Thankful for the Cross

Good morning! This is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it! As I mentioned yesterday, I have been thinking of reasons to be thankful. I have come up with MANY. But I want to share with you the greatest reason that we have to be thankful…the CROSS of Calvary.

As Christians, we understand the spiritual significance of Christ's sacrifice at Calvary, but it's easy to forget about the tremendous agony He endured there. The worst aspect was separation from the Father, but the physical suffering was also horrible beyond comprehension.

In his book Dare To Believe, Dan Baumann shares some thoughts that can deepen our gratitude for what the Savior did for us. He wrote, "We have perhaps unwisely and sometimes unconsciously glamorized the cross. Jewelry and steeples alike are often ornamental and attractive but carry nothing of the real story of crucifixion. It was the most painful method of public death in the first century. The victim was placed on a wooden cross. Nails . . . were driven into the hands and feet of the victim, and then the cross was lifted and jarred into the ground, tearing the flesh of the crucified and racking his body with excruciating pain. Historians remind us that even the soldiers could not get used to the horrible sight, and often took strong drink to numb their senses."

With a fresh awareness of our Savior's physical agony, let's thank Him anew for His sacrifice at Calvary. He loved us so much that He was willing to die for us—even the painful death of the cross.
We can never sacrifice enough for the One who sacrificed His all for us.

I want to share something with you that someone emailed to me yesterday. It is one of the most touching things that I have ever listened to, and goes along with how thankful we need to be for what Jesus did for us on the cross.

A remarkable phone call from a 12-yr old boy to Houston radio station KSBJ FM 89.3. So profound, the station has it posted on their website. Click below to listen to it. It's short.

http://www.ksbj.org/eblogs/morningShow/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/logan-calf-story.mp3

Thank God for Jesus' death on the cross. May we be reminded, like this 12 year old boy, what great price that God paid for our sins! I love you all, and pray that you have a wonderfully blessed day. Blessings!

Pastor Rusty