Chronicles of The Cross - The Cross

The speaker welcomes listeners to a Morning Glory Devotion and starts with a prayer. They discuss the theme of Easter and the significance of the cross. They explain how the cross was once a symbol of shame and death, but Jesus transformed it into a symbol of love and hope. They emphasize that Jesus can transform our lives as well. They encourage listeners to remember this transformation whenever they see a cross. The speaker ends with a prayer and invites listeners to join again the next day. Shalom, wonderful family, and welcome to today's Morning Glory Devotion. God bless you for being a part of the Just Ended Prayer Time. My name is Joshua from Harvest Chapel International, Kumasi, and it is a privilege to be facilitating today's Morning Glory Devotion. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for another wonderful day. Lord, this morning we pray for your presence to be with us as we study your Word. Please reveal yourself to us and write your truths upon the tablets of our hearts. As we continue to study your Word, give us insight and understanding, and bring us to maturity. In Christ, in the name of Jesus, we pray with thanksgiving. Amen. Let us kindly take a confession from Joshua 1 verse 8. Joshua 1 verse 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of my mouth, but I shall meditate in it day and night, that I may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then I will make my way prosperous, and then I will have good success. Amen. Today's discussion is part of the running theme for the season of Easter, dubbed Chronicles of the Cross, and today we want to look at the cross, what it stood for, what it stands for now, and what it means to us as believers. Our scripture reading today will be from Galatians chapter 3 verse 13 and Galatians chapter 6 verse 14. Galatians chapter 3 verse 13 Reading from the New Living Translation But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing, for it is written in the scriptures, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. Amen. Galatians chapter 6 verse 14 Reading from the Bibian Study Bible But as for me, may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Amen. Beloved, it is impossible to talk about Easter without having to mention the cross in one form or another. The cross has, in a sense, become the universal symbol of the church and believers. In fact, in most countries, one sure way to identify if a building is a church is to see if there is a cross somewhere on or besides the building. But it wasn't always like this. In the time and era in which Jesus lived, and even before that, the cross was a symbol of shame and hatred. It was something that nobody wanted to be associated with. As Apostle Paul says in our first scripture reading from Galatians chapter 3 verse 13, it was considered a curse to be hung on a tree. Death by crucifixion was a punishment given to the worst of criminals and those deemed to deserve the greatest pain and humiliation. Death on a cross was a slow, painful, and degrading death. Every second on the cross was torture, and it was purposely designed to be so. Death by crucifixion was the worst verdict that could be pronounced on any person. The cross wasn't simply an instrument to kill, but to torture and to serve as a deterrent. The aim was to make it a symbol that people feared and something that they would try their best to avoid. On the cross, there was no hiding, no covering from shame, no protection, no help, no consolation, and definitely no hope. So how did the cross become something to boast about as the Apostle Paul now testifies about in Galatians chapter 6 verse 14? What changed? What accounts for the change of what the cross stands for today is one person, Jesus Christ. Many people had been crucified before Jesus Christ, and we even see in the accounts of the Bible that he was crucified with two criminals. Many others were crucified after Jesus Christ, but it was Christ alone who was able to change what the cross stood for. By his sacrifice and death on the cross, by his resurrection, by his person and his power, he transformed the narrative of the cross from a despised symbol of shame and death to one of love and glorious hope. Beloved, what Christ did to the narrative of the cross, transforming it into something completely different, something with value and honor, something worth boasting about, simply because he was on it, is what he does for all who receive and accept him into their hearts and lives. Jesus' presence in our lives is able to transform us, turning our shame to his glory and our despair into glorious hope. The story of the transformation of the symbol of the cross is sure testimony that indeed, Christ in us, the hope and assurance of glory. Beloved, though maybe like the cross, nothing may have changed about you physically since you received Christ into your heart, everything has changed about your story. Where there once was shame and guilt due to sin, there is now forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Where there once was utter weakness before sin, there now is the ability and power to say no to every form of ungodliness. You are not the same as you used to be, and you cannot be the same. If even a terrible symbol of the cross was changed, what can God not do with you? Every time you see a cross, I want you to be reminded of this and be encouraged that the Lord will perfectly complete the story of your transformation. Amen. Let us take a memory verse from Colossians chapter 1 verse 27, reading from the Beroean study Bible. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your Word that has come to us today. We thank you, Father, for our lives, and we thank you for saving us. In this Easter season, we pray that you will continue to reveal yourself to us and perfect your transformational work in us. We know that no matter how impossible things may seem, you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly, and far beyond what you can think or imagine. Thank you for hearing and answering us. In the name of Jesus, we pray with thanksgiving. Amen. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned for more Spirit-filled content on Radio ACI Today. Do go to join us once again tomorrow morning at the same time as we continue on this journey this Easter. Do stay blessed. Amen.