Every single word that Lisa has written on these two pages of the book have touched my heart in one way or another. There is so much “good stuff” in this section of the book. I have enjoyed the whole book so far, and I have really loved this chapter. This chapter has caused me to look at the Cross in a whole new way. The Cross as a sword is something I never visualized before. This idea was all new to me, and it brought something to mind.
We all have a journey to the Cross. Everyone’s journey is different. Maybe we can all relate with the scapegoat in different areas as we journey to the Cross.
- Guilt: How many times have you blamed yourself for an event in your life in which you carry around an immense amount of guilt from?
- Lonely nights: How many nights have you fallen asleep next to your husband, or at home with your family, yet the loneliness that you feel inside is strong enough to cause you to think you are alone in this world with no one to love you…care for you…or be there for you?
- Oppression: How many times have you felt a heavy burden on your heart, one that crushes you to your core causing you to panic and shake the calm life you once lived?
- Rejection: How many times did you just want to fit in with your friends, family, co-workers; just to find out that no one wanted to be around you, and when you tried to surprise them you overheard the cruel words they spoke of you that cut deeper than any knife ever made? The list goes on and on. There are so many words that are used to describe the scapegoat we once believed we were.
Let’s consider Jesus’ journey not to the Cross, but with the Cross. Jesus knows the pain and the hurt behind each and every word used to describe what a scapegoat represented. Jesus went through more suffering than our human bodies can ever imagine. Yet your depression, your loneliness, your hurt, your pain, your guilt, your betrayal, your shame, your (insert others here) were all taken with Jesus on the Cross. Could you imagine the weight on His shoulders as He fell up Calvary’s hill? The astonishing part is that Jesus’ innocent shoulders were not the ones meant to carry all of these things. We deserve all of it, yet Jesus loved us so much that He took what was meant for our cross and sacrificed Himself so that we can be saved and free in Him!
As Jesus approached the spot where He was to be sacrificed, I can only picture Him taking the Cross with the weight of it all and sticking it into the ground. Then I imagine the Cross as a sword and I know that when that sharp point hit the ground, our world was shaken. Not for the worse, but for the better. Jesus IS the ultimate sacrifice. As I write those words, “Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice,” I begin to tear up because I stand in awe of Jesus and His love for me that He died and rose again, defeating all that was on the Cross, FOR ME, that I may live eternally with Him. Lisa is right: the Cross is a sword of love.
It is time, ladies, to follow Jesus’ footsteps to the Cross. For when we arrive, we will meet Jesus waiting to hand us His sword. As He gives us His power, we must be able to echo His words in our hearts, “Forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). We must forgive ourselves, too. We must leave all the burdens we carried to the Cross in His hands where they belong. We must pick up His sword and follow JESUS TO HEAVEN!
Make time to meditate on this Scripture today:
Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, how can we find the words to thank You for what You alone have done for us? Thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your only Son to die for us. Lord, some of the ladies in this study may have already traveled to the Cross and found Your healing and have picked up Your sword. I pray for these ladies, that You empower them to use Your sword and stand firm in You against Satan as You guide them to Heaven. Lord, maybe there are some ladies who are in the middle of their journey or have not started yet. Lord, I pray for these ladies that You show them Your paths to the cross, that You give them Your strength to reach the point where they find You and give You all of the burdens that lay so heavy on their hearts. I thank You for the power of the Cross. I thank You for guiding us every day to You. We love You, Lord, so much! Amen.
About Diane Meyers
Amen Diane. When I think of Jesus saying “Forgive them; for they no not what they do.” My mine goes into a whirlwind of thoughts. I know what are hard time I have forgiving others who have hurt me, and what Jesus endured is so much bigger than I ever have or will endure, yet it is so hard for me to forgive. I feel ashamed, but at the same time I stand in awe of Jesus. What a Great and Mighty Jesus we serve. I know that at the cross He died for me, you and all sinners of this world, and that He died so that we might live. I said it before and I’ll say it again…until I read the events that lead up to the cross, at the cross, and after the cross, I did not really understand how much He really loved us. There is NO WAY after reading and understanding the cross that my life cannot be transformed. Great blog Diane. Thank you. And Thank You Jesus for loving me and giving Your life so that I may have life. Amen!
How amazing is it that because of the cross, you are able to forgive others. Jesus has forgiven us, therefore we are empowered to forgive others!!! I know the difficulty in this, but I also know the freeing feeling and love in this as well!!!!
Diane – thank you so much for your heart. When you were talking of Jesus carrying my sins as the cross up Calvary, I got a vivd visual of that and was right there with you with the tears. His love for us is so amazing! When I walked away from the lifestyle, I felt such heavy guilt, from taking my boys through a life they did not choose. It took awhile to get through, but God kept telling me give me your burdens. But as if taking my burdens wasn’t enough, He replaced them with joy. 🙂 He not only takes away but gives with something so awesome – joy, grace, love, hope. I could go on and on and on…. Our God is an awesome God!
Such a good point Laurie! Not only does God take away our burdens He surely does replace them with His love and goodness and His many blessings. That goes right along with the abundant life He has prepared for us.
Thank you, Diane, for your thoughts today. I agree with you that this book/chapter is full of good stuff! I also agree that I hadn’t seen the Cross as a Sword before. It did make me realize more the power He gave us to love and to forgive. Sometimes I think it is easier to love than to forgive, but with Christ’s example and power we can do both. “…Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down….” Is 53;4-6. Lisa, “Jesus did nothing to deserve punishment, and we did nothing to deserve His sacrifice…They thought the cross was Jesus’s end; they had no idea it was their beginning…The Cross was your(my) hope even before we realized we were hopeless, the answer before we realized there was a problem…Through the Cross we are equipped to walk in Him.” Praise God! I love Him so!
The cross is where we find the power in our swords!!! I cannot get over this realization:) So thankful for this study. So thankful for our Jesus. Thank you for reading Clella!
my friend, i loved what you shared from your heart in this statement: “As I write those words, “Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice,” I begin to tear up because I stand in awe of Jesus and His love for me that He died and rose again, defeating all that was on the Cross, FOR ME, that I may live eternally with Him.” AWE is definitely the right heart response to the immense love Jesus manifested to us at the Cross! diane (from what i know of you…), your life shows that AWE is in your heart! you are a blessing to many, and a dear follower and servant and friend of the One Who showed His love for you!!! <3
Coleen thank you for your kind, dear words. Your obedience and love for the Lord is a true inspiration to me! There will never be words this side of Heaven to describe the magnitude of what God has done for us and the feeling it leaves on your heart and soul! Thanks for reading:)
I really like and can visually see how Christ dying on the cross( the sword) crushed satan defeated satan in battle through his death and gives all humanity hope of eternity with him now and forever. The Cross is our Sword as Christians!! God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Divine and unconditional Love brings tears to my eyes!!! The world needs to hear or feel this kind of Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness that we have as followers of Christ!!
That is what this world is in desperate need of Lorraine! In need of acceptance from God. His love is amazing and never ending and what our hearts ache for!!! Thanks for reading dear:)
Every time I read your blogs, Diane, I am more and more blessed by your heart for Jesus!!
Thanks Christi:) He has given me the heart, I just try so so hard to make it filled with HIM alone. My flesh and blood may fail a lot BUT HE is my portion forever….and ever in my heart!!!!
So thankful for you!!! Thanks for helping me through this week.
Diane, I really appreciate your visual of Jesus’ journey ‘with the Cross’ because it is such a powerful reminder of all the things that were nailed to the cross that day – not just sins already committed, but every sin that ever would be committed. He died for all even if all do not choose to believe in Him and accept that gift. God is showing us so much through His Word and this book! Thank you for sharing your heart today!
Thank you for reading. God so gives me the words to say, and I just write them down. I got so much out of that visual as well, I did not come up with that, God did, and it blessed me as I read it too! God is so good:) I wish all would come to know this gift!!
Oh Diane, that visual is amazing, heartbreaking, and eye-opening. I can all but hear that Cross hitting the ground as I read it…the nails being hit, the alone He must have felt yet knowing He was doing it for all of us….awesome blog today!
Thanks for reading Erin!!! As I was writing I reread that paragraph and just cried out to God. He surely writes for me, and when I read that visual, I just cried. I cannot take any credit for those words other than being obedient and following Him to write them, all of the credit goes to God alone. Not only can he take credit for the words but for the story behind the words. I am so thankful for God’s journey and I am so thankful that because of His journey we can all have one with Him!
Once again, I was hanging out with you early this morning, Diane. And I was so blessed with the description of the scapegoat, and the visual of events of Jesus leading up to The Cross. Blessings on your writings and how you are inspiring all of us.
Martha, I love your dedication and once again cannot wait for your review tomorrow. God helps me write so much what He wants others to hear. I am so blessed to have this gift from Him! I am so thankful for what He has done for us:)
Amen and amen.