for thought and meditation

[Markopolo]

brrrr. 30f and freezing rain..


The Collision of God and Sin
By Oswald Chambers

…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree… —1 Peter 2:24

The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross— He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right-standing relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.

The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus— He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The incarnation of Christ would have no meaning without the Cross. Beware of separating “God was manifested in the flesh…” from “…He made Him…to be sin for us…” (1 Timothy 3:16 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both.

The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the Cross of God, and it can never be fully comprehended through human experience. The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there.

The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.

have a blessed monday!

[Pine Baron]

Great message. Thanks Marko. Stay safe brother.

[Blackwater]

Wow! Some great and wonderful thoughts there. So often we try to figure out God and His will by relating it to our own experiences, but that's a pipe dream. His experience is so much broader and different than ours, we have to set our sights on developing a new understanding, for if we stick merely to our own experience, we'll never rid ourselves of the things that so often keep us wedded to our "old ways." Things like spite, retribution, fear, distrust, and all the 7 deadly sins. Of these, perhaps fear is the most insidious of these factors. It prevents us from truly seeking out a better way, and keeps our feet cemented right where they are - stuck in the tendency toward sin. I guess that's why we were told to "Fear not!"

[Boaz]

Thank you Marko . The triumph of our Lord over this world in payment of our sin . His offer of salvation still stands .

[USMC87]

Amen!