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Focus on a Cross?

Focus on a Cross?


Sometimes we see a crucifix.  Other times, a cross.  Whether Jesus is depicted on it or not, and no matter how beautifully you decorate it, a cross is still an agonizingly torturous method of execution. 

So why is a cross THE symbol of Christianity?   It doesn’t appear until the 4th century.  The early church didn’t use it.  In those days, crucifixions were commonplace.  Many were crucified, but only one came back from the dead.  THAT is what the earliest Christians celebrated. 

I absolutely believe we should remember Jesus’ body and blood, offered willingly for us.  I just want to be certain that our main focus is not his dying but his resurrecting.  With Lent we’ve spent almost forty days focused on suffering, both his and ours.  (Caffeine or chocolate, anyone?)  Compare that to the one day (and not even a whole day) we spend observing the greatest, most loving and miraculous event in all of history.  HE CAME BACK!  HE IS ALIVE!  Where is the party?  The week-long festival?   Next year, I want to observe forty days of Easter.

Better yet, I might follow this example from a recent email: 
Two days after Phyllis accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, she entered Edith’s hospital room.  “Do you know what day it is?” Edith asked Phyllis. 
“It’s Good Friday,” Phyllis answered. 
Edith said, “Oh, no, for you every day is Easter.  Happy Easter, Phyllis!”

What if we celebrated Easter every day, REALLY celebrated?  What if we stopped focusing on the sin and guilt and shame that was nailed to the cross and instead rejoiced in the forgiveness and freedom and new life that is ours because Jesus conquered death for us? 

What if, instead of a crucifix or a cross, we symbolized Christianity with an open tomb? Or an endless timeline?  Or re-popularize the ichthys fish or octagon from the first centuries? 

In the end, it’s not which symbol we choose that really matters.  What does matter is that we rejoice that the happy ending to Christ’s story is also the ending to our own.  “He arose! He arose!  Hallelujah!  Christ arose!”  
debbieDebbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.


Thursday, April 05, 2012 | Comments Read more...
Crucified and Waiting

Crucified and Waiting

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Sometimes it causes me to tremble.


I always wonder what it would have been like to have been there when Jesus was crucified.  I read the accounts of the week leading up to Good Friday and wish I could know what was going through His disciple’s minds as they watched the events unfold.  So many had seen Him multiply food, heal, or raise someone from the dead.  He was the man who could calm the storm and walk on water.  But now he was hanging seemingly helpless on a tree.

Jesus had told them what would happen, but I imagine watching what took place that Good Friday was still a shock.  He was supposed to be King, you see. He was supposed to be powerful and wealthy.  But this Messiah they found and followed was anything but conventional royalty. He was playing by heaven’s rulebook, and He was about to reveal His greatest play.

Three days.  Sometimes I wonder why the wait? Surely Jesus could have raised up the next day. Did it take Him three days to obtain the keys to death? Or, was something of great value being birthed in His beloved followers? 

It's here in the waiting that hope is tested,
that faith grows,
that death was defeated.

When faced with impossible circumstances - when all hope seems lost - can we, like the disciples wait for the promise of the third day? 

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:30-31

sara
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Thursday, April 05, 2012 | Read more...
Smarmy Crucifixion

Smarmy Crucifixion



“LIKE” IF YOU LOVE JESUS AND AREN’T ASHAMED TO ADMIT IT!


FORWARD THIS EMAIL IF YOU AREN’T EMBARRASSED BY JESUS! HE ISN’T EMBARRASSED BY YOU!


COPY AND REPOST IF YOU BELIEVE JESUS SAVES!


Perhaps you will find me grumpy when I say, I am not a fan of attempting to “carry my cross” for Jesus by forwarding an email. And yet I think that such a way to pick up one's cross is rather smarmy. Smarmy Crucifixion. When I see such silly challenges to publicly declare one’s faith, I can’t help but think of the million other, more significant, opportunities we have to do so that we refuse on a daily basis. Even as we are beckoned to follow Christ, we walk right by the cross. We pass up the opportunity to carry the cross in favor of a lighter load…the hammer.


It was us who nailed Him up there you know.


We pick up that hammer every time we see ourselves as more valuable to God than our neighbor (especially the ones not brave enough to forward, “like”, or repost). We pick that hammer up when our personal stresses are expressed in short-temperedness, anger and impatience which we then take out on the innocent bystanders in our life. We pick up that hammer in our struggle to forgive God’s other kids when they are unfair to us (even when we fall short of being practically perfect in every way). We pick up that hammer when we refuse to share because we honestly believe our money did not FIRST belong to the Lord. We pick up the hammer every time we are stingy with allegiance and loyalty to the One true King, but give it, almost without thinking, to a thousand and one lesser kings (food, alcohol, drugs, t.v., shopping, career, status, appearance, money, etc.).


We pick up the hammer every time we refuse to pick up the cross. You know what they say about idle hands…


Look, here’s the thing. Jesus doesn’t need your smarmy email. Following Chris is tough. Your commitment to a life of discipleship has some serious, soul-searchingly difficult consequences. It also has some exhilarating, life-restoring eternal benefits! But, Jesus needs your WHOLE heart. He wants and deserves your WHOLE life. Do you have the chutzpah to give that over like He did? That is just what he asked us to do.


“Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’” Luke 9:23-24


If you love Jesus and aren’t ashamed to admit it, then sure, forward that email, click “LIKE”, or copy and repost the whole bloomin’ Apostle’s Creed if you want. However, before you are tempted to pound the pressure of shame into your peers…have some humility, use some discretion and remember...


…the cross has always made a bigger impact than the hammer.




katie

Katie Pickard is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012 | Read more...
Day One of Three: Crucifixion

Day One of Three: Crucifixion

MP900402718[1]Recently, I had three full days to myself. No family. No responsibilities. Just me, myself and I. I’d mentioned to God that I really wanted Him to use those three days to move in my life, but as I processed that thought through my flesh-filter, I began to doubt.

I actually thought to myself, “What could He possibly do in three days?” I had to literally laugh out loud when He flashed the most monumental three days ever before my eyes. It was definitely a “duh” moment as I thought of the three days between Jesus’ death and resurrection. How silly of me to minimize (yet again!) what He’s capable of.

I started day one of three with real anticipation. Surprisingly, the theme of the day ended up being His reign and my submission (or lack thereof). I began to think about day one of three for Jesus as He faced crucifixion. I was struck this time, not by the love He showed for me, but by His submission to the Father, even to the point of death. 

His suffering was an act of submission, and as I let that sink in deep, I realized that in stark contrast to that, I typically see submission as a form of suffering. I often balk at even the smallest things the Lord is asking me to do. My eyes are always on the pain submission might cause and not the power that results when I choose to obey. I’m so glad Jesus didn’t see things that way.

So, as I contemplate the crucifixion, I’m compelled to repent for my perception. I’m also thankful that on that first of three days, Jesus remained committed to the Father’s will knowing exactly what it would cost. He knew the pain involved, but did not let that prevent Him from obeying. I’m in awe of His commitment to submission. My heart longs to do the same.

imageAnitra Elmore is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Monday, April 02, 2012 | Read more...
Christ on the Cross

Christ on the Cross

I'm stumped.

The crucifixion paralyzes my thoughts and freezes my fingers. My mouth just kind of drops. Yep. Joline is speechless. It hurts to much to write. And nothing I write can do the event justice. Here is where I choose not to push or pry a devotion out of emptiness.

So, if you don't mind, and don't find it too "lazy" of me, I'd like to pass this writing of this post to my good friend J.C. Ryle. He's a favorite in our house.

"Let us set fully before our eyes the doctrine of Christ dying in our place – His substituted death, and rest our souls on it. Let us hold on firmly to the mighty truth, that Christ on the cross:
Christ on the cross: Stood in the place of His people
Christ on the cross: Died for His people
Christ on the cross: Suffered for His people
Christ on the cross: Was counted a curse and sin for His people
Christ on the cross: Paid the debts of His People
Christ on the cross: Made restitution for His people
Christ on the cross: Became the guarantee of His people
Christ on the cross: Became the representative of His people
In this way Christ obtained His people’s freedom. Let us understand this clearly, and then we will see what a mighty privilege it is to be made free by Christ. This is freedom which, above all others is worth having."

~ J.C. Ryle



mailJoline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Sunday, April 01, 2012 | Read more...
Contemplating Crucifixion

Contemplating Crucifixion


Crucifixion.  One of the cruelest, most painful, humiliating and gruesome ways to die.  The word excruciating comes from “out of crucifying.”  Simply reading up on it in Wikipedia is enough to give me nightmares.  My heart and mind can’t quite process it.  We don’t really have a context for this incredibly torturous act in modern American society.

Partly for that reason, and partly because we have simply heard the story so many times, this element of the central event in human history has lost its power to move our hearts.  It’s become merely another scene in the Christian landscape.  Like a picturesque park we pass every day on our drive down the road, we get to where we don’t see it.

That is, until our car breaks down and we are forced to wait for help.  We exit the car and sit down on a sun-warmed park bench, letting our senses collect information and our minds wander.  Suddenly we notice details we have missed all along, details that catch our breaths and spark our hearts.

My prayer is that God will use His Kitchen Crew here at Daily Fast Fuel to help us all pause for just a moment to contemplate the true horror of "Good" Friday.  Let us allow our hearts to be broken by all that Jesus had to go through to bring us to Himself.   
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debbieDebbie Legg is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.


Saturday, March 31, 2012 | Comments Read more...