Keeping the Cross Relevent

We enjoyed a special guest speaker in our church last night.  His name is Dan Johnson, and his ties to Crosby go way back to when he was a youngster.  His father was the District Superintendent of the North Dakota Assemblies of God, and he often travelled around the state with him.

His message, which was so relevant for our nation at this point in time, asked the question, "What happens when the cross is removed?"  Or, in other words, what becomes of our country when the preaching of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is no longer heard?  He gave a series of four things which would happen.

The first on the list was the disappearance of truth.  Since we know by John 14:6 Jesus is the way, truth and life, removing Him from the picture also removes truth.  Suddenly, my truth doesn't have to be your truth.  Each one determines what is right in their own eyes.

This leads to the second thing on the list, which is the unraveling of culture.  Because there are no boundaries, moral barriers fall.  One need not look far to see this is already happening in our nation.  Eventually, this will bring us to point three, which is when our freedom vanishes and lastly the loss of the soul.

A morning reading in "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, enlightened me further as to why the cross of Christ is relevant.  Without the cross, we do not have a means of redemption from the sin nature which entered the human race through the original sin in the Garden of Eden.

The devotional pointed out the nature of sin is not necessarily always immorality and wrongdoing, but rather "my claim to my right to myself".  If you think about it, sin began when Adam and Eve decided to do things their way, while no longer listening to what God asked of them.

An easy way to remember what sin is about is to look at its central component.  In the middle of "SIN" is always an "I".  When our focus changes from our Savior to ourselves, it is the sin nature taking control.  As Mr. Chambers put it, "The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, "I am my own god."

Tonight, I am thankful for the cross.  I am thankful for my Savior, who died a gruesome death on the cross.  I am thankful for God's mighty resurrection power which overcame death and gave us the promise of eternal life because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross.  Tonight I rededicate my life to carrying on the message of the cross.  Thank you, Dan Johnson, for the challenge!