A Cross Stands Over the World

A Cross stands over the world calling the world to God.  

"And I, if I be lifted up, will draw the world unto Myself."

"Every knee shall bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." 

     
   Before darkness covered the scene of that crucifixion day, soldiers forced the piercing of the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had walked upon the earth in love, preaching and healing. His arms, which had reached out to the world in love, were forcibly stretched out against that cruel Cross. His hands that had touched and healed were subjected to agony as nails pounded into them to fix them upon that Cross. With a great heave, men dropped that Cross into the ground, and the Lord's body was lifted up, on display. His head wore the crown of thorns put there by hateful men. 
   The Lord of the world spoke gracious words from that Cross of shame. He crowned the words with Truth. Jesus, the Strength of the world, committed His Spirit into the hands of the Father... from that Cross. 

   What a tree it was that held the suffering, bloody body of the perfect Son of God. He paid the price for our sin, yours and mine, from that Cross. He died, in obedience to the Father, to pay the measureless debt of a sin-sick world. 
   The tree that must have groaned under its horrendous task of death would become the symbol of undying Love to the world. That Cross stands over the world in spiritual realms, and I can only envision it as if it were supported by invisible Pillars of Power...God's power. 
   That Cross continues to be the means by which Christ is lifted up, and He is drawing the world to Himself. It is the empty Cross of the Risen Christ, drawing the world to God through His Son. The nations will understand one day and every knee shall bow, every tongue and language shall confess...the Savior of the world. Let us who owe all to Christ praise and adore Him.

    

Copyright (c) 2013 Opine Publishing and Opinari Writers.

Presuming that God has Immeasurably Blessed Us

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Jean Purcell

Twitter @opinaripeople

Christmas is a special time to reflect on God making Himself available to the world. Without trust in God, individuals, tribes, and nations are left with no more than human knowledge, tradition, experience, reasoning, and wits to figure life out... to try to make life--and, for nations, the world--work well and peaceably; yet, natural reserves are not enough: there is no sense of gratitude toward God or thankfulness beyond self-accomplishment or the good deeds of others; and a direct connection between good from others and God's help stays out of mind.  
     In a natural state of mind, every new day brings a precarious position in a spiritual desert. Maybe that's why unbelievers or those on the fence tend to be angry about religion and to feel defensive about open professions of belief. Minds may open, however, at Christmas. 
     Otherwise, phrases like "God has blessed them" and "God is blessing us" can seem like pictures of presumption: "to go beyond what is right or proper and excessively forward. 
     Having walked in the dry fields of unbelief, I know the terrain. I remember Christmases without prayer or church. Thanks be to God for the many years on the green side by faith in God through Jesus Christ. Each Christmas is a time of rejoicing as Christians together and individually give thanks to God for sending Jesus, marveling at the fact that He came, and as the child of a virgin, made known by holy decree and possible in a hidden mystery.   
     I think that God's inspired, written Word shows that we can be presumptuous about what He has said through the prophets and apostles. Prophets inspired by God foretold One who would come. God so loved the world that He did give that One, Jesus, to come, to live, and to die...among weak men and women during time of an outwardly powerful yet inwardly dying empire, Rome. 
     His love is never ending. The spirit within us rises to praise Him in amazement: Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name! (Psalm 103)    
     God allows us to presume that He is always faithful, based on His assurances of truth. He will never fail His own; He fulfills every promise to save, redeem from sin's power, to love, guide, bless, and help; He has pledged Himself to meet every need through belief, faith in Him.

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put 

their trust under the shadow of thy wings (Psalm 36.7). 

     Jesus Christ is true. This is sacred trust from God to us. The weak are strong in Him, the commonplace made holy. With amazement and need we lean upon the intrinsic giving within the mercies of God. His loving-kindness is forever. Man's desire for wholeness, safety, and security brings him to this divine love and faithfulness. What manner of mind would refuse God's grace?
     What a work of grace, that God would leave the glories of heaven to come to earth, to walk among men and women, children and natural creation! Face to face: what a marvel, that God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to become its Redeemer!     

    Here's wishing a joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year for you and yours through Jesus Christ our Lord, the adored Messiah, who is the Savior of the world. Alleluia.  

Copyright (c)2011 Opinari Writers

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Yes, We Consider and Taste the Goodness

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Painting of young Jesus and John the Baptist

Consider the goodness of Jesus, a Jew born in a time and place of the Roman Empire. It conquered Judah, Samaria, and beyond. God sent Jesus in those harsh days and revealed him as the one, God as man. 

     Today, some refer to "the Christian faith" and "Christianity." When he grew up and taught, Jesus didn't use those terms. They did not exist, and anyway, he warned about the dangers of religion. As the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus--Jeshua--showed complete authenticity, something longed for in every generation. He was not about religion. The Christ could not be untrue to the Father in heaven, to others, or to himself.

     Consider the forgiveness Jesus gave. A woman caught by others in adultery was close to being stoned when Jesus said a few words that made every hand drop the weapon in it and every foot depart and go its own way. At another time, a woman who knew that her sins had been forgiven shed tears of gratitude and love when she washed his feet. He said, "...she has shown great love," because "her sins, which were many, have been forgiven." (Luke 7:36-8:3)

     Consider the strength of Jesus. It is written that Albert Einstein said, as he saw Germany being run over by Hitler's conquering government, that "he  had always thought that when the crisis came to Germany, the universities would be the bulwark of human freedom..." However, the centers of higher learning and intellectualism "capitulated and collapsed" under the invasive pressures of the increasingly harsh and ruling government. It was the Christian church "that has kept alive whatever of freedom is left...."  Consider the goodness of unwavering and suffering strength, which is of God. In the 1930's, Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Germany, the ten Boom family of Holland, and countless other believers across Europe--kept human freedom alive by living in Christ and like him being faithful unto death. Taste that goodness!  

Romans 8:31-39

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? .... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Quoted texts are from Forward Day by Day, 1937, reprinted for July 6, 2010.

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Copyright (c)2011 Opinari Writers Network

Lent History, Facts, and Contemplation

**"Our Lamb has conquered. Let us Follow Him."

Re-posted - second week of Lent, 2012.
First posted during the First Week of Lent, 2011. Bookmark if you wish to return to review thoughts and facts here.

  All churches that have a continuous history extending before 1500 observe Lent.

-Loretta Sword, Pueblo Chieftan

"Some people give up things during Lent. Others choose to develop a new habit, such as daily Bible verse, or reading, or a devoted time for prayer, and so forth."

Lent through History

1. Lent through history has been recorded differently. Some say it began in the first century (see list below), while others say it began in 325 A. D. (Anno Domini [Latiin], "Year of the Lord") as part of the Council of Nicea (hence, Nicene Creed). 

2. When Lent began, it was a 40-hour period of preparation, in keeping with the three days between Jesus' bodily death and bodily resurrection and appearance to His followers.

3. Third century, Lent became a six-day period called Holy Week. Holy Week extended to more than one month, 36 days, which are one-tenth, a tithe, of the 365 days of a year. 

4. Eighth century, reign of Charlemagne, saw four days added, making Lent 40 days. Added days included Ash Wednesday (repentance) plus three days leading up to the First Sunday of Lent. 

5. The Sundays of Lent are excluded from the 40-days counted for Lent, "for they are the Lord's Day, which includes a celebration of the resurrection..."*

Lent is a preparation.

Lent is set aside to help believers in Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the world, as they
prepare, worldwide, to rejoice in worship, remembering 

the Resurrection of Jesus, bodily, on the third day after His bodily death

on the Cross of crucifixion.

Facts of Contemplation during Lent

 We repent of our sins. 

Daily we are sorry for our sins. 
During Lent, as at any time, we make a special renewal of thanks to God
for relieving us of the burden of sin. 
Jesus began His public teaching saying, "Repent"; we search our hearts regarding 

hidden sin, known and deliberate sin, against God in the 

things we do, say, or think that our true lives as

children of God. 

We contemplate the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ.  

We daily receive forgiveness from God as we confess and repent, desiring to keep ourselves
open to the Life and Light of God. During Lent we continue to

rejoice over the Lamb of God, "slain for the sins of the world." 


"...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time,
apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:28-NKJV).

We joyfully, and with amazement, contemplate the Gift that God
gave the world:
His only begotten Son.


"For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him 
might be saved" (John 3: 16, 17-NKJV).

We contemplate forgiveness, acceptance, 

and Eternal Life, through Christ

We strengthen our devotion, by faith (Acts 15:9).

We rejoice in Christ's Resurrection
and pray (John 17:17; 1 Tim. 4:5). 

We share.

We rejoice over the Resurrection of Jesus. In Him, we have love, hope, faith, fellowship, and service,
with the help of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

 
We rejoice in salvation, which we have by faith in Christ, the Lamb that was slain (Revelation 13).

We rejoice that in Christ we overcome whatever is against God: 
"Yet the devil's power and success are
limited. Christ has a chosen remnant, redeemed by his blood, 
recorded in his book, sealed by his Spirit; and though the devil and antichrist may overcome the body, and take away the natural life, they cannot conquer the soul, 
nor prevail with true believers to forsake their Saviour, and join his enemies. 
Perseverance in the faith of the gospel and true worship of God, in this great hour of trial 
and temptation, which would deceive all but the elect, is the character of those 
registered in the book of life. This powerful motive and encouragement to constancy, is the great design of the whole Revelation."
(from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the book of Revelation, chapter 13)

Sources

*Lent through history

**"Our Lamb Has Conquered"- the seal of the Moravian Church (photo),
Agnus Dei [Latin], meaning "Lamb of God."

(c) 2011-Opinari and Jean Purcell
Opinari [Latin]-think, reason, believe

From Luke's Gospel

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When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: 

“a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. 

When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,  

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
   you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
   and the glory of your people Israel.” 

Luke 2: 22-32*

*The New International Version of the Bible