The Cross Has Two Sides

 

There are two sides to the cross: the front and the back. The front of the cross is the part we see when first we come to the cross. The eyes of our heart want to look away, for the sight before us is one of death and shame. 

Blood covers the cross where the body of Christ bled and died on it. It is a means of humiliation, torment and torture (Deuteronomy 21:23; Acts 5:30; Galatians 3:13) He was beaten so badly He was unrecognizable (Isaiah 52:14; Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 50:6; Psalm 22). Yet the cross is known even to His enemies, for none can really take their eyes off of it. 

The Roman soldier who stood looking on at the Man who had been nailed to the cross, who stood where the blood was flowing, knew that here was a righteous man (Mark 15:39). 

If we listen to the Voice of Reason, which tells us this is where the Savior of the world died, then we can make our way to the back of the cross. But to get there we will have to go through the blood.

With our eyes wide open, and our hearts having received the knowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, we are able to walk through the blood which was shed for us and make our way to the other side of the cross. 

Death is not here. Shame is not here. We left those on the other side, under the blood. Life is here. Joy is here. Victory is here.  Jesus is here. He's not on the cross any longer. 

In the blood 

we are forgiven. 

For it is the blood of Christ which washes away all our sins, WHEN we repent. It is not enough to be sorry for what we have done wrong. It is not enough to be remorseful for our wrongdoings.

Even Judas was sorry for his actions. He saw the immediate results of his betrayal of his Friend. But he did not repent. He tried to give the money back. But he did not repent. 

Unless we repent of the sins we have committed against the Word of God, we will not be forgiven. We must go through the blood of Christ on the cross in order to walk out of the grave with Him. 

We cannot live a new life in Him unless we go through Him. 

I am forgiven. Every day I ask the Holy Spirit to search my heart and show me where I need to be washed clean. Then I repent and ask for help and strength to not commit the same crimes against God that I have already been forgiven for. And He helps me. 

If you don't already have it, you, too, can have this relationship with Jesus Christ. All you have to do is ask God for it. You will know the change when it happens. No fancy prayer, just talk to Him from your hearts. Like I did. 

 

EVEN NOW

EVEN NOW

By TerriLynn Schlater

Ain’t no baby in the manger

Ain’t no Jesus on the cross

Ain’t no body in the graveyard

Even now, He isn’t there!

There’s only peace in the manger

There’s only faith on the cross

There’s only joy in the graveyard

Even now, There’s only Jesus.

Even now, There’s only Jesus.

There’s only faith hope and glory

There’s only peace joy and love

There’s only Jesus in this place now

Only Jesus, even now,

There’s only Jesus,

Even now, only Jesus.

There’s only love in the manger

There’s only hope on the cross

There’s only glory in the graveyard

Even now, There’s only Jesus

Even now, There’s only Jesus

There’s only faith hope and glory

There’s only peace joy and love

There’s only Jesus in my heart now

Only Jesus, even now,

There’s only Jesus,

Even now, only Jesus.

   

Anatomy of The Heart

     When we think of how we make decisions and choices in our lives, we think of the mind as creating thought and the heart as something that must be followed. When in all actuality it is through the heart that all decisions, all thought, all follow-through is done.
     

The spirit-heart starts out black, because we view sin as black/dark. Only the Light of God's Love, Jesus Christ, can turn the heart from black/dark to gold/light.

When we first come to knowledge of the saving grace of God through the cross on which His only begotten Son Jesus Christ died, the blood which Jesus shed is applied to the darkness of our hearts. We call this being saved.

We also call this not enough to live holy. God calls us to holiness in our every day lives because He is holy and He cannot be in the same room as sin, because sin is rebelliousness to God and God's Holy Word. Therefore, we also need God's Holy Spirit to continually work on the darkness of our hearts, like water forming and shaping the rocks in a body of water: constantly flowing, never-ending shifting over and around and through us: making us holy and filling us ever more with God's Light and Love.

But that takes time and effort. Time to allow the Holy Spirit to deconstruct the darkness and construct us into honorable friends of God, holy and acceptable to Him.

First, the heart is washed clean by the Blood of God's Lamb, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. 

Anyone who believes that Jesus Christ is LORD is saved. Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved." That is when the blood is applied to the heart because Romans 10:8-10 "But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him out from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved." 

Why do we want to speak out our salvation? Why not? There is nothing to be ashamed of: but there is everything to rejoice aloud! 

So we see here in these three verses that the heart makes the decision to believe and the mouth speaks what is in the heart. 

But the heart had to be able to hear the Word before the Spirit could apply the Word in the heart. How did the heart hear the Word?

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. Romans 10:17

The Word that was preached, the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in our stead, was buried and rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father is the Word that the heart did hear and receive upon believing this to be truth. 

Our spiritually anatomically correct heart does not stop there, though.  We now know that our hearts can think, and hear so let us continue our journey through The Word. 

Because the heart is the decision maker, it is also the place of understanding, where wisdom is applied; therefore the heart can also see: 

Ephesians 1:16-19 "I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened (shine brightly), so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength."

Job 42:5 "My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You." Proverbs 18:15 "The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out." Whether discernment or hearing, it is the heart doing the work.

     Through Psalm 34:8 we see that our hearts have mouths, as it is impossible to taste or chew without a mouth. 

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" And again in Hebrews 6:4-5 "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened (shone brightly), who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit---who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age--..." 

     The heart also drinks in through the mouth the Living Water that comes from Christ Jesus. In Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." And again in John 7:38 "Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” These 'streams of living water'? The Holy Spirit. John 7:39 "He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified." 

     We could say that our spirit-heart resembles this:

It is a busy heart, indeed. And when the heart has accomplished all which God has set forth for it to do, the heart will be holy and pure and acceptable to God the Father, ready to be in His eternal holy presence. 

Pondering

The Cross

According to Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary the cross is a single stake " I " upon which criminals were hung until they died. If not dead by sunset, their legs were broken to bring death more swiftly (John 19:31-33).

What is it not? Two stakes formed to make a cross " t ". That symbol is a holdover from pagan culture brought into the apostate church, the church which turned its back on the truth of the gospels, desiring only to 'increase their prestige'; thereby allowing this " t " to remain as a symbol of Christianity, though it was not.

It is not the letter X, the first letter of the word "Christ", which Constantine used.

A. The cross is a humiliating means of execution for all crimes, not just treason, but theft and murder, as well.

1. Treason: John 19:12

2. Theft: while all the gospels agree that thieves were hung with Christ, careful study indicates that thievery was not a crucifixion matter. Malefactor is a word which means "a person who violates the law; one who does evil to another person"; these are the ones who were hung on either side of Jesus Christ.

3. Murder: Acts 3:14, wherein Peter states that a murderer was released instead of Jesus.

B. The cross is not to be revered as such, but The Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the world is to be revered, worshiped, honored and adored.

1. Revelation 5:6, 12

2. John 1:29

3. Isaiah 53

C. The cross represents submission to God, our higher Authority. Though we are made to suffer by the hands of another, it is our silent submission to God that God sees. Christ did not defend Himself by word or by action, but meekly submitted to His Father's will; showing us by example how we are to behave when we are come against for believing The Word of God and obeying it.

1. Complain not to the person(s) judging you: Isaiah 53:7; John 19:9.

2. Do not hate the one(s) hating you: Matthew 5:44; Romans 12:14; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.

3. Do not judge, nor condemn they who come against you, but love and forgive them. Matthew 6:7; 7:1;18:22; Luke 23:34; John 3:16, 17; 13:34; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13.

So, as I sit and ponder the cross, I also see through communication with God that the cross is both multitudinous and personal. The invitation to salvation is for all, yet each must make an individual surrender and commitment to believe and to follow Christ.

1. John 3:16 states that GOD loved the world (multitudinous: all people)

2. Romans 3:10, 21 tells us we are all sinners and unrighteous.

3. Romans 5:8 BUT GOD commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. "How wonderful, how marvelous" as the hymn is written. We did nothing to deserve or earn or purchase this great love which God has for us. Ponder that, if you will. Nothing we, you nor I, can ever do will cause God to love us more than He does now or then.

4. Romans 3:23 Sin= Death - For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.

5. Romans 9:25-26 This gift of God is available to all people, not just to the Jews. "As He saith in Osee (Hosea 2:23), I will call them My people, which were not My people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people; there shall they be called the children of the living God."

6. Romans 10:9-13 This much loved passage of Scripture relates that it is on an individual repentance that salvation is given. The message of the gospel is for all, but belief is an individual act by each who hears the gospel.

"That if thou (you) shall confess with thy (your) mouth (speak out loud) The LORD Jesus, and shall believe in thine (your) heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou (you) shall be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same LORD over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.

For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The LORD shall be saved."

We don't need fancy words, nor long and wordy prayer, to admit we are sinners. We just need to talk to Him from the heart. I could give you an example of what to pray, but Jesus already did that for us. Twice in the Scriptures, we are brought into God's presence through the words of Christ when He prayed. Once, by an example of prayer; second, by His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, before He was betrayed and crucified.

Admit we have sinned against God.

Believe that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, that He died on the cross and rose from the dead.

Commit ourselves to a life of following Jesus and serving others.

Die daily. (not physically, but surrendering our bodies in full [thoughts and actions] to God's will.

Exemplify God's grace.

Forgive without number any and all sins committed against us every day.

Even Now

Ain't no baby in the manger

Ain't no Jesus on the cross

Ain't no body in the graveyard

Even now, He isn't there.

There's only Faith Hope and Glory

There's only Peace Joy and Love

There's only Jesus in this place now

Even now, there's only Jesus

Even now, even now.

There's only Faith in the manger

There's only Hope on the cross

There's only Glory in the graveyard

Even now, there's only Jesus

Even now, even now.

There's only Peace in the manger

 There's only Joy on the cross

There's only Love in the graveyard

Even now, there's only Jesus

Even now, even now.

There's only Jesus in this place now

There's only Jesus in my heart

There's only Jesus in this room now

Only Jesus

Even now

There's only Jesus

Even now

Even now

reference: the 4 Gospels

How To Pray In God's Will....Be in God's Will

In order to PRAY in God's will, you have to BE in God's will.

• The first step to being in God's will is to answer the knocking at the door of your heart. Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me."
• The second step to being in God's will is to acknowledge you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 "But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
• Taking the third step to being in God's will requires us to admit that every sin, every evil way has a penalty to be paid.  Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Every step we take has a shadow of the next step.
• The fourth step is to believe that Jesus Christ, the One knocking on our heart's door, paid that penalty for our sin so we would not have to. Romans 10:9, 10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Philippians 2:5-11 makes it plain and simple, straightforward even: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
• Stepping into number five is Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." John 3:16, 17 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 4:15 "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God."

     We see by these first five steps that the first thing we need to know about being in God's will is to have salvation through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Only one Man can save your soul from eternal damnation and that man is not you. You cannot save yourself. I cannot save myself. I need the perfect Lamb of God to do that for me. And He did. When He was crucified, Jesus died for my sins and yours. When He was beaten, spit on and made fun of, He did that for you and I. He was not even recognizable. (Isaiah 53)

     Could you love someone who looked like that? And, yet, He loves us still. We are weak, but He is strong. We weary easily, but He never tires. We are shallow and He is deep. We stray and Jesus looks for us, to bring us near His side. Before we can pray in God's will we have to BE in God's will. Are you in God's will today?

He's Strong Enough

He's Strong Enough

The thief on the left

Hollered out to our Lord,

"If You are the Christ,

Come down off of that cross

And save Yourself."

He never said a word,

He never budged an inch,

He took the weight of my sins

And carried me with Him.

(ch)

Cause He's strong enough 

To carry me

All the way to the cross

Into eternity!

When He prayed in the Garden,

"Not My will but Thine,

Let it pass from Me, O God;

Father, I make it Mine."

I was in His heart,

When He cried that night,

For strength to carry me

Into the fight.

(ch)

Cause He's strong enough 

To carry me

All the way to the cross

Into eternity! (x2)

The Wonderful Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near and bless
Your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

1a. Everyone has one, but not everyone carries it--Matthew 10:38

1b. Sometimes we need help carrying it--Matthew 27:32

2. Only room for one--Matthew 16:24

3. Worth more than worldly possessions and desires--Mark 10:21

4. It is the power of God--1 Corinthians 1:18

5. It is my glory--Galatians 6:14