Suzanne’s mother’s favorite verse was Psalms 118:24  This is a day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Since her funeral, this has also become a favorite of mine. Each morning one of the things I ‘present to Him’ in my prayer, is to ‘thank Him’ for another day of my life, which He did not promise. And, the most precious gift——His provision for ‘us’ (me) eternally in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and His finished work at Calvary.

The Cross: The Heart of God

John 3:16-20

Here I have briefly combined two devotionals from Charles Stanley’s In Touch, April issue. You can visit their web site at www.intouch.org I hope this blesses you, and stimulates your thoughts toward the Cross, and the heart and love of God, through His precious Son, Jesus Christ.

Have you ever wanted to peek into someone’s heart—-their very spirit—–to see what is really going on in there?

We all desire this at times; in fact, the more we are able to get glimpses into a person’s heart, the better we can determine what kind of person they are. That is a basic way we grow to trust and love other people.

If we want to apply this concept to our relationship with the Lord, we need to look only one place: the Cross. There we can see a perfect picture of God’s heart and His view of sin, love, and mankind.

The most overwhelming image of the cross is the complete justice of God. The Lord’s “justice” simply means He does the right thing—-the righteous thing—–in every situation. When it came to dealing with mankind’s sin and wickedness, a problem arose that needed an eternal solution. The issue was the fact that God’s perfect holiness stood in complete opposition to man’s sinfulness. Because of His unwavering justice, He could not simply ignore our sin. Therefore, He had only two options: either abandon man to his sinfulness or provide a perfect sacrifice to atone for the sin of the world. In His love, He chose the latter.

The Cross of Jesus represents the only answer to a cosmic problem. Despite the great cost—-His only Son—God worked to bridge the gap caused by sin. With His justice satisfied by Christ’s sacrifice, God’s eternal love can now welcome us into His holy presence. Have you trusted Jesus as Savior and acknowledged the sacrifice He made on your behalf?

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

The message of the Cross doesn’t seem to make sense to the world, does it? It is difficult to explain the sheer power of the Cross to an unbeliever simply because that person is on the outside looking in. It is not until we see the issue through the eyes of the Holy Spirit that we begin to fully grasp the wisdom in it.

The apostle Paul explains that the message of the Cross seems like foolishness to the world, but for those of us who are in Christ, it is the very wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) Essentially, God’s wisdom reveals who backward thinking the world really is!

The world thinks it has a firm grasp of wisdom, and it also regards Christians as wasting their time going to church and talking about “getting saved.” However, these are the very things that can lead the lost into a saving relationship with the heavenly Father.

If it were up to us, we would have done it another way. In fact, every other religion on earth points toward good works as the means of salvation. However, God knew that no amount of good deeds could overcome the debt left by sin. So, He acted on our behalf, doing what only He knew was necessary to save our souls.

We may not like to admit it, but God is a lot smarter than we are. He knows what we need before we even ask Him. Therefore, let us thank Him for taking this matter out of our hands and providing that which we could never earn: salvation, forgiveness, and eternal communion with our heavenly Father.

(My note, the purity of God, and His expression—-even in His revealed names to Israel, He conveyed His intrinsic attributes—–and as Sovereign God, it would ‘require Him’ to make full ‘provision’ for us, His creation. He did through His Son, Jesus Christ—–at the Cross——if we will but accept Him and His finished work, and believe in Him. His revelation of His Sovereignty was revealed in one of those names: Adonai—The Sovereign God and Master. (KJV: Lord-Adonai) occurs about 300 times in the Old Testament, invariably in the plural. My Lords, plural (translation) allows for the Trinity. Used 215 times for man–sir, master, lord. When used for God, its plural; when used for man, its singular (Adnon). In one case only it’s Adona–Psalms 110, a Psalm of King David, the Sovereign of Israel.

Again, just more of His total completeness, and full revelation of Himself, if we are but willing to search His word.)

In Him, Bill Watts