The Importance of the Cross

The other day I watched a testimony of a man on iamsecond.com (it's awesome) names Jim Munroe. He was saved by a blood transfusion or something like that. And he talked about how similar that is to everyone with Christ. If there was no shedding of His innocent blood, there would be no salvation for sinners. There is a line in a Lecrae song that says "I need a blood donor, I need a transfusion, He's hanging on the cross for me, substitution." Christ died to save us! We are just as responsible for flogging, mocking, and crucifying Jesus as the Roman soldiers who actually did it. At high school I see a lot of things and one thing I see pretty often is people living their lives as if it's theirs to live. I just want to ask them these questions, "Did you create yourself? Did you gain your own salvation? Are you more important than God?" The answer is obviously no, but the way I see people live their lives it seems to me like their answers would be yes. We owe God everything because He has given us everything! If it wasn't for our sin then Christ would not have had to be crucified, but it is because of us that Jesus died. But Jesus did not die without a reason, He died to save us because of the Father's love for us. God does not want us to view this lightly, because I don't know if you have ever lost somebody but from my experiences, it's tough and the separation that Jesus must have felt when He was away from God for even that short amount of time must have been unbearable. This is what makes His death on the cross important. Christ was in extreme pain because of us humans. The reason He did this though was to save us from death. And the only way you can be saved is by trusting in Him and following Him. The application of this is that you shouldn't take your relationship with God lightly, it should be something you grow in daily and something you are putting a lot of time into. Whether that be reading God's word, worshiping Him through prayer, song, or just by the way you live your life, and also by sharing this amazing love God has for us with others. Guys, this is urgent news! Jesus is coming back and we shouldn't be waiting to work for Him. God has us in the place we are now for a reason and we need to share this good news with the world! This should be something we are actively praying about and it is what our minds should be set on doing. We need kingdom focus. 

Another thing God's put on my heart is that there is no in between, no grey area when you follow Jesus. You're either all in, or against Him. So many people think that Jesus was a good man and a good teacher but Jesus wasn't the Christ or as important as we make Him out to be. I was talking with one of my good friends about this and one thing he has heard before and I use it now, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. If you do not believe that Jesus was your savior, then He was not a good teacher for you because what people do not realize is that Jesus was anti-cultural, a rebel, and enemy of the religious structure. People who say that Jesus was a good teacher has either never read His teachings, or has accepted Christ as their savior. There is no in between. I stress this to you who read this because JESUS IS COMING BACK! We have urgent work to do people, lets put this thing in drive and hit the gas! I urge you to take His word into your heart, and for you to grow daily in Christ and to also share the good news in these dreary times! Let's Go!