Tag Archives: Easter

I will boast in this.

Jesus On the CrossI love this time of year.  I’m not talking about the warming of the weather, or the holidays and vacations that we get to enjoy.  I am referring to a special season in the life of the church.  This time of year enables us to focus in on the center of our life.  We get to celebrate Easter.  

One moment in this year’s Easter service sticks out to me.  It came in the form of a song: Stuart Townend’s How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.  These lines in particular:

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

What other reason do we have to rejoice on Easter but the truth in these lines.  We have done nothing to earn God’s favor, His grace.  We bring nothing into the transaction…no gifts, no power, no wisdom.  It is purely an act of mercy from the Father to draw us to Himself, through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus.

Why?  Why would we gain from this?  We are the ones that put Him on that tree.  It was our sin that put him there…the sin of our despising and rejecting…our sin of cursing His name and mocking Him.  It was our sin of nailing our Savior to a cross.  

But God, even in this was at work.  It was our sin…the weight and burden…the guilt that we rightly bear…that held Him there.  In his great love, Jesus Christ went to the cross and bore our sins in his body.  He died upon our cross.  The wrath of God was poured out on Him instead of on us.  

His wounds have paid my ransom.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

2 Corinthians 5:21

I will boast in this.

It was all Him.

It was all by Him.

It is all for Him and His Glory.

Amen.

 

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This the Power of the Cross

 

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow. 

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry. 

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost! 
We stand forgiven at the cross. 

   
“The Power of the Cross”
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend  
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music 

50 Reason Why Jesus Came to Die

50 ReasonsI know it seems like we just celebrated Christmas, but it is time to start thinking about Easter.  This Saturday will mark 50 days until Easter.  I would recommend picking up a book like John Piper’s 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  The chapters are 2-3 pages in length and would be an easy daily read for families, small groups or individuals.  

This book simply walks through the Biblical answers to the title question.  Not only is this book a great way to look forward to our most important yearly celebration, it is also a well crafted Biblical study revealing the beauty and power of the Cross of Christ.

The question that the title captures is the essential question that every person on our planet must face and wrestle with.  Especially now, during a time when even “Christians” are debating and even neglecting this central doctrine of our faith, a book like this will be a necessary encouragement and corrective teacher that we all need.  

The format of the book makes the content accessible to any age and for people like me who find it difficult to actually complete a book, this is easy on the stress levels.  Just think….in 50 days…I will have completed a book.  

You can pick up a copy at your local Christian bookstore or at DesiringGod.com.