Someone pointed out to me that when Jesus fed the crowd, there were thousands that ate. And then there is a number in the gospels of there being 500 followers. There were 12 disciples in the inner circle. There were three that were with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. And at the cross where Jesus died…there was only one disciple. It seems that the closer you get to the cross, the thinner the crowd gets. It is the same today. It doesn’t seem like there are a lot of sermons that point us to the cross. The great German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that when he came to America in the 1930s that he went from church to church in New York to hear someone talk about the cross. He finally found a church that did and there he stayed. The cross is where our freedom was purchased. He who was totally innocent died for you and me who are totally guilty. Jesus told us that we too would be called to pick up our own cross and follow him. The Apostle Paul reminds us that what is most important happened there at that cross two thousand years ago. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NLT “ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. (4) He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” So when you go to listen to a message about this Jesus of the Bible…look for the cross. Remember how great old hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” begins…
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.
The crowd gets thinner the closer we draw to the cross, but be one of those who comes close in heart and soul and never forgets that it was there that you and I and all those who journey through this life on earth are offered freedom from sin and judgement and given eternal life by this Jesus of the Bible. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Colossians 1:19-20 NLT For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, (20) and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Remember I’m praying for you!
With love, PJ
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.
The crowd gets thinner the closer we draw to the cross, but be one of those who comes close in heart and soul and never forgets that it was there that you and I and all those who journey through this life on earth are offered freedom from sin and judgement and given eternal life by this Jesus of the Bible. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Colossians 1:19-20 NLT For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, (20) and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Remember I’m praying for you!
With love, PJ