The One Who Died for Me

By Charles Curtis

    Alexander the Great, with his arm, captured a small village. The citizens of the village were brought before Alexander at which time their future was determined.
    There appeared before him a young man, his bride and his bride's mother. As they stood before Alexander, the young man was asked, "What would you give for your life?" upon which he replied, "I would give all my gold and silver, Sir."
    Then Alexander asked, "What would you give for the life of your wife?" upon which he replied, "I would give my life, Sir." Alexander said, "Let them go free."
    As they left, the mother asked the daughter, "Did you see the golden coat Alexander had on?" "No," replied the daughter, "I could only see the one who said, 'I would die for her.'"
    As we run the Christian race, we must keep our eyes on the one who died for us.

Source:
Pulpit Helps, date unknown

For Bloodstained Hands

By David A. Sargent

     In 1893 a great “Parliament of Religions” was held in Chicago, Illinois. Members of all the various cults were gathered in attendance: there were Hindus, and Buddhists, and representatives of all sorts of exotic Eastern religions. It was designed to be a great festival of tolerance and ecumenical brotherhood, but a preacher, Joseph Cook of Boston, offered a reminder that not all religions are equal.
    During one of the sessions he rose and dramatically announced, “Gentlemen, I beg to introduce to you a woman with a great sorrow. Bloodstains are on her hands, and nothing she has tried will remove them. The blood is that of murder. She has been driven to desperation in her distress. Is there anything in your religion that will remove her sin and give her peace?” A hush fell on the gathering. Not one of the swamis or monks said a word.
    In the heaviness of that silence Cook abruptly raised his eyes heavenward and cried out, “John, can you tell this woman how to get rid of her awful sin?” The preacher waited, as if listening for a reply. Suddenly he cried out, “Listen, John speaks. 1 John 1:7 – ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, purifies us from all sin.’”
    Not a soul broke the silence that followed; all the representatives of Eastern religions and Western cults sat speechless. Why? Because ONLY Christianity can make
that statement: only the shed blood of Jesus can claim the power to forgive
“all sin.” *
    This is a sublime truth for ALL of us because “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  ALL of us have the stain of guilt of sin in our lives.
What can wash away my sin and yours?  Nothing but the BLOOD of Jesus!
    Peter and the other apostles preached to a crowd in Jerusalem that had the blood of Jesus Christ on their hands.  Peter declared, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
    Their response:  “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’" (Acts 2:37).  They wanted to know: Is there anything that can remove our sin and give us peace?
    The answer: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38).
    Amazing Grace!  The bloodstained hands of those who cried out for the crucifixion of Jesus could be washed clean by the blood that He shed on the cross!  Jesus made forgiveness possible by dying on the cross as payment for sin (Ephesians 1:7).
    In the same way, OUR bloodstained hands can be washed clean by the cleansing blood of Christ when we respond in faith: placing our trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).
    Won’t YOU be washed by the blood of Jesus to have your sins forgiven?

- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled Living Water."  To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org

* Source: Paul Lee Tam, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Illustration #479, page 203, as qtd. by Dan Williams, preaching minister for the College Avenue church of Christ in El Dorado, AR, in a sermon entitled “Power in the Blood.”  See www.cacoc.org

And There They Crucified Him

By Dwaine Powell

Everywhere you turn, the cross of Jesus Christ was there in Paul's life. It was central in his teachings and it was the core of his life. Nothing mattered more than the cross. When the Christians would gather together, the cross of Jesus was there. And when they left, the cross would follow them. Paul made us aware of the "beauty" of that cross. What better way could you describe the love of God demonstrated, he would tell the Christians in Rome. He also made us aware of the challenge the cross brings to our lives. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and have himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) This was the essence of his life, and the essence fo life for all who cherish the old rugged cross.

However, it is alarming at how the cross of Jesus is not central to our lives. I am not talking about our assembly. Our songs, our prayers, our reflection around the Lord's Table, the messages that are brought, all have the cross of Jesus in plain view. I'm talking about afterwards when we leave and go our separate ways. Does the cross of Jesus follow you home? Does it impact your marriage, your family, your relationship with your roommates? Is the cross of Jesus present at your workplace? Is it next to you in the classroom? How about on the lake, the golf course, or the battlefield? Is the cross of Jesus central in your every day life? Does it govern your thoughts? Does it shape your behavior? Are you crucified with Christ? Like Paul, is the cross of Jesus Christ the central core of your life?

If the cross is not present outside of our assembly, it is we who have hauled it out of sight. It is we who must restore it to the central place it deserves. The following piece by George MacLeod conveys a firm conviction that, hopefully, you possess.

I simply argue that the cross be raised again
at the center of the market place
as well as on the steeple of the church,
I am recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral
between two candles,
But on a cross between two thieves;
on a town garbage heap;
at a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan
that they had to write His title
in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek ...
And at the kind of place where cynics talk smut,
and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.
Because that is where He died,
and that is what He died about.
And that is where Christ's men ought to be,
and what church people ought to be about.

Source:
The Friendly Visitor , the weekly bulletin of the Auburn Church of Christ, Auburn, AL; June 5, 1997, p. 1. 

I Saw The Cross of Jesus

By Frederick Whitfield

I saw the cross of Jesus,
When burdened with my sin;
I sought the cross of Jesus,
To give me peace within;
I brought my soul to Jesus,
He cleansed it in His blood;
And in the cross of Jesus
I found my peace with God.

I trust the cross of Jesus,
In every trying hour,
My sure and certain refuge,
My never failing tower;
In every fear and conflict,
I more than conqueror am;
Living, I’m safe, or dying,
Thro' Christ, the risen Lamb.

Source:
Unknown

The Appeal of the Cross

In the Royal Gallery at Munich there is a most impressive painting by the famous artist, Correggio. It represents the bleeding, thorn-crowned Savior in His suffering. The rope which binds the hands of the suffering Divine victim is represented as depending on the Latin inscription which, translated into English, reads:

"I have borne these things for thee;
What hast thou done for Me?"

Source:
Pulpit Helps, date unknown.