Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Crucifixion And Resurrection

O Lord,

 

I marvel that thou shoudst become incarnate,

be crucified, dead, and buried.

The sepulcher calls forth my adoring wonder,

for it is empty and thou art risen;

the four-fold gospel attests it,

the living witnesses prove it,

my heart's experience knows it.

Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life,

for I wish to be as dead and buried

to sin, to selfishness, to the world;

that I might not hear the voice of the charmer,

and might be delivered from his lusts.

O Lord, there is much ill about me - crucify it,

much flesh within me - mortify it.

Purge me from selfishness,

the fear of man, the love of approbation,

the shame of being thought old-fashioned,

the desire to be cultivated or modern.

Let me reckon my old life dead

because of crucifixion,

and never feed it as a living thing.

grant me to stand with my dying Saviour,

to be content to be rejected,

to be willing to take up unpopular truths,

and to hold fast despised teachings until death.

Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.

Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will.

Strengthen me for the battle ahead.

Give me courage for all the trials,

and grace for all the joys.

Help me to be a holy, happy person,

free from every wrong desire,

from everything contrary to thy mind.

Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:

may it rule me,

may I walk in its power,

and be strengthened through its influence.

 

 - The Valley of Vision

Contemplate the Cross!

Dear Reader, On this Weekend in which we remember the Death, Burial and Resurrection of the Lord, may we contemplate the cross! Here is a small summary from the verses in John that speak of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Today is good Friday and this is what we remember:

Jesus was to be crucified. The Romans took Him, as He bore His own cross to the place called the skull, which is Golgotha, in Hebrew. There, they crucified Him. John spends little time on this. He does not go into detail concerning how He was crucified, or the reality of the pain and agony. He does not dwell on the suffering he went through in our place! The very word crucifixion entails the horror of the deed.

Pilate, had an inscription written that said, “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” and nailed to the cross above the head of Jesus.  Even though it was Pilate’s intention to mock the Jews one last time, the words he chose to write were indeed true. As commentator Bruce says, “The crucified one is the true king, the kingliest of all; because it is He who is stretched on the cross, he turns an obscene instrument of torture into a throne of glory and ‘reigns from the tree.’”

Oh, what mercy, Oh what grace, Oh what love the Father has shown to us in the giving of his Son! May we weep with tears of Joy for our precious Saviour who died on the cross for us. 

 

 

 Were you there?

 

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

 

Were you there when they nailed Him to the Tree?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the Tree?

Oh, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!

Were you there when they nailed Him to the Tree?

 

Were you there when they laid Him in the Tomb?

Were you there when they laid Him in the Tomb?

Oh, Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!

Were you there when they laid Him in the Tomb?

 

Were you there when He rose up from the Dead? 

Were you there when He rose up from the Dead? 

Oh, Sometimes I feel like shouting Glory, Glory, Glory!

 

 

What a Saviour, What a King!

                                            Lucas C.