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.”
What is so important about the cross? The answer is that without the cross there would not be the atonement for our sins. Just as the blood was required to be applied on the doorposts of the Israelites in Egypt to escape death, so the blood of Jesus must be applied to the heart of every truly repentant sinner for our salvation.
In 1913, Rev. George Bennard, an evangelist in the Methodist/Episcopal church was praying for a full understanding of the cross and its plan in Christianity. Over a period of time he studied more and more about the cross. He prayed and meditated on the cross of Christ, until one day he was able to say, “I saw the Christ of the Cross as if I were seeing John 3:16 leave the printed page, take form and act out the meaning of redemption.”
Through this experience and others in his life he penned the words and wrote the tune to our hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross.”
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.Refrain:
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.Refrain:
To the 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.Refrain:
To access The Old Rugged Cross, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/theoldruggedcross in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil