To Pardon And Sanctify Me

This verse from the old hymn, The Old Rugged Cross, offers powerful hope for our earthly lives and for our eternal souls:

In the old rugged Cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above,
To pardon and sanctify me.

Jesus died to pardon our sins -- our acts and deeds of rebellion -- and to purify our Sin -- our attitudes and dispositions of rebellion.

But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
-- 1 John 1:9 (NLT)

Lord, thanks for saving and for sanctifying me.
Grateful

Hands of Kindness

On the Mount of Beatitudes Jesus delivered His Sermon on the Mount. It's recorded in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. He spent the night before praying on the top of the mountain then preached the next day on the flat plain overlooking the Sea of Galilee. In His sermon Jesus said: Blessed are the merciful... Yes, blessed are the kind...

On our Holy Land Pilgrimage we read aloud from Matthew 5, yes from The Beatitudes of our Lord's Kingdom. Indeed the Beatitudes are the attitudes of those who belong to Him. After our reading time, Dara fashioned a cross from some of the straw on the mountainside. How the Lord must've been moved to receive such a personal expression of love from one of his daughters! With hands of kindness, Dara then offered the straw cross to her pastor on Christ's behalf. What an attitude of gratitude. Humbling. Touching. Blessed.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful