Spiritual Thoughts

  J esus received what he did not deserve, so that we could receive what we do not deserve. ~ Unknown   H e himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by his wounds you are healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:

T aking up my "cross" means a life voluntarily surrendered to God. ~ A>W. Pink  A nd walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ~ Ephesians 5:2

H ast thou been hungry, child of mind?  I, too, have needed bread:    For forty days I tasted naught  till by the angels fed. Hast thou been thirsty?  On the cross I suffered thirst for thee;       I promised to supply thy need, my child, come unto Me. Perhaps thy way is weary off, thy feet grow tired and lame;                I wearied when I reached the well,  I suffered just the same; And when I bore the heavy cross  I fainted ‘neath the load;                And so I’ve promised rest to all  who walk the weary road. ...

I t is to the cross that the Christian is  challenged to follow his Master:    no path of redemption can      make a detour around it.    -Hans Urs von Balthasar       H e was delivered over to death for our sins  and was raised to life for our justification. -Romans 4:25  

Jesus He came not to a throne,    but to a manger. He lived not as a king,    but as a servant. He chose not an earthly kingdom,    but a cross. He gave not just a little,    but everything.   -Holley Gerth Christ loved us and     gave Himself up for us. -Ephesians 5:2

T hey gave him a manger for a cradle,  a carpenter's bench for a pulpit,    thorns for a crown, and      a cross for a throne. He took them and made them the      very glory of his life. -W.E. Orchard L ook to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,   who for the joy that was set before him,     endured the cross, despising the shame,        and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.   -Hebrews 12:2

Luke 23:1-34 “Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.” It makes sense that the first word of Jesus from the cross is a word of forgiveness. That's the point of the cross, after all.  Jesus was dying so that we might  be forgiven for our sins, so that we  might be reconciled to God for eternity. It’s our choice to follow him. Unknown “Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.” Luke 23:1-34

The best mathematical equation ever: 1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4 Given   "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,   that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,                     but to save the world through him."                                John 3:16-17 (NIV)