2007 March « No Other Rock

The Monster Exposed

March 31, 2007 at 7:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Satan, The Cross | Leave a Comment

Away with Him. ~ John 19:15
One died for all. ~ II Corinthians 5:14

The Cross is a revelation of two things; Human sin and Divine love.

In Christ, there was no fault and His genuineness displayed the hypocrisy of His persecutors. Therefore, they declared “Away with Him.”

All these people considered themselves godly. When you consider the nations that were represented, you can view their indictment:

The Hebrews, despite their boast of God-given religion, intensely hated Him. The Greeks, despite their boars of philosophy, blindly laughed at Him. The Romans, despite their boast of iron justice, publicly executed Him without fair trial.

This sin is the born of the same beast – monster – who entered the Garden of Eden. The murderous sin in elegant form was the same evil monster that nailed Jesus to the Cross.

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will continually pray against this monster no matter how attractive it might seem.

A Plea of Ignorance

March 30, 2007 at 7:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Christian, Prayer, faith, religion | Leave a Comment

Father, forgive them , for they know not what they do. ~ Luke 23:34

Do you ever get frustrated by that guy?

You know the one. The guy who will puff his chest out and get that smart-alecky look on his face as his ignorantly tries to dispel the Bible and assert that it is contradictory?

I know I do.

What about the guy (or gal) who deliberately sets out to spit in the face of God? They blatantly ignore anything that could be remotely considered Christian and mock people who are devoted to Him. They laugh and seemingly are comfortable with their place in the universe . . . because it revolves around them . . . or so they think.

I would wager to guess that I will more often get mad (mostly out of frustration) at that guy than I would pray for him and seek forgiveness for him. I guess I could go on a tangent about which one of us is more ignorant at this point, but I think that may risk on self-centeredness on my own part (UG! This selflessness thing is hard!).

If you are still with me, thank you. Sometimes my mind works in tangents. Going back to my place before the last sentence of the preceding paragraph (stay with me), I am reminded of a Thousand Foot Krutch song called This is a Call. Here are some lyrics:

He tells everyone a story
because he feels his life is boring,
and he fights so you won’t ignore him,
because that’s his biggest fear,
and he cries,
but you’ll rarely see him do it.
He loves, but he’s scared to use it.
So he hides behind the music,
cause he likes it that way.
He knows, He’s so much more than worthless,
he needs to find the surface,
because he’s starting to get nervous.

He’s calling out to you,
this is a call;
this is a call out,
‘ Cause every time I fall down,
I reach out to you,
and I’m losing all control now,
and my hazard signs are all out,
I’m asking you,
to show me what this life is all about. [see all the lyrics here]

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will remember to pray for “that guy” because he knows not what he does.

Blog Lesson Note: If you schedule a post to go live on the 30th, don’t transpose the numbers or it will appear with a posting date of the third. Seems logical.

The First Cry From the Cross

March 29, 2007 at 7:00 am | In Awake My Heart | Leave a Comment

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. ~ Luke 23:34

This was the first of Christ’s seven utterances at his crucifixion. I don’t know about you, but if someone were to nail limbs to a cross, break my legs, ridicule and slander me among a host of other terrible things all in the name of killing me and – even worse – seeking to diminish the kingdom of God – the last thing on my mind would be to wish forgiveness for those who are perpetrating the event.

But that is Christ.

His love and His selflessness is a characteristic we all should strive towards. How many times have you had the opportunity to be noble, to pray for those who have seemingly harmed you – but you have chosen to look upon them with disdain and hatred?

Thankfully, Christ was a concerned being. So concerned was he for these persons that he sought their forgiveness. When you consider it in a broader perspective, who was He praying for?

Might there have been times where we have been just as underhanded and unworthy as the men who were there that day? When Christ asked his Father to “forgive them” do you think He included you and I as part of that collective “them”?

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will seek forgiveness for others no matter the harm they have caused us. May we leave our ill will at the Cross.

The Wondrous Cross

March 28, 2007 at 7:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Christ, Jesus, The Cross | Leave a Comment

Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

Continuing with our devotions where the Cross is the focal point, I felt compelled to detail the account below as presented by Baxter for today’s message. Keep in mind that this is a very real event that did occur. Then, consider the magnitude:

It is not merely that Christ was put to death for us. He “died”, that is, He voluntarily and deliberately yielded Himself up to it for us. His death was not merely an execution inflicted upon Him, or a savage injustice which just happened; it was an externally significant ordeal which He himself purposefully underwent with a view to our redemption . . . Triunity foreknew it, and anticipated it, and overruled it, so that Sin’s foulest revolt became Love’s sublimest victory. Yes, He “died”. What it cost Him we can never know, except in distant dimness; but the enormity of anguish involved in bearing the damning weight of human sin, from the beginning to the end of time, He knowingly determined to bear. Such was His love for us. Oh, how we should love Him!

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will work toward loving others – even those we hate – with the a more Christ-like compassion.

When I Survey…

March 27, 2007 at 7:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Christ | Leave a Comment

Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:8

Four simple words.
So powerful and so so true.
The most startling event of all the ages and incomprehensible mysteries of the Godhead. There before us hung our Master . . . nailed to a wooden plank.

Yet he did it for us!

Must we not “pour contempt on all our pride“?

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will pray and meditate on these four simple words: “Christ died for us” and consider how they apply within our lives.

The Transfiguring Cross

March 26, 2007 at 8:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Christ, God, Jesus, Savior | Leave a Comment

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw men unto me. ~ John 12:32

Our sins are not only a sin against God’s law, they are inflictions upon God’s heart. His son was man, but he was God-Man and as such, he was the broken-hearted suferer on Calvary.

Surely the godly were confused to see Jesus up on the cross; just as we are confused when something in life happens that cuases us to realize we have change our plans becuase they are not God’s plans. But as Baxter references William Cowper, we learn that “Behind a frowning providence, God hides a smiling face.”

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will make our sufferenings less about what is happening to us and more about how God is working in us.

The Outward Versus the Inward

March 25, 2007 at 8:25 am | In Awake My Heart, Christ | 1 Comment

And I, if I be lifted up up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. ~ John 12:32

Today’s devotion expands upon yesterday’s. While it made me think less about tattoos, I still think there is a connection. It’s all about inward and outward reflections.

When you think of tattoos on people, I am sure you think about a variety of thinks . . . mostly associated with bikers, drugs, infections, parlors, nightlife, etc. I know I do at least (now, I know some are thinking “What about Fantasy island” – but that’s not where I am going right now).

Tattoos are not typically associated with good, Bible abiding Christians. But there are many who have tattoos.

Now let’s look at the Cross. We see a rugged, old, gnarly symbol of corruption and filth. Clearly, when Christ’s persecutors placed Jesus on the perch, they intended to make an example of Him. They wanted Him to be ridiculed.

But instead, Jesus was lifted up. With Christ on the Cross, it becomes something more.

“When Jesus is lifted up, Satan is cast down. When heaven bleeds on that Cross, hell is defeated by its own stratagems. Calvary is transformed; and Jesus, knowing all things, calls it His being lifted up! That which showed how much He was hated, is that for which He is now most loved. That Cross of start desertion is the very magnet which ‘draws all men’ to Him.”

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will teach others about the Cross and how it is transformed by Christ.

The Victim Is the Victor!

March 24, 2007 at 8:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Christ, Christian | 6 Comments

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. ~ John 12:32

Mat's Tattoo As I read today’s devotion, I thought about tattoos.

Yes, tattoos.

One of my lifelong friends (Mat at From The Morning) got a tattoo a while back, and he has blogged about it. I suspect that he is often agitated at the number of people who come to his blog via search engines by typing something like “Is it okay for a Christian to get a tattoo?” because he finds it to be a very silly fragment of the much bigger scope of Christian living.

But I thought about his tattoo in particular. I am posting a picture of it here. You may have to look at it for a moment, but when you read this passage as presented by Baxter and then examine the tattoo, you’ll understand why I am thinking of it just now:

That Cross gives Christ a higher glory than even the throne of heaven, apart from it, could ever give Him! Little did His murderers suspect it, but in crucifying Him, they were glorifying Him. He was being “lifted up” indeed, but not merely in the way which they intended! His crucifixion was a coronation! He was there crowned as the King of Love. To the perceiving eyes of His redeemed people, the thorn on His brow become eternal diadems, and His wounds the divinest gems in the universe.

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will shine victorious for Christ even when we become victims.

Tags: Christian Tattoos Rise Up

Why the Cross?

March 23, 2007 at 8:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Christ | Leave a Comment

Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! ~ John 1:29

Why did God use the cross? Was there no other way?

Perhaps there is the thought that God could have simply said that all sins are forgiven. But the mere fact that redemption was a necessity also points to the very real fact that damnation exists.

Yet, that redemption could not be so simple. It needs to be demonstrative to the observing world that illustrates the sacredness of God’s Holy Law. It must show the detestability of sin in God’s eyes.

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will graciously thank God for providing His lamb . . . for us.

The Great Sin-Bearer

March 22, 2007 at 8:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Christ | Leave a Comment

Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! ~ John 1:29

Continuing with yesterday’s thoughts on Jesus’ role as the Lamb of God, we consider the significance.

Jesus was provided by God. In the day, Jews were used to having to provide their own labs for use in temple sacrifices. In this case, God provided the lamb to be sacrifice for us.

Jesus Christ is the divine lamb. The very fact that He could become the bearer of sin for the entire world implies His role as Godhead. Could you imagine being a creature of such prominence that you would be a worthy sacrifice to atone for the sins of all of mankind? For all of existence?

Now, could you imagine being that creature . . . humble as a lamb?

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will meditate on Christ’s sacrifice for us.