The Cross Before Me - Your Nightly Prayer - February 27th
The Cross Before Me
Your Nightly Prayer
By Lynette Kittle
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”—Galatians 6:14
SOMETHING TO PONDER
What do we boast about in life? Do we talk about our homes, our children, our careers, our athleticism, our youthfulness, all the things our culture values, and we accomplish in our own strength? But what does God call us as Christians to boast about, because isn’t boasting rooted in pride? And, is it even Christ-like to boast about anything? Surprisingly, it is when our boasting is focused on the cross and what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. This kind of boasting is rooted in faith rather than pride and actually delights God, as Jeremiah 9:24 explains.
“’But let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.”
Although being prosperous, successful, physically strong, and healthy is a priority for many, 1 Timothy 4:8 reminds us: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Our Salvation, although free to us as God’s gracious and undeserving gift, wasn’t free and isn’t cheap by any measure because it literally cost God everything: the sacrifice of His only beloved Son to pay sin’s debt and redeem us, so that we might be saved from eternal separation from Him. Through the cross is the power of God, as the Apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” As Paul explains, if we have nothing else to talk about, the cross and Christ crucified are more than enough for us to say. “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The cost of our redemption is more than we can even comprehend, as Colossians 2:14 describes,
“Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”
On the cross, God took our sin upon Himself, sacrificing Jesus, freeing us from sin’s hold over us, releasing us to receive pardon from spiritual death and eternal separation from God. He paid a debt we could never pay on our own. Through the cross, we are spiritually made alive, where before it, we were dead in our trespasses. As 1 Peter 3:18 explains, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Dear Father, tonight we ask You to re-center our vision on the cross and the high cost of our redemption. Whereas we may have lost sight, help us to consider and value the immense price You paid to redeem us, through Jesus’ sacrifice and death on the cross. Whereas we were lost spiritually, dead in our sins, You made us alive in Your Spirit. Teach us to value and boast in the cross of Jesus Christ and Him alone to those around us, knowing it has the power to save those who hear and receive Your costly gift of Salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Have you lost focus on the cross, caught up in daily activities and concerns? If so, ask God to help you refocus on the price paid to redeem us, to consider why boasting about the cross is beneficial to us and to those who hear us boasting.
2. When sharing your faith with others, what is your focus? Paul focused on the cross and Jesus crucified because it has the power to save those who hear.
3. When we consider the cross and the cost of our redemption, are we willing, like Paul, to resolve to talk about it with our family, friends, and coworkers?
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Courtesy: ©Unsplash/Priscilla Du Preez
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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