Tag Archives: the cross

The Salvation of our God

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Psalm 98, Psalms

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Reading:                                         Psalm 98

A psalm.

Verses 1-6

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
The LORD has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;

 make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the LORD, the King (NIV).

Reflection

Once again in Psalm 98 the psalmist calls us to break forth with a new song of praise to our God. This call to worship is a frequent theme in many psalms. In this case the cause for worship is well worth noting. We are to worship in music and song because of the salvation of our God. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

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Petrie Island sunset — photo by David Kitz

To some extent these words trouble me. What salvation is the psalmist talking about? Is he referring to the miraculous redemption and rescue of Israel from slavery in Egypt? That’s the most significant act of national salvation in the Old Testament. On the other hand, the psalmist could be referring to the restoration of the Jewish nation after the destruction of the temple and the Babylonian captivity. Again this is a very significant event that was witnessed by the surrounding nations. Since we do not have a timeline or date for when this psalm was written, we are left guessing the answer.

For the New Testament believer we see the fulfillment of this psalm in the salvation that was won for us by Christ at the cross. There the ancient powers of sin, hell and the grave were defeated. Death itself was vanquished through the resurrection of Jesus. In reality, the true enemies of the people of God are not foreigners or foreign nations. Our enemies are spiritual; they lurk within—within us. Salvation from those enemies was purchased at the cross with the precious blood of Jesus.

Now here is a bizarre twist. Salvation arrives when we stop fighting. It arrives with our surrender. It arrives when we surrender our lives to our Savior and kneel before our King on a cross. That’s a salvation worth singing about!

Response: LORD God, I am so grateful for the salvation you purchased for me through the blood of Jesus. I want all the ends of the earth to know about that great salvation. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you knelt before the King on a cross? Take some time to do that now.

Our Land Has Been Invaded

05 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Psalm 74, Psalms

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Reading:                                        Psalm 74

A maskil of Asaph.

O God, why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember the nation you purchased long ago,
the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
Mount Zion, where you dwelt.
Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.
They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.
They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land (NIV).

Reflection

This is a psalm that was born in a time of disaster and distress. The enemies of the people of God had triumphed. In reality Psalm 74 begins as a lament as the psalmist calls out to God with these words. Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

Mamma Spider 2014-07-10

Mamma Spider, Ottawa, ON — photo by David Kitz

Foreign armies had invaded the land. Not only had they attacked the people of God, they had desecrated God’s sanctuary. They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

It may be hard for many of us to imagine the destruction of war and the invasion of our country by foreign forces. But on the spiritual level our land has already been invaded and the attacks on the sanctuaries of God are unrelenting.

Take a walk or a drive about any large city in Canada and you will see abandoned church buildings. Some have been turned into concert halls or night clubs. Today this statement describes our present reality. Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs.

Sadly, in many places the standard of the cross has been replaced by standards of hedonism and human pride. This would be easier to fathom if this was the work of some sinister foreign power, but in reality our own people who have turned their backs on God and instead embraced the gods of this world.

God have mercy on our land.

Response: LORD God, help us to become agents of change in our land. We want people throughout this country to turn to you in repentance and faith. Open their eyes to their need and your reality. Amen.

Your Turn: What will it take to awaken our nation to God?

When I Groan

25 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by in Friday's Focus, Psalms

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Listen, LORD, as I pray! Pay attention when I groan (Psalm 5:1, CEV).

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Glory Behind the Cross – photo courtesy of Donald Adam

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is prayer.

There is glory on the other side of the cross. Today’s photo illustrates that truth beautifully. The light of God shines beyond the pain and suffering of the cross.

Today is Good Friday, the day when Jesus hands and feet were pierced. Today through agony and blood, Jesus purchased my redemption. He groaned under the weight of the sins of the world. The psalmist expresses it this way:

Listen, LORD, as I pray! Pay attention when I groan (Psalm 5:1, CEV).

We should never gloss over or rush by the horror of the cross. The cross carries the cost of our sins. There we see a full accounting for the horror of our sins. We ought to consider well the price of our blood-spattered redemption.

But glory be to God! Beyond the cross—on the other side—shines Jesus’ resurrection.

Response: LORD God, help me see your love for me through the suffering of Jesus. You suffered to bring me eternal joy. I bow my head in thanks. Amen.

Your Turn: How can there be glory in the cross—an instrument of death?

Save us, LORD

14 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by in Psalms, Thursday's Thought

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Save us, LORD God! Bring us back from among the nations. Let us celebrate and shout in praise of your holy name (Psalm 106:47, CEV).

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Morning hoarfrost — photo by Donald Adam

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is holiness.

In today’s reading the psalmist cries out, “Save us, LORD God!”

There’s an element of desperation in that prayer. It should be our prayer too. If holiness is what God requires then salvation is our greatest need.

We are unable to save ourselves. Holiness does not come naturally to the human soul. We need God to intervene. And that’s just what the Father did when He sent His son Jesus to suffer and die in our place.

Our redemption was purchased for us at the cross. The price was the shed blood of Jesus.

Now every believer can say, “Through Jesus, you saved us, LORD God!”

Response: LORD God, I thank and praise you for sending Jesus to be my redeemer. Holiness is available to me personally through faith in the blood of Christ. I love you, LORD. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you received the salvation from sin that Jesus offers?

Learning to Be Still

31 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Psalm 46, Psalms

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Reading:                                           Psalm 46

 (Verses 8-11)

Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress (NIV).

Reflection

As I sit writing this, it’s Holy Week—a week of contemplation leading to Good Friday—leading to our Savior’s death on the cross. The opening line of this reading from Psalm 46 grabs my attention: Come and see what the LORD has done.

Ecclesiax Iron Cross -- David Kitz

Ecclesiax Iron Cross — David Kitz 

Yes. Come and see what the LORD has done! Come and see what has happened to God’s son. Come and see the desolations he has brought on the earth—the desolations He has brought on the dust-formed bundle of flesh that at birth was laid in a manager. Now he is laid on a cross. He is not wrapped in swaddling clothes. He is stripped naked, pried wide open and nailed to a cross.

Come and see what has happened to him. This is the LORD’s doing. This is the Father’s will. This is the Son’s willing obedience. Now hear the Spirit’s beckoning call, “Come and see what the LORD has done!”

This is what love looks like—not love for God—love for man. God’s love looks like Jesus on the cross. Love looks like a bloody sacrifice, engineered by God, inflicted on God, God come-in-the-flesh. Love looks painful. It looks painful because it gives to the last drop. It calls us near to the last breath. “Come and see what the LORD has done!”

And when you come be still. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

This is not the time to rush. Eve reached for the forbidden fruit. Adam rushed after her. Rushing has brought us this mess—this messed up world—this mess on the cross. Self-centered rushing hurtles us into sin with no thought for tomorrow—no thought for a man on a cross. Instead today, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Be still. Be still before the cross. He is God. The man on the cross is God. Love has a price, always has a price. It’s written in blood—the Savior’s blood.

Response: LORD God, alter me at the foot of the cross. I need you to change my heart, my life, my attitude. Help me be still before you as I contemplate your love. Amen.

Your Turn: Does the cross have meaning for you?

Have you been altered at the Altar?

11 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by in Psalm 43, Psalms

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Reading:                                  Psalm 43

Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause 　　　　

against an unfaithful nation.

Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.

You are God my stronghold. 　　　　

Why have you rejected me?

Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

Send me your light and your faithful care, 　　　　

let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, 　　　　

to the place where you dwell.

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.

I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? 　　　　

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God. (NIV)

Reflection

I want to be proven right. Over and over again I find myself pleading to be heard—pleading to be proven right. That’s what it means to be vindicated. As I look about my country—as I look about the world—and read or watch the news of the day, I see so much injustice. Senseless death and destruction are everywhere.

Sunrise brings hope -- David Kitz

Sunrise brings hope — David Kitz

Courts that are intended to protect the innocent and vulnerable do the complete opposite. Evil is on a rampage. Islamic militants taunt and behead the innocent. Russian tanks invade Ukraine as long rang artillery flattens villages. Vicious rapists glory in their shame. In our cities gangster thugs roam freely.

But there is a better way—the way of the cross—the way of the Prince of Peace. Why can’t others see it? Why can’t they grasp it? Along with David we cry out, “Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.”

In this bleak state of affairs, David appeals to the mercy of LORD, “Send me your light and your faithful care,　let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.”

David journeys to the altar. He is altered at the altar. The world is altered at the altar of God. Vindication comes at the altar. Victories over sin are won at the altar. Jesus is the sacrifice on the altar of God and when we gaze on him we are changed. Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,　that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3:14-15). Because of the cross—the altar of God—we have hope for the future.

Response: LORD God, alter me at the foot of the cross. I need you to change my heart, my life, my attitude. I put my hope in you, Lord. You are my Savior and my God. Amen.

Your Turn: Has your life been altered by the cross?