THE CROSS ......WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE ?

When we reflect upon the CROSS of JESUS what do we see ? Jesus' resolve to go to the CROSS is powerful , life giving and world changing , what alternatively is our response ?
Take time to reflect and see yourself in this scene :It is in the crucified Christ that we see the immense love of a Saviour , there is nothing JESUS will not face , will not endure at the hands of His own creation.

But the cross reveals who we really are to , Judas : for whom money was more important than any relationship, perhaps the zealot who hopes to force Jesus' hand & manipulate Him into supporting his own ideology.Caiaphas; with his impeccable ecclesiastical logic that 'it is better for one man to die for the people'.
Pilate: the victim of circumstance- on the opposite side of the debate to Caiaphas but playing the same rules : someone's head must roll: if not Jesus it will be his own.
The cynical witnesses: who remembered only the incriminating words & forgot the message.
Peter with his inappropriate self-confidence.
The crowd: in it's mindless thirst for blood.
The soldiers :in their casual brutality.
The centurion: who admired from a distance.
The disciples who ran away.
We actually are all part of this human drama; there is a part in all of us which still says that the safest response to God is to kill Him whilst we have a chance, to get Him out of our lives, to make Him leave us alone, so we can have the security of our preferred politics, our 'cosy religion', our form of godliness but denying the power & His Lordship in our lives.

My cry this easter is to JESUS today :''Help us all not to run away, but to face the truth that our sin is more complicated, more insidious, more devastating than we could ever dream and that the CROSS JESUS died on is our only hope of forgiveness , healing , restoration , liberty , cleansing and eternal life with the Father .
Today .......this Easter ..... reach out to the only One Saviour of the world and be set free from yourself .

Every prayer & blessings to my readers over this Easter vigil & celebration.

1 Corinthians 1 :18 "FOR 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".

PROMOTE THE CAUSE OF JESUS CHRIST PASSIONATELY

If you are not practicing servant heart characteristics , it is most probable that you are becoming self-serving, and that is a very sad state to find oneself in . The world is full of self-serving individuals who outrageously promote self-interest at the expense of many others ' basic needs, this behaviour is pandemic and really the only way out is through the cross of Jesus and a sense of deep repentence.Promote the cause of Jesus Christ and you will be less tempted to promote YOURSELF! Here are some thoughts to ponder: 1.With a cause , Samson won many battles ; without one (other than himself), he couldn't beat the temptation posed by Delilah. 2. With a God-given cause, Saul conquered the kingdom; without one , he could not conquer his own jealousy. 3. With God's cause, David conquered Goliath; wothout one, he could not conquer his own lust. 4. With a cause sent by God , Elijah prayed down fire from heaven and beat 450 prophets of Baal; without one, he ran in fear from a solitary woman called Jezebel. 5. With a 'JESUS - CENTRED' cause , Simon Peter preached at Pentecost and 3.000 people were saved; without one and thinking only of himself he denied that he even belonged to the crowd that followed Jesus. Today whose cause are you serving ? Are you only interested in "self -preservation" or the eternal , lifegiving cause of JESUS CHRIST? Read Matthew 7:15-20