Radical Life Support

Rick and Robin have a new assignment to share about pastoring the Open Bible church in Austin, Minnesota. If you are ever in the area, please come and join them for Sunday service at 10 AM at 301 4th Street SW, 55912

They also challenge their listeners to take on an assignment for the new year to pray II Chron. 7:14, "If my people, who are called my my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land." Set your alarms for 7:14 AM and 7:14 PM every day. Pray for yourself, your family, your church, and your country.

A new year always seems to present possibilities. New beginnings. A hope for better days ahead. This is especially true for this coming year after all we have been through in 2020.  Let me ask you a question? How did you face the challenges of last year? On a scale of 1 to 10, what was your level of anxiety and stress? If you rated low, let’s ask how we can better face 2021? I tell you plainly that you need to face it with Jesus. 

Imagine this next year is like taking a journey across America. Compare the journey to your life going into this new year. You are going to have to navigate through a wide variety of environments and situations.  The journey or a year can present so many different scenarios you cannot predict or control. The key to going through any year is to keep Jesus at the center. Then, there is one constant in your journey and that is Him. No matter what hits you, you will not be moved internally despite your circumstances because you know Jesus is in you and with you wherever you go and whatever you face.

And the second part of making the journey as successful as possible is to let Jesus drive the vehicle. Give Him control and trust Him to take the best route. He will be your constant companion to guide you and comfort you when the journey seems to be so long. He is there and you are not doing the journey alone.

Psalm 22:5 says when you put your trust in the Lord, you will not be disappointed. I can promise you with all certainty that if you keep your eyes on Jesus, you can face anything. Jesus is the answer in walking through life’s storms. He will either take the storm away or He will help you get through the storm. Either way as you have found out from last year, trying to handle life in your own strength or by relying on others to lead you, just doesn’t work. So many of us try to figure life out on our own, barely giving Jesus the time of day. You continue to do that, you will end up hobbling through another year and I don’t want that for you. Jesus doesn’t want that for you. He says there is a better way by putting your trust in Him and relying on Him. Let Him take the wheel and give the directions. He already knows what is ahead so let Him get you to your destination smoothly and safely.

New implies change. Jesus says to stop doing things the old ways. It is time to do things a new way, to do things Jesus’ way, the way you were created to be, filled with Him and following Him. You have to get rid of your old ways of thinking.  It will weigh you down, restrict you and you get stuck and you can’t move forward. Jesus has a better and new way for you to live and that is to face the new year with Him. Surrender and implement all His new ways and you will find is that heaviness is gone and you now can live out your days with joy, excitement, praise, and thanksgiving.

[Eph 4:22-24] “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” 

Joel Osteen says, “Inside each of us there are two people: One says, ‘I will become everything God has created me to be. I can do all things through Christ. I’m surrounded by God’s favor.’ The other says, ‘I’ll never get out of debt. I’ll never lose the weight. I’ll never break that addiction. I’ll just learn to live with it.’ One wants to stretch. The other wants to settle. You choose which person you will be.”

My prayer is that you choose to make Jesus the center of your life for the coming new year and embrace all His ways. Let Him drive the car on your journey and don’t look back. Forge ahead, be not afraid because you have the King of the universe at the wheel.

Happy New Year!!

We are going to talk about the action of abandoning. An action we need to take to abandon something, not someone. So, to make a distinct difference, there are some things that we must abandon. Things we need to renounce, terminate, stop, surrender, relinquish, or discontinue. Biblically we use words and phrases like leave behind troubles and sorrows, letting go of the past, put off the old self, and throw off everything that hinders.

Note: on New Year’s Day we are going to talk about all things new but in ending the year, we want to focus on leaving 2020 behind.

·       [Matt 11:28] “Come to me who are weary and heavy ladened and I will give you rest.” Need to take weight off to move forward.

·       [Phil 3:13b] “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” There comes a point in all of our lives where we need to let go. We need to let go of the past: the hurt, unmet expectations, loss, hopes, and dreams. Holding on is unhealthy and it keeps us stuck. 

·       [Is 43:18a] “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” At all times, we must learn to forget the past and forge ahead. If we fail to let go of the past, it is very difficult to move forward.

·       [II Cor 5:17] “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away.”

·       [Gen 19:17] God told Lot’s family not to “look behind you,” don’t look back. Don’t long for or look back at the sinfulness and wickedness and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

·       [Luke 9:62] “Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’”

·       [Prov 4:25] “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.”

·       [Rom 8:13] “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body.”

·       [Heb 8:12] “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” If God is not going to hold our sins against us, we should not condemn ourselves.

·       [Eph 4:31-32] “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander to put away from you, along with all malice.

·       [Heb 12:1] “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” With God, your past mistakes do not hold you back. God punished all of our sins on the cross in His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, so you would no longer be stuck in your sin, or be held back. Sins blocks your relationship with God and Jesus.

Leave behind grief and disappointment which can lead to depression, don’t revisit painful memories too often and also live with constant negative emotions. Don’t keep opening up the wound, leave alone so it can heal. Release anger, resentment and forgiveness or bitterness will take over.  Lay aside past hurts in childhood or you won’t mature. Maybe you might need to let go of a toxic relationship. All of these things stop you from moving forward.

Reminds Robin of a story where a man was walking on path in the fog and didn’t see where he was going and fell of the side, lucky enough to grab a branch on the way down. He cried out for help but the fog was too thick to see anything. Finally, he heard a voice telling him to let go but he said he couldn’t or he would die. The voice insisted if he let go, he would be alright but he wouldn’t because he was too afraid and didn’t trust the voice. Eventually the fog lifted and he looked down and saw he was hanging two feet above solid ground holding on to the branch. Moral of the story, don't hold on to fear, let go and trust in Jesus' voice.

Welcome to our Christmas special episode from our series on the ABCs of the Attributes of Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas Everyone! We are so glad you are joining us on this special day when we celebrate the birth of the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Remember that without the birth of Jesus, and without His willingness to die to pay the price for our sin and to bring us to God, we would have nothing to celebrate at Christmastime.

Let’s ask the study question here in the story of Jesus’ birth: “Who do you say that I am? What does the Christmas story tell us about who Jesus is and what He is like?

He is the Christ-Child at Christmas. In John 1:14 it says, “The (Almighty, Eternal, Infinite) Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Christ-Child was a weak, limited, helpless, vulnerable infant laying in a manger who was completely dependent on His earthly parents to take care of Him and provide for all His needs; but at the same time it says in Col 1:15-20, “for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” It is a mysterious thing to contemplate.

Theologians call the birth of Jesus the “incarnation,” a Latin term meaning to enter into or become flesh. One definition says the incarnation is where “Christ took our human nature and brought it into union with His Divine Person, and became man.” We saw His divinity in the miracles and in all of the healings He performed. He proved in His actions that He was God in the flesh.

In Matthew chapter 1, it states that Jesus will be called Emmanuel, God is with us. Mary held God in her arms and it reminds me of the lyrics to the song, “Mary Did You Know when you kiss your little baby that you are touching the face of God?” The heart of Christmas is that God came to dwell on earth and to bring peace and good news to man. And what specifically was this peace and good news that this little baby brought?

The birth of Jesus does bring hope, peace, joy and love because that is who Jesus is, His very nature. But most importantly Jesus brought salvation, the gospel, the good news. Yes, we need all of those other things, but we need a Savior first and foremost. That is why He was named Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

Jesus was eternal. He stepped into time and was born. He grew and then showed us how to live an abandoned life. Jesus lived only to do the divine will of God. Then He accomplished His mission by dying on the cross, rising again in three days, and then returning to heaven. Those who put their faith in Him can then live eternally too just as He is living eternally now.

In Him is good news for all mankind:  Fear is banished. Love is displayed. Death is defeated. Hope is renewed. He is the Savior of the World. That is why He came.

God’s Free Gift at Christmas. Jesus is a beautiful undeserving perfect present for us. The Son of God wrapped in human flesh. Let’s face it, child birth is a little messy and His birth place was a little smelly in the stable. No Jewish person expected the Messiah to come in such a manner. But God topped it off with a shiny star in the sky for all to see and a heavenly host of angels announcing the news. God is a great giver, He gave His one and only Son. He is generous and thoughtful. With joy, He selected the perfect gift for us in His Son. 

Our Creator loves the people He made so much that He devised a plan, a permanent solution, to save us from sin, from the evil in this world, and from eternal death. And that plan called for Jesus to become human. Jesus voluntarily became one of us. He died on the cross and took on all the sins of the world upon Himself. Jesus came as a baby on a rescue mission to save you and me. Focus on who He is and why He came. He came for you. He loves you and gave His life for you. In His eyes, you are a special creation, worth dying for. 

Announcement definition. News means newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events.

There is good news today! Jesus Christ is born! In our world, broadcast stations mostly announce bad news but our God was announcing good news. The good news of peace, hope, joy, love, and salvation for everyone. 

How did God announce the birth of His Son? God doesn’t announce the same way that man announces the biggest event of history. Let’s consider a chronological list.

1.      OT prophecies: God has been announcing the coming of His Son since the very beginning. First mention of one coming who would crush Satan’s head in Gen 3:15. But in regards to His birth, Is 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given.” 

2.      Luke 1:31, Angel come to announce to Mary that she “will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give Him the name, Jesus. 

3.      Elizabeth’s child leap with joy at the announcement of Mary’s arrival

4.      Joseph and his dream. Others in village of Nazareth. Joseph had his own supernatural encounter. [Matt 1:20-23] First the angel revealed that the child was conceived by God’s Holy Spirit, which made Him the literal Son of God. Second, the angel announced that the child would be the long-awaited Messiah. 

5.      Shepherds and people in Bethlehem. The rich and powerful in Jerusalem were blissfully unaware [as it was in the days of Noah] of the momentous event taking place in the countryside, angels appeared to outcast shepherds. Host of angels to the lowly shepherds in contrast to breaking news of today’s standard. Behold I bring you good tidings Luke 2:10. A great company of the heavenly host.  All of heaven rejoicing. The shepherds immediately left their sheep alone to go to “Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They found it just as the angels said. They must have gone from fear to joy and wonder at the announcement of the birth of the Savior. They became evangelists. The Greek word for evangelism—announcing of good news. There were thousands of people who emerged on the town then who were available to hear the announcement. They were amazed at what they heard and then promptly forgot about it. 

6.      Simeon and Anna. When Jesus was presented on the eight day in the temple as required by law, Mary and Joseph encountered Simeon, a righteous and devote follower, and Anna, a prophetess. The Holy Spirit announced and prophesized to them that the baby would bring salvation to the world.

7.      Magi saw star and followed it, fully expecting it to lead them to a great king, in the capital city, in a royal palace. Jesus however, the rightful heir to the throne of Israel, quietly was born in a small town with no fanfare among no one of great worldly importance.

8.      The Magi made an announcement to Herod and all in palace which ignited death of babies under the age of two.

9.      Skip ahead 30 years and you have John the Baptist saying one who is greater will come.

10.    God at Jesus’ baptism and God on the mountain of transfiguration

11.    Jesus himself told His disciples.

12.    The Demoniac and the Samaritan woman told those outside of Jerusalem.

13.    Demons announced who He was.

14.    All witnesses from then until today.

The announcement today is that He is coming again. No one knew the day of the Messiah’s arrival though there were many prophecies. No one knows His second arrival, though many prophecies in Revelation. The message is always the same. Be ready!

Why is Jesus called Emmanuel, God is with us? When contemplating who Jesus is, the best place to start is at the top. If you start at any other place, you will get who He is wrong. Jesus is not saying He is a mere man with great moral insights like other religious figures. He is saying He is God in the flesh who walked among us. Jesus isn’t just saying He is sent by God, that He speaks the words of God or that He lives perfectly in the ways of God. He is saying He is God. 

How can this be? Jesus’ earthly mother was Mary but His Father was God. To explain the human/divine nature of Jesus, the bible begins by saying that Mary, His human mother, was a virgin when Jesus was conceived. There was no human father in the equation for His conception. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary and provided male component needed for the development of the child Jesus. Phil 2:6-8, that says Jesus “being in very nature God” was “being made in human likeness.” Jesus was born and was “found in the appearance as a man.” 

Mary certainly, more than anyone, knew that Jesus was conceived in holiness. She knew she hadn’t been with another man and it would have been impossible for her to become pregnant. At any point, in the beating, and torturing, and crucifixion of her son, she could have called out and confessed that it wasn’t true. But she knew it was true.

Matthew found the message of Jesus’s promised presence so important that he bookends his gospel with it. In Matthew 1:23 is says, “the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel—which means, “God with us.”  In the last chapter of Matt 28:20, Jesus says, “And surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age.” Jesus was and will always be with us from beginning to end. It is a promise that we will never be alone.

The birth of Jesus and His deity was foretold in the Old Testament. [Is 9:6-7] “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Note that it says a son is given. Jesus is that son. Not just a son to Mary but God’s Son, the Son of God. And it says He will be called Mighty God. That is because Jesus is God. 

John 1:1-2, affirms Jesus’ deity. Jesus is described as the Word. John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” Jesus is distinct from God but God in the fullest sense. He existed before he became man. Then in verse 14a John says, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” And that is Jesus Emmanuel. No other person in the world can truly be called this holy name in the fullest sense of the definition.

At one point Jesus asks the Twelve disciples, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’” His true followers knew who He was. If they didn’t believe it to be so true, they wouldn’t have died as martyrs for Him.

Jesus purposefully sought to be with certain people. He invited Himself over to Zacchaeus the tax collector’s home; He invited zealots and fisherman to follow Him, He intentionally went through Samaria to meet the woman at the well, He hung out with sinners, He touched people with every kind of deformity and disease, and He said, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” This should bring us great comfort that although you may feel alone, hated, and an outcast, Jesus desires to be with you today and every day.

[John 14:1-4] Jesus tells His disciples, “I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am…Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me…I am going to prepare a place for you...When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” 

Fulfillment means the achievement of something desired, promised, predicted, required, pledged, or expected. In this podcast, we will talk about God fulfilling His promises, the fullness of Jesus Christ, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and filling the emptiness we have in our hearts.

We can be assured that God fulfills all of His promises. The scriptures must be fulfilled is a common statement. You can trust that when God makes a promise He will bring it to fulfillment. He makes faithful promises to the Israelites, the church, and He makes personal promises to us.

[Jos 23:14] “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.”

 [Ps 57:2] “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me.” 

[Ecc 5:5] “It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.” God fulfills His promises but we aren’t as faithful to Him or to each other.

Jesus fulfilled all prophecy. There are 400 Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and Jesus fulfilled every single one of them. There were calculations made to figure out the odds that one individual could fulfill just 8 of the prophecies and the odds were 1 in 1027, that is 10 with 27 zeros. All throughout the New Testament is says, “this was done to fulfill prophecy.”

[Col 2:9-10] “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” NIV commentary says the very essence of deity was present in totality in Jesus’ human body.

[II Chron 7:1] After Solomon build temple, it said, “the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” God’s presence was there. We are now the temple of God and believers can be filled with the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. 

[Eph 5:18] “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” NIV commentary says the Greek present tense is used to indicate that the filling of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience. Repeatedly, as the occasion requires, the Spirit empowers for worship, service and testimony. There is a contrast here between wine and the Spirit. Each will affect you in some way. You need to choose whether to be under the influence of wine or the Spirit.

[Matt 5:6] “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” This is a promise.

Heart longs for fulfillment. God promises to fill us with hope, joy, and peace. He can fill every need that you have. Every person has a need for love, purpose, identity, security, and relationship. [Rom 15:13] “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as your trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

We are designed with a great capacity for God. God has placed a deep-down desire in our hearts on purpose. We have a heart-shaped vacuum that can only be filled by Jesus. When our hearts ache to be filled, we tend to fill it with things to dull the ache. Things like alcohol, drugs, immoral fantasies, food, relationship, work, shopping, money and busyness. We can also fill it with worry, anxiety, depression, fear, anger, greed, malice, and other unhealthy emotions. These things only give a temporary satisfaction because they don’t fit the space. The bible says to guard your heart and be careful what you let in. If you fill it with negative things, then there is no room for the positive. You need to open up space in your heart and ask Jesus in.

Jesus is enough and is the only one who can fill that empty space in your heart. And the beautiful thing is that He can fill it to overflowing, He uses the word abundant. He can satisfy any longing and meet your deepest need. All you have to do is ask Him to come in and fill it.

Deliver or deliverance means the action of being rescued or set free, to liberate, release, ransom, redeem, and save. This was Jesus’ mission. His entire ministry was a ministry of deliverance. 

But what did Jesus come to deliver us from? What was so wrong that the Son of God had to come to earth in human form to deliver us from it? The answer is sin. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sinned and from that point on, every person born was born with a sin nature. And this sin separates us from God. But God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to deliver us from our enslavement to this sin nature. He took away all of our sins on the cross and those who put their faith and trust in Him are freed from this sin nature and will have eternal life. Only by the Atonement and shed blood of Jesus Christ are we delivered from sin. 

What can we say Jesus is like from this? Some people say that Jesus wasn’t all about sin, He was about love and acceptance of everybody. But sin was the very reason why He came. The bible also says that without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sins. We needed forgiveness. He knew very well that He was coming to deal with sin, once for all. To say that Jesus wasn’t about looking at and dealing with the sin in people is a wrong view of Jesus. When the woman was caught in adultery, He rescued her from death, loved her, but then told her to “go and sin no more.” Jesus was not shy about addressing the sin in people’s lives.  Whenever the disciples said or did something wrong, He loved and forgave them but He immediately admonished them for their lack of faith or corrected them for their wrong thinking or challenged their pride and prejudices. He even told Peter once, “Get behind me Satan…you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” The bible says Jesus knew what was in the heart of man. He did not let sin go unaddressed. He didn’t wink at it, ignore it, or pretend it didn’t exist or wasn’t so bad. Sin had to be dealt with, there is no getting around it. Sin separates us from God and Jesus came to deliver us from sin so we could be in right relationship with God. On the cross all the sin of the world was placed on Him and His death is what truly showed His love for us.

Jesus can only deliver because He is master over and has power over all things. When Jesus was on earth, it says that He had compassion on the crowds and He delivered many people from various problems, heart-aches, and difficult situations. For example, he delivered people from physical danger and disaster, basic needs like hunger, financial crisis, from a difficult life, mental illness, physical handicaps, and spiritual ruin. 

Ps 37:40 says, “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.”

David knew where his help comes from and he always expressed his honest feelings in times of trouble as Ps 70:5 says, “I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.” David always went to the true source of power with petitions for deliverance. So, go to the one who can deliver you. Don’t go anywhere else. Go to Jesus. He is the complete Deliverer for every circumstance. Not only did He come to completely deliver you from your enslavement to sin but He is always with you to deliver you from anything trouble that may stand in your way.

A command is an order, a compelling task given to an inferior. When you add ‘-ment’ to the end you get another word = Commandment. Commandment means a divine rule that must be obeyed, especially one handed down by God like the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew and Greek literally are translated as “The Ten Words.” Ten Commandments, not the 10 suggestions. 

Does God have the right to command us to do anything? The Jewish people made a covenant with God. It was a legal binding agreement. God kept up His end of the bargain but the Israelites did not. NIV commentary says, God’s covenant people are to render complete submission, allegiance and obedience to Him out of gratitude for His mercies, reverence for His sovereignty, and trust in His continuing care.

Jesus reduced to two commandments. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (covers commandments 1-4) and love your neighbor as yourself (overs commandments 5-10). Mark 12:28-31.

Many might think that because of grace, our need to follow the commands strictly is not necessary; but Jesus actually taught an even stricter adherence. In Matt 5, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He said to break God’s commandments inwardly is equivalent to breaking them outwardly.

1. You shall have no other gods before me. No deity, real or imagined is to rival the one true God in our heart and life. Anything that takes a higher priority in your life than God.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, you shall not bow down to them or worship them. God says He is a jealous God and this is a jealous love. He wants all our love to go to Him.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. By profaning His name or swearing falsely by it. Jesus said when we pray that we should honor God’s name, hallowed be His name. 

4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Having completed His work of creation, God rested on the seventh day and we are to observe the same pattern in service of God in creation. Jesus said that the Sabbath day was created for us, not us for it. 

5. Honor your father and your mother. Honor means to prize highly, care for, show respect, and obey. The first commandment with a promise. 

6. You shall not murder. The Hebrew word refers to a premeditated and deliberate act. Jesus said, anyone who is even angry with his brother will be in danger of the fire of hell.

7. You shall not commit adultery. Jesus said, anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

8. You shall not steal. There is no justification for stealing in any way, whether on your taxes, supplies from your workplace, fruit off your neighbor’s tree, and words like plagiarism.

9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. Basically, do not lie. Here, Jesus elaborates on oath-taking in Mt 5:33-37, saying let your yes be yes and your no be no, anything beyond this come from the evil one. 

10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor. To desire something with evil motivation. 

God’s commandments aren’t there to punish or restrict us. Deut 10:12-13 says, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. 

God’s commandments can be described as warning signs for life. Life is like a mine field. God doesn’t say don’t enjoy life but He does say that there are dangers that you are going to want to avoid. Follow His path through the mine field and you will live. If you take away the commandments then you will follow the wrong path through life and it will lead to death.

The cross is the principal symbol for the Christian religion. It represents the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, His Passion, and His death. The cross is a sign both of Christ Himself and of the faith of Christians. In New Testament bible times, the cross symbolized a very different thing, a shameful form of execution for criminals. When you place the cross on anything, you are basically stating an identity with Jesus. 

Believers of Jesus Christ know the magnitude of what happened on the cross. Jesus didn’t just die on it. The weight of all mankind’s sin was nailed to the cross. Jesus’ blood was shed on the cross. The King of the Jews hung there in agony to save the world, to redeem it, and to bring it near to God. The earth shook and darkness descended on the land. All love and forgiveness emanated from the cross. Sorrow and tears flowed. Burdens of guilt and shame were laid at the foot of the cross. The work Jesus came to earth to do was finished there.

Every single prophecy concerning the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was fulfilled to the minutest detail. For example, He was delivered to Gentiles for judgement, the execution was to be outside of Jerusalem, He would hang on a tree, He would be lifted up from the earth, the Roman soldiers would pierce His hands and feet, they cast lots for his clothing, none of His bones would be broken, and people would hurl insults at Him. 

The Old Testament contains over 400 prophecies about the coming Messiah. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled every one of them. Calculations have been made to figure out what the probability would be of just eight of the prophecies being fulfilled in any one person who had lived up to the present time. The result: 1 in 10 to the 27 power. These odds should turn any reasonably thinking person to believe that Jesus is who He says He is.

The last words spoken by Jesus were on the cross. A person’s final words prior to death generally are taken to have particular significance. 

Words of Forgiveness - Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Words of Salvation - Luke 23:43: “Verily, I say unto you today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise.” Words of Relationship - John 19:26-27: “Woman, behold thy son.” And then He said to John “Son, behold thy mother.” Words of Abandonment - Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Words of Distress - John 19:28: “I thirst.” Words of Triumph - John 19:30: “It is finished.” Words of Reunion - Luke 23:46: “Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.” 

I Cor 1:18 says, “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.” So, the cross has power in its message and power in the Savior who died on it. 

Matt 10:38 says “Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Cross-bearing is a willingness to suffer and die for the Lord’s sake. How do you feel about that? Would you be willing to lay down all of your self-focus each day at the feet of the cross and make Jesus the sole object of your life and actions. This is a difficult, scary, and radical message and one that has kept many from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.

But here is some encouragement from Heb 12:2-3, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…who for the joy set before Him endured the CROSS, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men.” When we look at the cross, remember all He endured in accomplishing our redemption, our salvation, our freedom, “so that we will not grow weary and lose heart.” Our present suffering for the gospel’s sake is nothing compared to the hope of our future glory with Him in heaven.