Cross Words #5

John 19:28
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
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All was now completed.  His life, His work, His mission and His pain would soon end.  In your dark times remember, no matter how hard the trial, it too will end.  The  sun will rise again.  Don’t give up hope.  Don’t quit.

An old farmer said his favorite Bible verse was, “It came to pass.”  When asked to explain he replied, “When problems come I remind myself this trouble didn’t come to stay, ‘it came to pass’.”

But don’t waste your pain. There are lessons in life that we cannot learn on the mountain top.  Character is forged in the fire of affliction.  Be “thirsty” for God in the dry places.  It is God’s desire that when you emerge from the flames you will have been changed.  That to a greater depth you will “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  Philippians 3:10  On the other side of the cross is great joy, victory and resurrection life.

I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When sorrow walked with me.
-Robert Browning Hamilton
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Hebrews 12:2-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.