The Power of the Cross

"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." (1 Corinthians 1:18)

I've been reflecting a lot recently on the power of the cross. The importance of it to our lives as Christians. The freedom that the sacrifice it represents has brought in our lives. The ongoing freedom the sacrifice it represents allows us to live in. The freedom from shame and condemnation that it brings.

Romans 8:1 tells us that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Without the cross we stand condemned because of our sin. With the cross, we are freed from the chains of sin that have bound us up.

When we come to the cross and realize the magnitude of what Jesus' death on the cross in our place accomplished, we are in the place where we can discover the power of the cross. When we accept the gift that is offered us to the cross, we find freedom from the power of sin in our lives.

The power of the cross becomes evident in our lives when we are willing to admit our brokenness and our need. When acknowledge our sin and our need for help. When we allow God to come in and be our strength, rather than trying to do it better on our own.

1 John 1: 9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." This is the starting place for discovering the power of the cross in our lives.

In Our Time of Need

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet He did not sin. Let us approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16, NIV 2011)

Those words from Scripture are ones I cling to. They contain an important truth for us to hold onto in our daily life.

When I'm tempted by sin, I'm not left on my own to beat it. Jesus has faced temptation when He was on earth and He didn't sin. He is able to help me in my temptation, if I ask Him for help. I don't have to deal with temptation on my own.

That's a liberating truth to grab hold of. It frees us from the never-ending cycle of defeat we get stuck in when we're trying to avoid giving in to temptation in our own strength. The pressure isn't on us to keep trying harder anymore.

In the moments when we're facing temptation, we can call out to Jesus for help and be confident He will meet us in our time of need and provide a way out for us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says,
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so you can endure it." (NIV 2011)

We discover the way out of our temptation when we call out for help when we're facing it. Because we always call to Him for help, we will always be able to endure it - it won't be more than we can bear, because we'll have God's help.

That's a pretty good promise to build our life upon. And it brings true freedom to us.

What Fills You Up?

Life is full of things we have to do. Lists if what is required of us.

Often, these lists can be full of things that drain us. Things that deplete us, but that we have to do anyways.

Sometimes we feel lucky. There's more things on the list that we get excited about doing, then things that deplete us.

But usually that only happens when we're intentional about building those things into our lives. We have to discover what it is that fills us up and then figure out how to do more of that.

Many of the activities that deplete us we won't be able to eliminate completely. They'll still be required as part of life. But, we can find ways to minimize the time we spend on them.

And that additional time we find can be used for those activities we have discovered that fill us up.

What fills you up? What things in your life leave you feeling refreshed and energized to face the list of things you have to do?

How do those things work in your schedule? Do you need to change things, so they're a regular part of your life?