Encouragement

What is the significance of the cross of Christ? Many people wear the cross on necklaces around their necks…even secular music artists. I find myself wanting to ask them the question, “Why?”

For followers of Jesus Christ, the cross holds great significance. After all, it was on the cross that Jesus completed His mission of saving all mankind from the curse of sin, which is death and eternal separation from God. It was on the cross that Jesus actually became sin, taking on all the sins of the entire world from the beginning to the end of time. “He, himself, bore our sins in his body on the cross.” (1 Peter 2:24) “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) It was on the cross that Jesus yelled, “tetelestai!” or “It is finished!” In Jesus’ time, the word “tetelestai” would have been written across a certificate of debt when the debt was remitted because “tetelestai” means paid in full! On the cross, our sin debt was PAID IN FULL!

Without the cross, there would be no forgiveness of sin. Without the cross, there would be no hope of eternal life with God after our earthly life is over. The cross of Christ is absolutely essential to all that is ours in Christ Jesus. It is through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead that those who know Him and have surrendered their lives to Him have an eternal inheritance to look forward to.

So come to the cross, my friend, and lay down your burden of sin, shame, guilt and condemnation. Receive the gift of deliverance and eternal salvation that only Jesus can give you. He stands outside the door of your heart. Do you hear Him knocking? He is waiting for you to open the door and and invite Him to come in and make you new. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” When you sit down and eat with someone, you sit with them face to face and share the same food. It is a beautiful picture of knowing and being known. What are you waiting for? Fling open the door of your heart and run into the arms of Jesus and experience the freedom and peace that only He can give you as you journey through the rest of your life (here on earth and eternally) together.

Have the circumstances in your life ever become so overwhelming that they seem to consume you like a cloud of fog on a cold, wet winter day? Problems and burdens appear to obscure your vision and consume your thoughts and you can only see a few feet in front of you, if that. Have you been carrying the weight of care for someone you love? Are your circumstances weighing you down with what appear to be no real answers or help in the immediate future?

As we all know, life is full of uncertainties and unanswered questions. The journey along life’s pathways includes many different types of terrain. Not all of which are smooth, flowing paths through flowery meadows, but some that include harrowing, narrow, steep, rocky paths through rugged mountain passes or deep valleys. Or dry, desert wastelands where there seems to be no end in sight.

But, as I have been learning lately, there is hope.

After a particularly discouraging day, I was sitting in my “prayer chair” crying out to the Lord in my despair, knowing that I was clearly focusing my eyes on my circumstances. I was allowing the adversary to plant his thoughts of self-pity and self-condemnation in my mind, but struggling to take those thoughts captive and to submit them to Christ. In a brief moment of silence, in answer to my cries of desperation, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “He is able.” In that instant, I began to sing the words to a song that I had learned at some point along my journey. I did not know all of the words so I got out my phone and searched for the song on YouTube. As I played the song, “He is Able” by Maranatha! Singers, the words were like living water to my soul. I could feel the tension and the despair leaving my body as I embraced the truth of what I was hearing. The words of the song are as follows:

He is able, more than able to accomplish what concerns me today.
He is able, more than able to handle anything that comes my way.
He is able, more than able to do much more than I could ever dream.
He is able, more than able to make me what He wants me to be.

I replayed the song several times and began to sing the song to the Lord by changing the word “He” to the word “You”. Since that time, when I am bombarded by negative thoughts or my circumstances seem to want to overwhelm me again, I remind myself that “He is Able”. There is a verse in the Bible found in Ephesians 3:20-21 that says, “²⁰Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, ²¹to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

So, whatever you may be going through, remind yourself that He is ABLE to do immeasurably more that all you ask or even imagine according to His power that is at work in you. His power in you is His Holy Spirit who lives in you, if you have accepted the free gift of salvation made possible through the cross of Christ. If you have never opened the door of your heart and invited Jesus to come in and make you new, you can do that right now. He promises that if anyone opens the door, He WILL come in [Revelation 3:20]. His Presence in your life is the only way you will ever experience true peace and victory. Is He knocking on the door of your heart? Why not open the door and welcome Him in? He is ABLE.

Encouragement

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