Monday Morning Munch No. 5 - He Died My Death

The purpose of MMM is to be a little breakfast of encouragement before the week starts, and today I want to share one of the most humbling but encouraging things I've read in a long time.

"Be hard on sin but easy on forgiveness. I think that's what the cross proves about our God. He's hanging there because I put Him there. God is making a statement about what He thinks about my sin as Jesus writhes in agony trying to get enough leverage to just breathe. He's there on the cross because God is saying something about my sin, "I hate it. I'm hard on sin. You want to know how hard I am on sin? Watch Me as I deal with My Son on Calvary." And without mercy, without grace, without pity, without compassion, He brutally killed His Son and made Him to suffer my hell. God is hard on sin so He can be easy to come to me one day and say, "Forgiven.""

-Michael Durham  

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

-2 Corinthians 5:2

If that doesn't wrap you up in a warm blanket of love, humility and awe, I don't know what will.

Jesus became our sin. We were supposed to have His death, but because of love He suffered in our place so that full atonement could be received by us and full glory could be given to Him.

Man of Sorrows! What a Name:

Man of Sorrows! what a name

For the Son of God, Who came 

Ruined sinners to reclaim. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, 

In my place condemned He stood; 

Sealed my pardon with His blood. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we; 

Spotless Lamb of God was He; 

Full atonement can it be? 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die; 

"It is finished!" was His cry; 

Now in heaven exalted high. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King, 

All His ransomed home to bring, 

Then anew His song we'll sing: 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

I pray you are able to see with what pure, redeeming, relentless love God has loved you. He offers redemption and steadfast love to all [Psalm 130:7-8]. And, while He was hard on your sins, He is easy on forgiveness [which in no way makes it acceptable to sin, Romans 6:15]. If you haven't died to yourself and this world, do it today. If you have, be encouraged by the Gospel and preach it to yourself daily as you continue to die to your identity in this world.

Through the Eyes of Children

Today at preschool I told the cute kids the Bible story (I work at a church-facilitated early learning program), and today's story was on Jesus' death. We've been going through the New Testament and this was the day Jesus died. It was a tough story to tell, because I wanted to share it in such a way they would understand but without down playing the horrible, yet beautiful sacrificial death.

They sat watching me with huge eyes and their mouths wide open because they understood (as much as you can when you're four) that Jesus hadn't committed one act of sin, yet He was being punished with thorns stuck in His head, flesh ripped off, hanging naked with nails through His hands and feet.

After the story I told them it was prayer time and I wanted them all to pray today (on most days the majority of the class want to pray, but today I wanted them all to pray) and thank God for sending Jesus to die for us. So I prayed then opened the floor for them to pray.

What happened rocked me to my core.

Almost all of them (we had nine in class today) fell on their face, literally, and prayed with their face to the ground, thanking God "for sending Jesus to die so we could be made alive" (direct quote from a four year old).

"Jesus said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" -Matthew 18:3-4

It is my greatest desire to see these little children grow and be saved, to see the power of God in their lives alive and active, and to teach them about God and His amazing plan for their lives. But today they taught me something; how to be humble and when you feel overwhelmed the best place to be is on your face before God thanking Him for sending Jesus to die so we could be made alive.