I've been thinking a lot lately...

about the "old, rugged cross." My preacher said the words on Sunday: "old, rugged cross." He said in the way many use the phrase-in the words of a song..."the old, rugged cross...where my burdens at last I lay down..." I'm sure most of us have heard the song many a Sunday morning. But this Sunday, I really started thinking about the "old, rugged cross." I realized that we almost use it as if it is like a brand name...(Old Rugged®) or something. It has taken me almost 19 years to actually think about this "old, rugged cross!" I began to think about how old the wood truly was...and how very rugged the wood must have been. I thought about how much pain that old and rugged cross must have caused Christ. Imagine for a second, a crown of skull piercing thorns being beaten into your skull, being whipped with whips bearing broken glass and bone that wripped the flesh off of your own bones, and then on top of this, being forced to carry this old, rugged cross on your shoulder up the hill to your execution. Imagine the huge splinters from this rugged cross digging deep into your fleshless body, and the dirt from the old wood as it burns your wounds.
This is what i saw in my head. But then i began to dig deeper and think on a bigger picture. So here's what got me most...
I began to think about my old and rugged sin. It was my sin that topped off Jesus' pain. My sin hurt Christ more than any dirt, thorn, or nail ever could. It hurt him worse than the whips...worse than the splinters, and yet...he did it for me. Christ died for me. But he didn't just do it for me; Christ died for you...for every single person that's ever lived! No exceptions! That's how much Jesus Christ loves us and that is no secret!
Jesus died on an old, rugged cross that was stained with our old, rugged sin so we could be a new, beautiful creation.

Hello Blogspot!

Hey everyone!
I had a fun-filled evening...which was very much needed! It's been a very stressful few months and tonight allowed me to relax a little bit! An evening of Texas-Hold'em, hide-and-seek, and Cranium was just what I needed...it was a blast. It was great to hang out with my friends that I haven't seen in forever! And my mother made some dang good cake! You know why?...cause my birthday's Sunday! How freakin' sweet is that?! I know i'm like a little kid, counting down the days until his birthday...but i don't care. Anyway, I'm bout to head to bed!