Devotional for this Sunday’s worship music. Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Posted by Rod Hamilton on Mar 04 2010

The Lord Reigns – “The Lord reigns, let the people shout”

Psalm 35:27 “May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

Psalm 71:23 “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you - whom you have redeemed.”

A recurring theme in these devotionals is the joy that believers should have, and that joy because of our great salvation through Jesus Christ. When you consider the multitudes of souls that have perished to a very literal and eternal hell, to know that God refers to us as His “children” should bring us an overwhelming sense of joy. “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” (Eph 1:5)

I think, in light of our position in Christ, we ought to be so undone because of what He has done for us that a shout might often be the only way to keep from exploding!

Desert Song – “This is my prayer in the desert, when all that is in me feels dry. This is my prayer in my hunger and need, my God is the God who provides.”

Psalm 54:4 “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.”

You know we all have deserts. As we are in constant battle against our flesh, warring against a strong enemy who literally seeks to devour us, living life becomes a grueling task from time to time. It is at precisely these times that we recognize that only by God’s power can we stand. The interesting thought is that it is always only by the grace of God that we can stand, but trials have a way of pointing us to the sole source of our strength, God. And rest assured, these struggles are not for nothing. They are used by God to shape us, to mold us and to make us what He wants us to be. “…We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

Jesus Saves – “It is done will shout the cross”

John 19:30 “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

One of the most captivating and compelling lines in the entire Bible; “it is finished.” Have you thought about that lately? Have you ever given much thought to exactly what the “it” was that Jesus was referring to? It would seem very simple to think He meant that “life” for Him was finished here, or that His “work” here was finished, or the “battle” was finished. However, to take limit our view to those views is to only understand part of the point. Yes, it meant those things, but so much more.
When Jesus said “it is finished,” it can be easily taken to mean that you and I are no longer under the curse of the law (Gal 3:13), “it is finished.” It means that you and I are no longer slaves to our sinful nature anymore, “it is finished.” It meant that, most importantly to the believer, a sacrifice had been made for once and for all (Hebrews 10:10) and He secured our eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)

The Power of the Cross – “This the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross.”

Deuteronomy 21:23 “…anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.”

As Christ died on the cross to break us free from the curse of the law, He Himself became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). This is the power of the cross. It did not have the power to kill Jesus, nor did any of the soldiers, leaders or citizens of the time. This was a willful act on the part of a merciful God to redeem mankind.

The cross, once the ugliest and cruelest of devices used for torture and death by the Roman Empire and others, now stands as the most profound reminder of God’s mercy to us. And how fitting that is: God made the disgusting cross to be a beautiful icon for a beautiful faith which is freely given to the most vile and repugnant sinners imaginable.

This is the power of the cross!