Only Christ

Where is our hope? What does Christ’s work on the cross really mean for us? Does any of it really matter now? Most Christians really don’t think about these questions at all, let alone in depth. Some don’t care, others are afraid of the answers or how the answers would confront modern culture. Yet these questions are fundamental for our life now and in eternity.

 

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

 

Only in Christ should we place our hope and trust. He is the only One eternal and all powerful, the only One completely trustworthy. He should be the One to light our way. He said He is the light. John 1:5 His truth shines in the darkness and reveals what is out there. It shows us where to go, how to live. He is our strength. Only He can give us what we need for this live, and He has already done it. We only need to seek Him. It is only right for us to sing His praises. He is the cornerstone we are built upon, the only cornerstone that provides a firm foundation. Ephesians 2:20 Only He and His truth can withstand the storms of life. We could never comprehend the full height, depth, or power of His love. Ephesians 3:18-19 His peace is beyond understanding. Philippians 4:6-7 Once we trust Him fully, our fears give way. When we stop trying to do life on our own, we find His strength and peace. He should be everything to us. We can stand unafraid because of His love for us.

 

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

 

Jesus is the only Son of God. He has all authority, power and kingship. Yet, He gave that all up to become a man, born as a helpless child, so that He could be a sacrifice for us. Philippians 2:7-8 He freely gives us His love and righteousness, things we could never accomplish or earn on our own. He died for us while we were still sinners, even enemies of God, but He did it anyway. Romans 5:9 How great a love! God’s wrath against all sin was laid on Him and fully satisfied and satiated. Isaiah 53:5 His death brought us life, here on earth and eternity. Prior to belief in His sacrifice we are spiritually dead. Romans 6:23 It is only faith in Him that can make us alive. We can live a full life because of His death.

 

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

 

If Christ had died and stayed dead as every other human, He would not have been God. But He was raised back to life on the third day to conquer death and prove His deity. Acts 2:32-33 He stands in Heaven victorious over sin and death. He paid the debt of sin that we owe so that we could gain His righteousness and live forever with Him. Once we give our lives to Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. We are free. Not free to live as we want, but free to choose obedience to Christ. Free to live a life free from sin. We are bought with His blood. How can we respond in any way but in grateful obedience and submission!

 

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

 

In Christ, we are no longer condemned by our sin. We have no guilt before God. The enemy tries to make us feel guilty and ashamed, but we are free to reject it and accept the love and forgiveness Christ purchased on the cross. Romans 8:1-2 We no longer need to fear death because Jesus conquered death. Once we die we will be in heaven and free from this life. Jesus is in complete control. He orchestrates our being, our every breath. Yes, we still have the freedom to choose what we do, but we are longer enslaved to sin and unable to make that choice. Nothing can remove us from His love. John 10:28, Romans 8:38-39 We have His power. We can and should live in that power because He died to give it to us.

 

Is your hope in Christ and what He has done for you? What does this mean for your life? How will it change the way that you live?

 

 

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com)

Words of Life

It is said that “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me,” but that is just not true. Some claim that words have never hurt them, but anyone who knows them see the fallacy. Words can be very powerful, especially depending on who says them and how. Some can give life, others bring death. They affect some people more than others, but no one is completely immune to their impact. Just because we are numb on the outside does not mean that they do not affect us, we are simply unaware of it. It is important that we focus on words that give life, rather than bringing death, both in what we say and what we hear and believe.

 

Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty.

 

Words of life are worth repeating and dwelling on. They are things we should seek to hear and realize. There is more to it than just hearing, we need to believe and see them with our mind’s eye. The reason these words are so important is because they teach us faith and duty. They guide us on the right path, in a life of beauty.

 

Christ, the blessed one, gives to all
Wonderful words of life;
Sinner, list to the loving call,
Wonderful words of life;
All so freely given,
Wooing us to heaven.

 

These wonderful, life-giving words come from Christ. He is the Word of God, and offers them to all who will hear and yield. None is so bad that His words cannot bring them life. Born as sinners, we are all dead spiritually, but Christ can bring us to life if we will heed His words, believing and acting upon them. We don’t have to earn them, and we could never deserve them. He offers them freely because He wants us to go to heaven, but we have to accept them.

 

Sweetly echo the gospel call,
Wonderful words of life;
Offer pardon and peace to all,
Wonderful words of life;
Jesus, only Savior,
Sanctify forever.

 

These wonderful words are the gospel, the Good News that Jesus died in our place for our sins so that we may gain His righteousness and become children of God. We all deserve death, but a pardon has been offered making peace between us and the God we have offended. This comes only through Jesus as Lord and Savior, surrendering our lives to Him. Then He takes on the process of sanctification, making us more and more like Him every day until we reach heaven and perfection.

 

Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.

 

These words, the Word of God, are beautiful and wonderful. They bring life to the dead and beauty to the barren and broken. They are worth repeating and meditating on every day of our lives, to remind ourselves of their beauty and wonder. Who could help but sing such life giving words!

Hymn by Philip Bliss, taken from Hymnary.org 

Bloodguiltiness: Lent week 2

In our preparation for Resurrection Sunday last week we considered dust, what we have come from and what we will return to. Apart from God that is all we are. God breathed life into us. He sustains us. He gives us all we have and makes us all we are. Of ourselves, we are nothing.

 

But that life He gave us is not enough. He breathed life into mankind at creation, but we fell back into death through sin. Though alive physically, we all begin life dead spiritually. Sin separates us from God. It is only by His sacrifice on the cross that we can gain spiritual life. In 40 days, we will celebrate that sacrifice, Christ’s victory on the cross to defeat our sin and His resurrection to give us eternal life. Take some time to read Psalm 51.

 

Psalm 51 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings.
Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in secret You will make wisdom known to me.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones You have broken rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.

Create in me a clean heart, God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach wrongdoers Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
Lord, open my lips,
So that my mouth may declare Your praise.
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

 

Ask God to draw your attention to sins which are preventing you from having the life of His fullness. Ask Him to reveal to you sins you may not be aware of.

 

Psalm 139:23-24 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

 

Take some time to write down what God has revealed to you, sins you have been ignoring, denying or even harboring. Be open to God’s revelation and prompting throughout the week. Keep them on a piece of paper in your Bible or some place safe until next week.

A Time to Die

The memorial for my husband’s cousin yesterday made me think. He was young, had 4 kids, it seemed so tragic. He was the first of 8 people who died last week that were family, friend, or family of a friend. My husband’s response was that people die every day, we just don’t hear about it. Death is an unfortunate part of living in this sin-filled world. It will happen to all of us, and never when we expect it. If we can’t stop it, how can we learn from it?

 

Death Is Not The End

In so many ways, death seems like the end, and in some ways it is. It is the end of an earthly life, the end of an earthly relationship. For Christians it is also the end of suffering and pain and, ironically, the end of death. There is more after death. It is not the end of everything, only of what is earthly and temporary. What we believe about God determines what will follow death; life or torment. That is what happened at the first Easter. Jesus defeated death so that it was no longer the ultimate end. We don’t have to fear death anymore. We have victory through the power of the cross and hope in the empty tomb. For those who believe in Jesus, we can look forward to eternity after death in paradise with God. And though we will continue to lose those we love, we need not mourn for them, only for us, for they have seen the end of suffering and pain! If they and we have found true life on earth (salvation) we will share in eternal life in heaven and we will see them again. We can rejoice in death!

Fear Of Dying

Many people have a fear of dying. No one will escape death, but no one knows how or when they will die. Many also do not know what happens after death. Especially in America, the idea of Hell has many people worried even if they do not believe in God or life after death. That fear can actually be good, as a motive to discover eternal life, but that fear should never overwhelm us, especially as believers.

Psalm 116:15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.