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.”

In the same way that God made the staff of Moses into an instrument of victory for the people of Israel so has He made the Cross of Christ into an eternal instrument of victory for all who believe. Paul describes the Cross as “the power of God.” I want to ask you something, when you think of the power of God, what do you think of? Do you think of miracles, signs and wonders? Sure those things demonstrate God’s power, but the source of God power is in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross. When Jesus said “it is finished” he was saying that every thing that was needed for us to be reconciled with God was accomplished fully. We don’t need to add anything to the Cross of Christ.

Galatians 6:14- “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.”

The Cross alone is sufficient to deal with our sin nature. Our sin nature is the source of all of our sinful behavior. God doesn’t want us to try to modify our sinful behavior, He wants us to put it to death through the provision of the Cross. The Holy Spirit lives in us because of the redemption of Jesus on the Cross and He enables us to crucify the sinful activity in our life.

Not only should we be crucified to the world but the world should also be crucified to us. Do you realize what this means? Crucifixion is a repulsive thing to look upon. Do you feel that way when looking upon the ways of the world, or our you tempted to engage? God wants the world to be considered crucified to us. This means that we no longer see the things of this world as valuable or worth our time.

Colossians 2:14-15- “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. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

The Cross alone has canceled the guilty charge that was held against us for breaking God’s law. It is through the redemptive work of the Cross that we can be totally forgiven. This fact takes away our ability to boast in anything but the Cross of Christ. When we were totally incapable of paying the high price of our sin debt, Jesus paid every single cent. Jesus is enough.

The Cross alone has disarmed the power of satan over our lives. It is through the victory of Jesus on the cross that satan no longer has possession of us. Jesus set us free from our captivity to sin and satan. The Cross is the only banner of true victory over our life. Good deeds cannot defeat the devil, only the Cross enables us to have victory over the enemy.

Galatians 6:12- “Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.”

Religious people like to try to replace the Cross with a list of rules, rituals, or church traditions. They don’t like to admit that church traditions and religion have no supernatural power. The source of all supernatural power is the Cross of Jesus Christ. Our flesh wants to have religion instead of the Cross. But religion is like a refrigerator, it can only keep you fresh for so long.

Prayer for today: Lord Jesus I thank you for the Cross. Help me to put my confidence in nothing else but the redemptive work of Your precious Cross. Rid me of all man-made tradition. Make me into a New Wine Skin. Fill me with Your New Wine. Use me for Your glory. In Jesus name, amen.