You’ve hard the saying, “You can’t go home again!” Well, there is a well-know story of a young fellow who did go home again. It began with the young man asking for his share of his father’s estate. And when he received it, he left home and traveled to a far country and there through a series of bad decisions and a lax life-style, lost every cent he had.
Destitute and in severe want he hired himself out to a rancher and was given the most deplorable jobs, mucking out the horse stables and other menial tasks others didn’t want to do. Finally in complete desperation and totally fed-up with himself, he deiced to go back home; anything would be better than this, even to be a hired-hand and live in a bunk house on his father’s ranch.
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” John 14:9
Ever hear someone say, “That boy is the spitting image of his father?” That was certainly true of Jesus’ relationship with His Father. And even more, Jesus, according to His own words was more than a spitting image; He and His Father were one and the same.
So when anyone tells you that Jesus was merely a good man or just a prophet and a great teacher, then share with them what Jesus said to Philip in John 14:9.
“Jesus told him, ‘Philip, I’ve been with you for a spell now. How is it ya don’t recognize Me? Anyone who has laid eyes on Me has for sure seen the Father; so how can ya say, ‘show us the Father'”? (The Gospel of John Cowboy Style)
“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” John 3:5
“Every now and then a drover would find a waterin’ hole or ride up on a creek or river where he could wash off the trail dust. Just like us he could only get the outside of his body clean. Soap n’ water can’t clean the inside. Our thoughts, our lusts, our sinful desires can only be changed by a spiritual transformation.
Jesus calls it ‘being born again’. Ya see, if we are going to heaven we’re gonna have to have a second birth. The first birth is physical (‘whoever is born of account of the flesh Continue reading “The Second Birth”
“When Jesus had done tasted the sour vinegar He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and died.” John 19:30 (The Gospel of John Cowboy Style)
On our little ranch, there was always work to be done, so my father would assign chores for me to do, like feed the cattle, repair a broken fence, dig up prickly pears, clean the barn, and whatever else he could think of. Later he would ask me, “Son, did you get it all done?” And I’d usually say, “yep, I finished the work you gave me to do.”
Jesus came to earth, sent by His Father to perform an assignment He had given Him. That assignment involved being nailed to a cross to die as our perfect substitute in order that Continue reading “It is Finished!”
Jesus said that if He was lifted up from the earth on a cross, He would “draw all men unto Himself.” There is a magnetism to the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross has a drawing power . . . it draws all men to Christ? What is it that gives the cross such appeal?
I. The Cross Has the Magnetism of Love . . .
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (perfect sacrifice) for our sins”–I John 4:10.
The surest and purest place where the Love of God can be seen in all its dimensions is the cross of Calvary. That’s why folks regardless of ethnicity, social stratus, economic standing, and cultural environment are drawn to it. We are drawn to the cross by the drawing power of God’s Love–See John 3:16.
II. The Cross Has the Magnetism of Forgiveness . . .
The greatest need we have is the need for forgiveness. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”–Romans 3:23. Jesus’ death on the cross is God’s answer to man’s sin. In and through His death God offers us forgiveness and cleansing–See Romans 5:8.
III. The Cross Has the Magnetism of Victory . . .
The cross of Calvary was a struggle between God and Satan, between light and darkness, between good and evil, between two rulers contending for world supremacy. Jesus emerged the victor. We too seek victory over sin and death, so we also are drawn to the cross of Christ. In it we discover ultimate victory.
The geographical heart of 19th century London was Charing Cross. Locals referred to it simply as “the cross.” A story circulated at that time among evangelical preachers about “the cross.” It seems a London police officer found a sobbing little boy who was lost and unable to tell the officer where he lived. Finally amid the tears he said, “If you will take me to the Cross, I can find my way home.”
It is believed that Jessie Pounds, an Ohio woman, who wrote over 400 hymns, heard that story and penned the classic, “The Way of the Cross Leads Home.”
I must needs go home by the way of the cross, There’s no other way but this; I shall ne’er get sight of the Gates of Light, If the way of the cross I miss.
