The Cross...

Have you ever thought how the cross looks like a plus sign? I was at a Philips, Craig, and Dean concert a few weeks ago and they touched on this. The more that I thought about it the more it made sense.

Then this past Sunday Dr. Drew Landry preached on something very similar at Spotswood. Drew’s sermon was “The cross is the most important truth of the Christian faith.”

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Max Lucado stated this very simply: Why is the cross the symbol of our faith? Answer is look no farther than the cross itself. Its design couldn't be simpler, one beam horizontal--the other vertical. One reaches out--like God's love. The other reaches up--as does God's holiness. One represents the width of His love; the other reflects the height of His holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave His children without lowering His standards.

The definition of the word cross means many, many things. One of those is: If you describe something as a cross that someone has to bear, you mean it is a problem or disadvantage which they have to deal with or bear. Well didn’t Christ die on the Cross to bear our problems?

Think about this: Your finances plus the cross, your job plus the cross, your family plus the cross or your ______ plus the cross. [You fill in the blank.] If we add the cross between us and anything that we do, how can we fail?

1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The cross should be the focus of our lives. That’s easier said than done! How do we make the cross the focus of our lives? Glad you asked - here are 5 simple steps that Drew outlined in his sermon:

1. Read and remember scriptures about the cross. [Just a quick search of the NIV online I found 21 scriptures discussing the cross.]
2. Pray Philippians 2:5-11 until it becomes personal. [Look this passage up, read it, and pray about it.]
3. Learn songs about the cross, not the tune or melody, but the lyrics. [This can be from the hymnal or Christian praise and worship.] Remember the old adage? Garbage in - Garbage out.
4. Resist the predisposition to be comfortable.
5. Then ask yourself: Have I bowed the knee of my heart in submission to Jesus?