Cries From the Cross Devotional Series
Devotionals adapted and edited from the book, Cries from the Cross: A Journey into the Heart of Jesus by Erwin W. Lutzer

"To stand at the foot of the cross is to witness the purpose for which God created the world."

The cross is a wonder unfathomable. Time cannot contain its reach. No kingdom can surpass its power. No heart can endure its weight. And yet it is the center of everything. It cannot be passed over.

As we approach Easter, let us prepare our hearts and minds afresh of the greatest story ever told and the greatest gift ever given. God was keeping the promise He made to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:16). Jesus, as the Seed of the women, came to crush the head of the serpent thereby restoring the peace, balance, and reconciliation lost by the sins of humanity. Fast forward to a hill located on the outskirts of Jerusalem. A place of guilt, humiliation, pain, and death. The skull-shaped place where Jesus died: Golgotha (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). All of the Gospels record the Crucifixion of Jesus as one of the most dramatic, climatic, vicious, and violent scenes in all of scripture. Yet through all the vivid moments of the texts, we see God drawing humanity unto Himself.

For the next six weeks, we will listen again for the first time, to the utterances of Jesus from the Cross of Calvary. We invite you to lean in as you listen and engage the words of our Lord’s Christ uttered on that eventful day more than two thousand years ago. Allow your imagination to transport you back to the foot of the cross. Hear the sounds of the setting. See the images: Sandwiched between two malefactors, a crown of thorns, a robe of purple, a barrage of insults, and one single soldier who would exonerate our Savior with one distinct, “Surely…!”  Speak with those who were also there. Reach out and touch the ruggedness of that old cross. Smell the poignant dreadful aromas that often accompany sin. On that day, God made Him who knew no sin, to become sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Remember… you were there.

As you reengage Calvary, pray to God; ask Him to lead you to someone who may not know of Calvary. As the Holy Spirit reveals those individuals to you, invite them to read and discuss with you seven devotionals adapted and edited from the book, Cries from the Cross: A Journey into the Heart of Jesus by Erwin W. Lutzer. Our prayer is that God will lead you to send a text, make a phone call, share a website, send a card or write a letter inviting someone to read, think, and pray with you through the next seven weeks of sayings from the cross uttered by Jesus Christ: God’s Son… and our Savior.

Peace be unto you,

SHBC Christian Education

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