Month: March 2021

Devotional

Jesus: His Cross and His Resurrection – Part 2 of 4

kathrynhugheswriter

A special weekly series for the Easter Season

Reflections on the hymn The Old Rugged Cross

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. I Corinthians 1:18 NKJV

The cross of Jesus is despised by some. It seems like foolishness to the world. Why would God come to earth for humankind, knowing that they had already rejected Him or would do so in the future? Yet Jesus suffered and died on that cross to pardon and sanctify us. He sets us apart to follow Him, and to someday live in heaven with Him.

It is the message of the cross that led George Bernard to write the words and music to The Old Rugged Cross. He cherished the old rugged cross. (1913. Public domain.)

Verse 1: 

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.  

Verse 2: 

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,  
Has a wonderous attraction for me;  
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above  
To bear it to dark Calvary.  

Verse 3: 

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,  
A wonderous beauty I see;  
For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died  
To pardon and sanctify me.
Good Friday – Image by Marinas32 on Pixabay

Just think, Jesus left heaven for sinners- that’s us! I pray I’ll be faithful to Him, as George Bernard said in verse 4 and the refrain:  

Verse 4:	

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, 
Its shame and reproach gladly bear; 
Then He’ll call me someday to my home faraway, 
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

Refrain: 	

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

Our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus. He removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. I remember when I was on a church youth group trip, we wrote down our sins on pieces of paper and nailed them onto a board. After a time of silent confession, the nails with the attached papers were removed. Nail holes remained. For me personally the holes were a reminder of the consequences to sin, but that Jesus forgave my sins and chooses not to remember my confessed sins any longer. A variation of this is to write down our sins on a piece of paper, confess them, and then to burn the papers. I think I want to do that again. Perhaps you would like to do something similar? 

Dear Jesus, Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for removing my sins and not holding me eternally accountable for anything You have already forgiven. May I gladly bear the reproach of others for Your cross, and lay everything at Your feet. Amen.

Watch for the rest of this four-part special Easter series, Jesus: His Cross and His Resurrection. 

3/18/21     Part 1-  At the Cross  
3/25/21     Part 2 - The Old Rugged Cross
4/1/21       Part 3 - Christ Arose
4/8/21       Part 4 - Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Devotionals post every other Thursday (Special series may occur more frequently, such as the Easter series, Jesus: His Cross and His Resurrection.) They are archived under Devotionals.

Devotional

Jesus: His Cross and His Resurrection: Part 1 of 4

kathrynhugheswriter

A Special Series for the Easter Season

At the Cross

He humbled Himself and became obedient to death… on a cross! Philippians 2:8

Easter is less than a month away. I find myself singing or humming the great anthems and hymns telling of Jesus’ crucifixion and atonement for my sins, and songs of His resurrection. I love these songs, because they are packed with truths from God’s Word. I find that the songs lift my soul and bring me into the worship of my Savior.

Consider the lyrics in At the Cross (a.k.a. Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed).

Isaac Watts published the text in 1707. The refrain was added by Ralph E. Hudson in 1885. (Public domain) The emphasis in bold is mine.

Verse 1:         

Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

Verse 2:     

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

 Verse 3: 

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.

Verse 4:

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.

Verse 5:

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.

Refrain (Hudson):

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Sin is such a burden to us. We mess up. The accuser points out our faults and tries to convince us that we don’t measure up, and that we might as well give up trying to please God. The devil wants us to stay blind to God’s great love and forgiveness He has for us. That evil rascal would rather have us wallow in the guilt of our sin than to confess it to our Lord. Jesus frees us from our guilt because He paid our penalty. With faith, our eyes are opened to the freedom God provided us through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection!

Let’s reflect on what Jesus Christ did for you and for me. May we enter this Holy season of Christ’s death and resurrection with a new view and appreciation of His love and sacrifice for us.

Dear Jesus, Thank you for loving me so much that You willingly took my punishment for sin. You died in my place. Soften my heart so I am quick to grieve when I sin and to confess it. May I be thankful. Lord, I give myself to You. Amen.

Devotional

Jesus Prepares a Place for His Followers

kathrynhugheswriter

Do not let your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:1,2 NASB

Several of my friends have died in the past fifteen months. A sudden heart attack, cancer, Covid-19, and other illnesses have struck friends in their fifties as well as later in life. While some deaths were expected, others shocked me when I heard the news.


I grieve, of course. Jesus, the God of comfort, wept when He went to the home of Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died. Death always causes such pain and grief for the family and friends. No longer will I see some of my friends at church, or pick up the phone to talk with them, or see a social media posting from time to time from those far away. Death seems so… permanent.


Yet for many of my friends who have died, there is a sure hope, too. For those who were Christ’s followers, this is a temporary separation. I know I will see them someday. They knew Jesus Christ, and they are home with Him!


Jesus doesn’t want us to despair. He assured His followers that He was returning to His Father’s house to prepare a place for them. That place is with Him! Jesus said, “If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3) The grave is not our final resting place. We don’t stay there!


In 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 the Apostle Paul said, “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (NIV)

When Jesus told Martha that her dead brother Lazarus would rise again, she said to Jesus, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:23-26 NASB)


Did Jesus mean that all who believe in Him do not die physically? No. We all knew Christians who have died. Jesus meant our souls would not suffer death. The believer’s soul goes to be with our Heavenly Father. Those believers will return again with Jesus when Jesus descends from heaven with a shout! The dead [bodies] will rise first and then those people who remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

How can we confidently know that we will be with Jesus? He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV) He didn’t say He was a way or a truth. He is the only way to God.

I’m convicted that I need to love my friends and family enough to tell them that Jesus is the way to God.
Do your loved ones know the way to our Heavenly Father? Do they know that Jesus paid the price of their eternal death from sin by going to the cross and dying in their place?


Jesus is preparing a place for each of us that believe in Jesus. Are you confident that you will be with Jesus?

Dear Lord Jesus, please comfort me and the loved ones of my friends who have died. Thank you for preparing a place with You, where I will someday see You and where I will see my friends again. Thank you for providing the way for me to live forever with You, free from the punishment of my sins. Help me to share the hope found in knowing You. Amen.