April.

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APRIL 1.

DO YOU GET IT?.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of G.o.d.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18.

THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST is the most unifying-and the most divisive-event in all of history. People can easily talk about all kinds of philosophies and religions, but when someone brings up Christ's death on the cross, the conversation often radically changes. Some people get angry, some scoff, and some feel confused. Invariably, they ask questions: Why did a good man like Jesus have to die? Who was He, anyway? It happened so long ago; what difference does it make to me today?

People in Paul's day were no different. The Greeks loved to debate philosophies, but they didn't have a category for G.o.d becoming a human and dying for us. That concept simply didn't compute. It was foolish to them, just as it seems foolish to the people of our day who don't understand the message of the gospel.

But we get it. We grasp the phenomenal truth that Christ came to find us because we were lost and that He died for our sins as our subst.i.tute. Without Him, we had no hope. With Him, we have the most valuable possession in the universe: a relationship with Almighty G.o.d. We are well aware that it was grace and only grace that saved us. We had no power to accomplish anything toward forgiveness and eternal life, but G.o.d exercised His enormous strength to reach into our hearts, transform us, and make us new people.

We get it, not because we're smarter than the philosophers, but because G.o.d first took hold of us. For that we can be thankful.

Why do you think some people get it but others don't?

In light of people's spiritual blindness, take some time to pray for those you know who don't know Christ yet.

"I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be. I am not even what I hope to be. But by the cross of Christ, I am not what I was."-JOHN NEWTON "To me, love is knowing that Jesus Christ died on the cross so that I might live forever. To me, happiness is knowing now that my eternity with Christ is irrevocably guaranteed, that He did it all, and all I have to do is believe and accept His grace."-ZIG ZIGLAR

APRIL 2.

"FATHER, FORGIVE THEM"

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

LUKE 23:34.

OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, we'll look at Jesus' seven statements from the cross. In the first one, the depth of His grace toward the people putting Him to death is amazing.

We need to remember that when Jesus said, "Father, forgive them," it was after He had experienced excruciating stress during the previous week. The authorities had been looking for a way to kill Him. One of His followers had betrayed Him, and another one had denied he even knew Him. All the rest had fled when He was arrested, leaving Him completely alone. He had been beaten in the face so that He was unrecognizable and had been whipped with a cat-o'-nine-tails until His back was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess. On the streets of Jerusalem, He carried the timber that would be part of His cross until He stumbled and fell from exhaustion. When He arrived at the hill, guards drove spikes through His wrists and His feet, and He was hoisted up as a spectacle to the world.

If anyone ever had reason to be bitter, Jesus did. And if anyone ever had the power to execute vengeance on those who hurt him, Jesus did. One account says that He could have called down legions of mighty angels to slay the entire human race-which we deserved.

But there He hung, between two common criminals, to be executed like a slave or traitor though He had done nothing deserving of this fate. As He looked at the scene-angry, self-righteous religious leaders, disinterested Roman guards, ma.s.ses of people who had come for the spectacle of blood and death-He turned instinctively to the Father and prayed for all those people. Has G.o.d's grace ever been more evident than at that moment?

How would you have responded if you had heard Jesus pray for those people?

What does His prayer of forgiveness for those people mean to you today?

"Forgiveness is a beautiful word, until you have something to forgive."-C. S. LEWIS

APRIL 3.

TODAY IN PARADISE.

Jesus said to him, "a.s.suredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

LUKE 23:43.

THREE MEN-two thieves and Jesus-hung on crosses, suspended in midair above the soldiers, religious leaders, and curious onlookers. The sense of hopelessness caused one of the thieves to bark at Jesus in derision, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us" (Luke 23:39).

The other criminal, though, saw things very differently. Somehow, he had heard about Jesus, and he corrected the other man, "Do you not even fear G.o.d, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23:40-41).

The man then turned to Jesus and said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42).

Many people had abandoned Jesus, and many had betrayed Him. This man's simple request must have sounded gratifying to Him. He turned to the man and promised, "a.s.suredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).

Jesus didn't go into a long diatribe about the afterlife. He didn't bring out charts and graphs, explaining what happens to the soul and the spirit when a person dies. He didn't try to define terms or conjugate verbs. He simply spoke an unmistakable, clear promise that because the man believed, he would be in paradise that very day, the moment he died.

Before this conversation with Jesus, the man's life had been a train wreck. He had resorted to theft, been caught, and condemned to die a horrible death. At that moment, though, only one thing mattered: His ident.i.ty and eternal destiny had changed forever.

How does the promise of paradise affect your perspective about death?

How does it shape your view of life today?

"The ultimate victory is eternity with Jesus Christ."-ZIG ZIGLAR

APRIL 4.

"WOMAN, BEHOLD YOUR SON"

When Jesus . . . saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!"

JOHN 19:26.

JESUS HAD EVERY REASON in the world to be self-absorbed and bitter as He hung on the cross. He had been betrayed by two friends, abandoned by others, falsely accused, wrongly convicted, beaten to a pulp, and crucified as a traitor. But in His supreme moment of agony, His tenderness shone like a beacon to everyone at the foot of the cross. Jesus hung between heaven and earth, dying for the sins of the world in the single most crucial event in all of history; in that pivotal moment, He looked at those He loved and made sure His mother would be cared for. He was leaving to go back to the Father, so He put her in the hands of a friend He trusted. Jesus didn't ask John to be Mary's guardian to manage her estate. Instead, he a.s.sured her that John would care for her as a loving son cares for his mother.

In times of crisis, do we withdraw, or do we reach out? We may be tempted to become self-absorbed, but we can follow Christ's example by looking beyond our own pain to care for others.

What do you think this statement meant to Mary that day? to John? to Jesus?

In times of crisis, how do you want to care for those you love?

"For the sake of each of us he laid down his life worth no less than the universe. He demands of us in return our lives for the sake of each other."-CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA

APRIL 5.

"WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My G.o.d, My G.o.d, why have You forsaken Me?"

MATTHEW 27:46.

WE TALK ABOUT THE CROSS, sing about it, and hear messages about it all the time, but it remains the most awe-inspiring event in all of history. Jesus wasn't just a good man who died for a cause He believed in. He wasn't a soldier who died for the guy next to Him in a foxhole. He wasn't simply a misunderstood martyr or a teacher who said too much. He was Almighty G.o.d, who had stepped out of heaven to earth for one unique purpose: to give His life for you and me.

When Jesus hung on the cross, He was taking our place. Because of our sins, we deserved death. As He hung there, all the sins of every person who had ever lived and would ever live were piled on Him. At that moment, He became our subst.i.tute. His death gave us forgiveness, right standing with G.o.d, and eternal life.

Did G.o.d the Father turn His back on Jesus in that awful hour? Yes, He backed away so that all the punishment we deserve could be poured out on Jesus. All the wrath, judgment, and penalty for every sin became Jesus' at that moment, and the Father had to abandon Him for that to happen.

But the Father's abandonment was over when Jesus breathed His last. And three days later, He rose from the grave in the fullness of resurrected life. That moment on the cross, though, is the clearest picture of the matchless grace of G.o.d that we'll ever see: Jesus hung alone, abandoned and condemned, for you and me.

What do you think that moment was like for Jesus?

What does it tell you about His grace and His love for you?

"The only question Jesus ever asked G.o.d is 'Why have you forsaken me?' This is the same question most every believer asks at some point in their spiritual journey."-IKE REIGHARD

APRIL 6.

"I THIRST"

Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"

JOHN 19:28.

EVEN IN HIS AGONY, Jesus maintained an unclouded mind. As a student of Scripture, He knew that the prophets had predicted that the Messiah's death throes would produce a dry mouth so that His "tongue sticks to the roof of [His] mouth" (Psalm 22:15, NIV), and those attending the execution would offer "vinegar for [His] thirst" (Psalm 69:21, NIV). Crucifixion is one of the most excruciating forms of torture in human history. Intense pain leaves a person gasping for air, which produces tremendous thirst.

John tells us that Jesus was acutely aware of every detail of His execution. For centuries, people have argued about who killed Jesus. Was it the Jews or the Romans? Actually, it wasn't either group of people. Jesus freely gave Himself to die so that we might live. He offered His own life to secure eternal life for us, and He died willingly as the subst.i.tute for the death we deserved.

As the moment neared for Him to die, Jesus made sure not a single detail would be overlooked. He wanted us to know that every i was dotted and every t crossed so that we might marvel at His great love-and believe.

Why was it important to Jesus-and to us-that every detail of prophecy be fulfilled?