DAY 1 – APRIL
18
TITLE: “SIN”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:13-15
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:13
KEY VERSE: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive
with Christ...” Colossians 2:13
Susanna
Wesley was born on January 20, 1669 and died on July 23,1742.
She was born Susanna Annesely and was the 25th
of 25 children. Susanna married Samuel Wesley on November 11, 1688. They had 19
children. Nine of her children died as infants, and at the time of her death,
only eight of her children were still alive. Though she never preached a sermon
or published a book or founded a church, she is known as the Mother of
Methodist. This is because of her two sons, John Wesley and Charles Wesley and her
influence upon them.
Susannah
Wesley defined "sin" to her young son, John Wesley this way, "If
you would judge the lawfulness or the unlawfulness of pleasure, then take this
simple rule: Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience,
obscures your sense of God, and takes off the relish of spiritual things--that
to you is sin."
Nazarene
author, C. Neil Strait, wrote, “Sin does not serve well as gardener of the
soul. It landscapes the contour of the soul until all that is beautiful has
been made ugly; until all that is high is made low; until all that is promising
is wasted. Then, life is like the desert-parched and barren. It is drained of
purpose. It is bleached of happiness. Sin, then, is not wise, but wasteful. It
is not a gate, but only a grave.”
Dr. Ralph Sockman writes about an experience he
had while standing on the edge of
In his letter
to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul wrote,
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used
to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the
kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient.” Ephesians 2:1-2. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. It is God’s
love and mercy that awakens us from the death of sin and makes us alive with
Christ.
DAY 2 – APRIL
19
TITLE: “THE OLD RUGGED CROSS”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
READING: Colossians 2:13-15
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:14
KEY VERSE: “Having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross.”
Colossians 2:14
Though some
have tried to side step the cross, scripture makes the significance of the
cross clear. John’s gospel, which provides a three-year chronology of Jesus’
ministry, nevertheless, devotes nine of its twenty-one chapters to the brief
time period extending from Jesus’ last evening with His followers to His
resurrection. All four gospels sketch with vivid colors the significance of Jesus’
death, pointing out its importance to the Christian faith and to our daily
lives.
The cross
speaks of what Christ has done for us. Because of the cross, the written code,
with all of its regulations against us, has been canceled. Jesus took it away,
nailing it to the cross so we can be free to live the life God desires us to
live. Will you take a few moments today to reflect upon the cross and its
significance to your life as you reflect on this song written by George Bennard.
On a hill far away, stood an old
rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the
dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
(Refrain)
So, I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some
day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised
by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His
glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
In that old rugged cross, stained with
blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus
suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
To that old rugged cross, I will ever
be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He'll
call me some day to my home far away,
Where His
glory forever I'll share.
DAY 3 – APRIL
20
TITLE: “NAILING IT TO THE CROSS”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:13-15
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:14
KEY VERSE: “Having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross.”
Colossians
2:14
When I was in
high school, I had an encounter with a nail that I will never forget. I was
with a group of teenagers from my church on a mission trip in
Stephen
Ambrose told the story of the Transcontinental Railroad that was built from
1863-1869, describing what happened during the building of the rails that led
West in a book written in 2000. As one person summarized, there were a series
of wagons that were pulled by great horses. One wagon would carry about forty rails, another would be filled with the proper amount of
spikes and railroad ties. From that wagon, four men would grasp the rail and
anchor it into place. At the command of “Down!”, they
would drop the rail into it’s place. Every thirty
seconds, there came that brave “Down, down, down!” from either side of the
track. The chief spiker was ready; the gauger stooped and measured, the sledges rang out. Two
rails every thirty seconds, one on each side, four rails a minute. As the rails went down, they were gauged by a
measuring rod exactly 48 ½ inches. When the wagon was emptied, in about ten
minutes time, covering a little over 80 feet further down the line, another
horse-drawn wagon was immediately settled into place to follow the same suit.
There were
thirty men driving in the spikes, on the outside and on the inside, with three
strokes of the sledgehammer per spike, ten spikes to the rail, four-hundred
rails to the mile, and it was 1800 miles across Nebraska and into San Francisco
on the Union Pacific Rail. Twenty-one million times those sledgehammers had to
be swung. The pace of the rails going down was as fast as a man could walk at a
normal pace. In the end, when the finishing touches had been placed on the
track, an average of nine to ten thousand spikes had been placed in the rails
per mile. Through the nails used, something significant was accomplished in
that it made transport and transportation possible.
The nails on the cross of Jesus speak of something so significant and important
that my words cannot express its glory. That which stood against us was taken
away and nailed to the cross. It makes a new life possible through the work
Christ did on the cross. Take a few moments to reflect on the nails on the
cross and what they mean for you today.
DAY 4 – APRIL
21
TITLE: “THE CROSS”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:13-15
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:15
KEY VERSE: “And having disarmed the
powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over
them by the cross.” Colossians
2:15
The cross
speaks of death but it also speaks of life. It paints a picture of suffering at
its worst and salvation at its best. The cross speaks of the defeat of powers
and authori5tes and the victory of Christ. John wrote, “I have told you these
things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. Our hope lies in the
crucified one who was victorious at the cross. Take a few minutes to reflect on
the cross and its significance for you as you reflect on these words.
Alas! And did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
for sinners such as I?
(Refrain)
At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away;
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
Was it for crimes that I have
done,
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his
glories in.
When Christ,
the mighty Maker, died
For man, the
creature’s sin.
But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
'tis all that I can do!
(Isaac Watts, Refrain by Ralph Hudson)
DAY
5 – APRIL 22
TITLE: “THERE’S ROOM AT THE CROSS”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:13-15
DAILY
SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 2:15
KEY
VERSE: “And having disarmed the powers
and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the
cross.” Colossians 2:15
There
are many songs that have been written on the cross. In the devotionals for this
week, I listed the words of two of the more popular songs through the years. As
I kid growing up, my sister and I would often sit around the piano on Sunday
afternoons and sing some of the hymns and songs of the church. Several of them centered on the cross. Songs like “Lead Me
to Calvary, “When I Survey,” “Beneath the Cross of Jesus,” and “There’s Room at
the Cross” were among our favorites. The last song I mentioned has an
interesting story behind it.
Rev.
Ira Stanphill was preaching in a revival meeting in
Kansas City, Missouri. At the time, his custom was to ask the people to submit
suggested song titles while the congregation sang. As the choir presented their
favorite selections, he would proceed to write a gospel song, using as the
title one of those submitted by the audience. On this particular Sunday
morning, the people submitted about fifty ideas. Stanphill
quickly thumbed through the titles and saw the words, “There’s Room at the
Cross for You.” This struck a responsive chord, and before the service was
complete, he had given to the world a memorable song to fit that title.
The cross upon which
Jesus died; Is a shelter on which we can hide;
And it’s grace so free is sufficient for me; And deep is its
fountain as wide as the sea.
Tho millions have found Him a friend; And
have turned from the sins they have sinned,
The Saviour still waits to open the gates; And
welcome a sinner before it’s too late.
(Refrain)There’s room
at the cross for you; There’s room at the cross for
you;
Though millions have
come; There’s still room or one,
Yes, there’s room at
the cross for you.
Some
years later, the story is told a despairing young man, bent on taking his own
life, found himself walking one day near a church where service was being
conducted by Evangelist Willard Cantelon. That night,
Al Garr was directing the music for the service. The troubled young man had a
gun in his pocket and was making his way toward a high bridge, not too far from
the church. His intention was to shoot himself near the edge of the bridge,
letting his body fall into the water. As
he passed the church, he heard Al Garr singing “There’s Room at the Cross for
You.” He was so gripped by its message that he made his way into the church,
postponing his mission of horror. There,
he found Christ as his Savior and was rescued from personal and spiritual
disaster. He later studied for the ministry and became an evangelist. Yes,
there is room at the life-changing cross of Christ.