A devotional for day 39 of LENT Good Friday, April 21 |
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How long has it been since you heard "The Old Rugged Cross"? At the church I attend, we frequently sing "He is Risen", but we don’t often sing about the cross. When I was growing up, we sang about Jesus’ death almost every Sunday. We sang "The Old Rugged Cross," Lead me to Calvary", "Covered by the Blood" and many more. I don’t suggest that the change in emphasis from death to resurrection is necessarily bad, but I do suggest that to have a balanced perspective one must remember that there would not be an Easter if there had not first been a Good Friday. When you visualize the cross, which picture is in your mind, an empty cross or a cross with Jesus hanging on it? It is appropriate to celebrate the empty cross, but let’s not forget that the cross is important only because Jesus died on it. He died for you and for me. Song writer, George Bennard, expressed the thought well:
A wondrous beauty I see, For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, 'Til my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown." Gig Harbor, WA USA
Thank You for the cross. How lost we would be without it. How great was Your love for us that you would send Your only begotten Son to die on that old rugged cross! We humans do not fully understand the price that was paid on that Good Friday, but we are thankful that it was paid. Because of the cross, we can now sing "Victory in Jesus" and "Praise the Name of Jesus." Amen
[Psalm 22] [Isa 52:13-53:12] [Heb 10:16-25] [John 18:1-19:42] ]
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