The Offense of the Cross

What makes the cross so offensive that people refuse to come to Jesus? By accepting the work Jesus did by dying on the cross for our sins, we have to die to ourselves. We have to admit we can’t get to heaven on our own merit—or by being good enough. We can’t follow the laws of the Old Testament and stand before God completely acceptable…because we’ve proven we’ll never do it perfectly. It’s offensive to admit we’re a sinner…and because of that sin, our relationship with God is broken. The ONLY way to have a relationship with God is to admit we’ve sinned and are in need of a savior. The cross is offensive because we must abandon all pride. 

And there you have the bottom line. The cross is offensive because it illuminates the fact we can’t get to heaven on our own. We have to abandon our pride and admit we’ve sinned and need the salvation Jesus offered by dying for our sins.  His death and resurrection are the bridge which gives us access to a relationship with God and a place in heaven. It’s NOT Jesus’ death for our sins + anything else.  It’s accepting Jesus died for our sins and we need a savior. We have to turn around completely. We stop going our way…and start following Jesus. We must abandon our pride and obey Him. 

“And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.” Galatians 5:11. 

Deliverance!

“Jesus gave Himself for our sins that we might be delivered from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” Galatians 1:4

God sent Jesus to rescue us. This world and this age are degenerate, diseased, calamitous, vicious, lewd, malicious, and wicked. It’s because of that evil mastermind, Satan himself. It was God’s purpose and plan all along to draw us out of this dark, scary cesspool we call home. 

Why has it taken so long? To allow us to be born? To culminate the final battle plans between God & Satan? Because 1000 years is as one day to God? I don’t know. But He’s promised deliverance…so I know it WILL happen. In the meantime, He told us the last days on this earth will only grow more brutal. Satan knows his defeat is near so he will pull out all the stops. 

But we have the best message in the world:

Deliverance is coming!

Spread the word!

God is Listening

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.” Malachi 3:16

Did you know God is keeping a journal?  And not just any journal—He has a scribe writing down every edifying word we say about Him when we’re talking to one another. It makes me want to talk about Him more often, doesn’t it you? We can never say enough about His honor, His glory, His power, His faithfulness, His holiness, or His ways. He even writes down when we’re thinking about His greatness!

It’s also how we should be talking about one another—edifying them and building them up, right? What does God want us to see in one another—the sin, the bad habits, or the idiosyncrasies that drive us crazy? Or the way He has created them to “fit” in the body of Christ? As we build up one another with our words, we’re doing something important. If what we say and even think about God is so important that He writes it down…don’t you think it’s almost just as important what we say about one another?

Your words matter. Eternity will prove it.  

Cracked Pot

It’s not about us.  We’re just an earthen vessel. Barbara Johnson calls us a cracked pot! God knew we’d never be perfect—He didn’t expect it nor demand it. He did expect us to mature and grow…but He knew we’d never do this life perfectly. In fact, He knew we’d be damaged, beat up, abused, and broken by the enemy who is called the god of this age.  What is this age, you ask? It’s the period of time before Jesus returns which is ruled by Satan and wreaks instability, weakness, lack of reverence, wickedness, calamity, and misery!

God knew what we’d be walking through. He knew we wouldn’t withstand the storm perfectly. But He also didn’t expect us to do it alone or in our own strength. If we’ve given our lives to Him, He lives in us!  He’s the Light, the Power, the Stability, the Encouragement, the HOPE!  If we’ll quit trying to cover up our weaknesses, and just let Him shine, His power is demonstrated to the world around us. It’s in our weakness He’s made strong. HE is the treasure! He is the power—and He wants to demonstrate it through US. He wants the world to see His light through those cracks. It’s probably the biggest encouragement your friends can see. God can use anyone—even those imperfect but perfectly loved cracked pots. Let His light shine!!

11:11

For years, I’ve seen 11:11 everywhere!  On digital clocks, on calendars, billboards, signs…all over. I asked God early on what it meant because I knew there had to be a reason I was seeing it so randomly and so often.  I certainly wasn’t seeking it out. Because God wasn’t answering, I tried to figure it out myself.  I looked up chapter and verse 11:11 in several books of the Bible. I googled it. But I came up empty. 

I knew Hebrew was alphanumeric. There are no numbers in the Hebrew language. Each letter has a numeric value. So when you talk about a number in Hebrew, it’s significant—it means something. Recently, I was listening to Rabbi Jason Sobel, a Messianic Jew, and he opened up the number 11. He said the number 11 in Hebrew meant “breakthrough!” He said the resurrection of Jesus is a picture of this number. He broke out of the grave in victory!

Happy 11:11!  May we all have a breakthrough!!!

Faith • Hope • Love

Have you ever stopped and really considered this verse? I Corinthians 13 is called “The Love Chapter.” And the very last verse tells us that love is greater than faith or hope! Think about that. 

Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity. Without faith, we can’t even have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And without faith, we can’t please God. Faith moves mountains! Hope isn’t just optimism. It’s believing God will do what He says and we can firmly trust Him to fulfill it. 

Love is greater than both of those things. God’s great love reached out and saved us from sin by sacrificing His Son on the cross. His unconditional love keeps us and flows out of us as we mature. 

The Love Chapter also tells us what love is NOT. It’s not prideful nor does it envy. It isn’t hateful and doesn’t behave rudely. It doesn’t look out for itself first and foremost. A person who loves can’t be provoked into anger by the actions of others. Love doesn’t believe or expect the worst in others—it makes space for that person to grow and change. It doesn’t gloat over the failures of others—it rejoices in truth. These checkpoints let us know where we are in the pursuit of love. 

Love never fails. Love is kindness—and it draw us to repentance. It is greater than faith or hope. Do we need all three? Absolutely. But pursue love and the others will fall into place. 

Faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love.  ❤️