(Good) Friday Focus..."Down At The Cross Where My Savior Died..."


Remember that hymn from Good Friday services of the past?

"Down at the cross, where my Savior died;
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His name."

I have the privilege of attending two Good Friday services today.  One is at noon and another in the evening.  I am sure that they will "look" much different from each other.  The settings will be different; the make up of those gathered will be different; the order of service will be different; the song selections will be different; and even the ministers leading the services will be different.  

What will be similar is the focus of our attention.  Our focus will be on the cross, an empty one, and the One who once hung there.  We will be reminded of the great agony that Jesus, our Savior and Messiah, went through.  The punishment was necessary for the substitution to be complete for the remission of sins.  The plan from the beginning needed to be fulfilled with every prophecy of the Messiah and from the Messiah weighing in.  

How He would enter Jerusalem; 
how He would be killed; 
who He would be turned over to; 
how He would respond; 
what treatment He would receive; 
how He would be handed over; 
how much would be given for Him; 
where He would be placed upon His death; 
when He would rise again; etc.

The only "good" One gave up His life on that first Good Friday.  He laid it down on His own accord so that we who would be saved could experience the faith given to us by Him and willingly live our lives for Him.  He willingly gave His life and we who are saved are to give our lives willingly back in response.  What a great exchange happened on that day and we received what we did not deserve.  Justification, mercy, love, and grace were given to us through faith in and of Christ.  The willing sacrifice once and for all was given and even though we see all the "bad" that happened that day to our beloved Jesus, the "good" plan of God shines through.

At one service I will occupy a pew and be just one of the congregation to sing, pray, contemplate, and listen.  The other service I will read some of the Old Testament scriptures that speak of what the coming Messiah would go through and accomplish on this day we call Good Friday.  I encourage you to find a way to gather with other Christians today.  No Easter/Resurrection Sunday is complete without a Good Friday.

Adam


A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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