we believe and hold true as followers of Christ. It encompasses our hope, our standing with God the Father, the promise we have in Him. And I for one want to worship the RISEN King like never before! But before we can do that we have to consider the cost, the pain of all that occurred three days before.
My favorite book by Max Lucado is called Six Hours One Friday - it's all about the events that lead up to the point of the Cross. Lucado's way with words is so much better than mine... So we'll let him speak:
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21”
Six hours, one Friday. Mundane to the casual observer. A shepherd with his sheep, a housewife with her thoughts, a doctor with his patients. But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring.
God is on a cross. The creator of the universe is being executed. It is no normal six hours. It is no normal Friday. Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart. And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone.
What do you do with that day in history? What do you do with its claims? They were the most critical hours in history. Nails didn’t hold God to a cross. Love did.
The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!
Do: Don't let this day pass without getting time alone with God, letting the meaning of Good Friday really sink in, and thanking Him for the sacrifice of His Son.
Pray: God - words are not enough! How do I even begin to thank you for the ultimate gift of your Son? Through Him I am forgiven for the sin that seperated me from You. You stopped at nothing to rescue me, to bring me your salvation, to call me into a relationship with You. I humbly come with a grateful heart. Praising You Jesus and worshipping at your feet. Amen.
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