Day 18:: The Cross: Are You Beyond It?

I believe we never "get beyond" the cross. We only go deeper into our grasp of what it means in every relationship, every desire, every goal, and every decision. --Nassar

If you sin, sin boldly. Every time you sin, you are saying that sin is worth more to you than the cross of Jesus Christ. --Charles Spurgeon {{If we sin boldly, we will be slapped in the face with the absurdity of what we are choosing in light of what Christ did on the cross. Some of us need to be slapped in the face. --Nassar}} **He paid a price (Whip tore chunks of skin and left his flesh exposed and bleeding; Nails ripped through real muscle and tendons and bone.) and for that, we owe him everything!**

"But," some people complain, "Christians are so arrogant. They say Jesus is the only way." No, it's not arrogant for god to humble himself to become a man and die a horrible death to pay for the sins of everyone who ever lived and then to say, "My forgiveness is yours if you want it." If there was another way, then God was cruel to have his Son die. If that's true, then he died for nothing. Muslims say Jesus was a prophet and a man of truth, but Jesus said "I am THE way," not just "a way" (John 14:6). --Nassar

• Luke 7:36-50. The woman was a sinful woman. She spent her time at the house pouring out her own tears onto the feet of Jesus and wiping them with her hair. She kissed his feet. Worshiped at his feet. She knew she was a sinner. She did this as a token of faith and was redeemed for it. Simon was judgmental of the woman. He didn't understand how her sins could be forgiven but not his own. The one who has more to repent of seems more appreciative of Jesus' forgiveness.. 
• In this parable, I'm more like Simon mostly, in the way that I don't feel like the sin I commit isn't 'as bad' as some others. I know that isn't right.
• It's not "What Would Jesus Do?"...It's what He did on that cross. If I can put that cross in the center of my life, everything else will fall into place right along with it. 
• Gore of the Cross...Healthy to dwell on it or not? I think this one can go either way. If I think about it too much, I feel completely unworthy of all it is. Why in the world would He suffer like that for ME?? But I do think that it should be thought about often...just to keep us in check as to what He did go through for us.
• Should a Christian wear crosses? As long as you know what it stands for, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Crosses aren't a profession of faith; it's a symbol of what Christ did for us. 

• Luke 3      John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.4As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: 
"A voice of one calling in the desert, 
'Prepare the way for the Lord, 
make straight paths for him. 
5Every valley shall be filled in, 
every mountain and hill made low. 
The crooked roads shall become straight, 
the rough ways smooth. 
6And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "[a]

7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.

11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"

13"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told

them. 14Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" 
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."

15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.[b] 16John answered them all, "I baptize you with[c] water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

19But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.