The Cross

Dear Ones, 

‘Calvary is the secret of it all’ has been my dominating thought this week. All Jesus accomplished on the Cross is His provisional force in our lives when we appropriate this truth by faith. Our daily walk is transformed by His resurrection power; as we count (appropriate) the truth that we are crucified with Christ and we are risen with Christ and hang on, we are ascended with Christ. You and I are seated at the right hand of the Father, ‘in’ Christ. The heavenly Father sees us in His Son, Jesus…. Perfect.

Understanding this phase of our Christian walk and appropriating the facts of the Cross is a most difficult time for the believer who is verdantly pursuing the God. Our Lord holds great treasures within Himself, which He promises to disclose! Glory to God!

John 16:13- 15  But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Today we hear much about church life that consists of programs and numbers and much ado about nothing!  Where is Christ? Where the Cross? No Cross, no life. No Cross, no Christ centered growth. Just people asking God to bless their ideas and programs. Where is the beholding Him? The Lord does not disclose Himself to those who know nothing of the Cross, nothing of “Not I, but Christ”. There is no victory for us that was not first His. The provision we are to ‘know’, He purchased. What He purchased, we should be experiencing. I hope the Lord disclosed Himself to you in wonderful ways, as you met with Him in His Word! I want to share my thoughts from scripture this week:

Jesus revealed as the Word is the expression of Truth.

Jesus as revealed in the Word is the expression of Thought.

Jesus revealed as an infant born is the expression of deity.

Jesus revealed as the Shepherd is the expressions of loving watch care.

Jesus revealed as the Bread and living water is the expression of daily Provision.

Jesus revealed as Light is the expression of eternal Glory.

Jesus revealed as ‘I AM’ is the expression of Omnipotence.

Jesus revealed in nature is the expression of the Creator God.

Jesus revealed as the Healer is the expression of great Compassion.

Jesus revealed as Heavenly Father is the expression of relationship.

Jesus revealed as Teacher is the expression Forbearance.

Jesus revealed as Servant is the expression of Humility.

Jesus revealed at the Cross is the expression of Sacrificial Love.

Jesus revealed as the resurrection is the expression of Omnipotence.

Jesus revealed as LORD of all is the expression of His Purpose

Jesus revealed in miracles is the expression of the merciful, Most High God.

These thoughts inspired me to behold Him in all His beauty; as I waited on Him to disclose Himself to me, by His Spirit, through His word. My heart cry echo’s that of Paul in Philippians three,

‘All I want is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection… becoming like Him… ‘

Lord, You who know me and still love me, I bow in awe of Your greatness, for it is immeasurable. Thank You for revealing Yourself in a myriad of ways. I long to know You. Teach me who You are! Disclose Yourself to me. Thank You for the hard times that drive me to You. I hunger for You. I do not have to look any farther than the face of Jesus to see You. I love the name, “I AM”. It has no beginning and no end, but goes round and round! Just as You have no beginning and no end.  I have heard it said that, “You are not ‘I WAS’ or ‘I WILL BE' but 'I AM’, for You are forever present, outside of time! On my face, I cry ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ and pray in the holy name of ‘I AM'.

“…When the Lord Jesus said this word to the Jews, He dared to claim to be the great I AM of the old testament, whom they all knew to be the covenant God of their fathers. He went farther, saying that for them heir own eternal destiny would depend on their accepting Him as such, for He said,

“If ye believe not that I AM, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24)  RH

God’s personal name became Jehovah and Jesus claimed this for Himself. The meaning of the name Jehovah, in all it’s greatness, is two-fold. First it means all that He is, the Ever-present One, who stands outside of time, to whom there is no past, nor future, but to whom every thing is ‘present’.   “Before Abraham was, I AM.” The name Jehovah is also connected with Israel, as His people, the Chosen Ones, whom He brought into covenant relationship with Himself.

Jesus wants to ‘Be’ all those things and more, to each of us. Oh that we are willing and ready to welcome Him, who delights to turn our sorrows into that which will bring about the likeness of Christ in us! He longs for fellowship with us. He does not want patronage.

It is a good thing to go through hard times, and even to experience grief and loss. Of course it doesn’t seem like a good thing to our flesh. But adversity makes us realize this world is not our true home, for here we have no lasting peace of comfort. TK

Brothers and Sisters I have prayed for you this week. Especially you who live in countries closed to the Gospel of Christ and are called to lay down your lives for the sake of Jesus. May God give you endurance and fill you with faith to trust Him even unto death.

We walk by faith and not by sight,

az

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