Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Power of the Cross!
Oh, to see the dawn,
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then,
Nailed to a cross of wood.
Oh, to see the pain,
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed,
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.
This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us.
Took the blame,
bore the wrath
-We stand forgiven at the cross.
Now the daylight flees,
Now the ground beneath,
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
'Finished!' the victory cry.
Oh, to see my name,
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death,
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.
This, the power of the cross:
Son of God - slain for us.
What a love!
What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend Copyright © 2005
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Is Your Cowbell Ringin'?
I have five siblings. We grew up in a subdivision of similar houses to our own and crossed by streets and drainage ditches, not unlike many of you.
Mom stayed at home when we were younger, and because we might all be in different places throughout the neighborhood, she had a simple rule - when she called us home, we had to come right away.
She had a unique way of calling us. Sometime in years past she had bought a "tool" that would serve her well. It was an old cowbell. At dinner time, or at dusk, she or my father would just open the back door and ring the cowbell. If you heard it, you'd better run home as fast as you could. The key was you had to be close enough to hear it. If you didn't hear it, and you didn't realize what time it was, (none of us had watches when we were that young), then you were going to be disciplined when you got home.
All of our friends knew about the cowbell, too, and they knew what would happen if we didn't obey. They didn't want their playmates to be grounded, (or worse), and so if they heard the bell they would yell, "Hey, Tabor, your mom's ringin' the cowbell!". So even if we didn't hear it, we had friends to "encourage" us.
Our Heavenly Father, in the same way, calls us to "come and dine". In John 21 verse 12 the Bible says,"Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine."
In Revelation chapter 3 verse 20 Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
He calls for you to come have dinner with Him, a feast on His Word - fellowship with the Creator of the universe.
However, you have to be close enough to hear. You must stay close to home - close to friends who can encourage you, admonish you to hurry back to be near your Father.
Are you close enough to hear the cowbell ringin'?
MT
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