Cross Walk

Isaiah 8:14; Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42-44; Luke 2:34; Acts 4:11; Romans 9:32-33; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Peter 2:4-8

This past Friday, Good Friday, our church participated in a Cross Walk in remembrance of what Jesus did for us nearly 2,000 years ago. About 80 Christians from several denominations walked through Forest City, from First Baptist to the First United Methodist Church, taking turns, three at a time, carrying a 12 foot cross. It was my 2nd year of walking. It is a very humbling and emotional experience. 

What Christ did for us on that cross, and what happened on the third day thereafter, is what separates Christianity from every other religion in the world. Many can accept that Christ was a real man; a good prophet, good leader, and a great example for us to live by, but He was so much more than that. We needed more than a great example. What we needed was a savior. And that is exactly what He did, He came to save us from our sins. He paid the price that you and I could never pay for ourselves. He was the perfect lamb that was slain for you and me, so that we could be reconciled to God, restoring the relationship that we had broken through our sin.

We read many New Testament scriptures, referring back to the Old Testament, depicting Christ as a stumbling block to those that can't accept who He is and what He has done. Paul puts it a different way in 1 Corinthians 1:18 saying For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Is this all just a story to you or do you accept God's Word as truth? Do you believe? Your life depends on it... literally.

1 Peter 2:7–8 (NASB) This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

Pastor Mike Deese