THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14, KJV).
Charles Colson tells how, "During the years of Communist rule in the U.S.S.R., a person could be arrested for any act or statement that seemed threatening to the government. Writers, philosophers, teachers, and pastors were imprisoned for their beliefs.
"During this era, Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to eight years of hard labor in a Soviet prison camp for writing "disrespectful" remarks about Stalin in a private letter to a friend. The oppression, the humiliation by the guards, the backbreaking work in the gulag wore him down. He was ready to give up on life.
"One day, he wandered away from a work team and sat down. At any moment, he expected the guards to kill him, and he no longer cared. Instead, an old man came and sat next to Solzhenitsyn. Picking up a stick, he drew a crude outline of a cross in the sand. And as Alexander Solzhenitsyn looked at that cross, he suddenly realized that this was his only hope. With Jesus' power inspiring him, he could survive anything. After his release from the camps, Solzhenitsyn wrote world-renowned books on the nature of freedom and faith."1
I recall reading some years ago how an earthquake all but destroyed a city which I believe was in the Orient. As a hymn writer, John Bowring, looked out over the devastated city, a lone church steeple with a cross atop was still standing. This inspired him to write the following words:
In the cross of Christ I glory,
Tow'ring o'er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o'ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me;
Lo! It glows with peace and joy.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the cross of Jesus Christ which stands as a lone sentinel calling to a broken and lost world. Grant that men and women, boys and girls everywhere will see their dire need of your salvation, look to the cross and live--forever. And please use me to help many to do so. Gratefully, in Jesus' name. Amen."
Charles Colson tells how, "During the years of Communist rule in the U.S.S.R., a person could be arrested for any act or statement that seemed threatening to the government. Writers, philosophers, teachers, and pastors were imprisoned for their beliefs.
"During this era, Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to eight years of hard labor in a Soviet prison camp for writing "disrespectful" remarks about Stalin in a private letter to a friend. The oppression, the humiliation by the guards, the backbreaking work in the gulag wore him down. He was ready to give up on life.
"One day, he wandered away from a work team and sat down. At any moment, he expected the guards to kill him, and he no longer cared. Instead, an old man came and sat next to Solzhenitsyn. Picking up a stick, he drew a crude outline of a cross in the sand. And as Alexander Solzhenitsyn looked at that cross, he suddenly realized that this was his only hope. With Jesus' power inspiring him, he could survive anything. After his release from the camps, Solzhenitsyn wrote world-renowned books on the nature of freedom and faith."1
I recall reading some years ago how an earthquake all but destroyed a city which I believe was in the Orient. As a hymn writer, John Bowring, looked out over the devastated city, a lone church steeple with a cross atop was still standing. This inspired him to write the following words:
In the cross of Christ I glory,
Tow'ring o'er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o'ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me;
Lo! It glows with peace and joy.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the cross of Jesus Christ which stands as a lone sentinel calling to a broken and lost world. Grant that men and women, boys and girls everywhere will see their dire need of your salvation, look to the cross and live--forever. And please use me to help many to do so. Gratefully, in Jesus' name. Amen."
posted by Indla Daniel | 4:50 PM
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