Worship Devotional CXXII

May 14

Originally posted to the Facebook group on 5/14/2022.

Once And For All Upon The Cross

Worship Devotional for 5/15/22

Psalm 2:

"Why do the nations rebel and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and His Anointed One: 'Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints.'
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath: 'I have consecrated My King on Zion, My holy mountain.'
I will declare the Lord's decree: He said to Me, 'You are My Son; today I have become Your Father. Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance and the ends of the earth Your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; You will shatter them like pottery.'
So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling. Pay homage to the Son or He will be angry and you will perish in your rebellion, for His anger may ignite at any moment. All those who take refuge in Him are happy."

Daniel 7:13-14:

"I continued watching in the night visions, and I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed."

There is One who is the focal point of all history, of all the nations and cultures and languages and peoples of the world, and of the whole of Scripture. He is the One who would come to us to save us from the brokenness and evil of this world, who would fulfill every promise and prophecy spoken by God through the prophets, and who would take His place as the only rightful King over all kings and nations of the earth to establish an everlasting rule of justice, righteousness, and peace. This is the Son spoken of in Scripture, the promised Messiah who brings salvation to God's people.

We celebrate at Christmastime the birth of the Messiah, the Son of God who came to us as the Son of Man, living in our flesh and bearing our burdens, sharing in our weaknesses and struggles. We then remember His life and ministry, how He lived a blameless and perfect life facing every temptation we face but without sin, walking in perfect submission and obedience to the Father, healing the broken and declaring the good news of the kingdom of God to the poor and downcast, teaching His disciples to follow Him. Then we remember the events of the Holy Week leading up to His crucifixion and death, and how He told His disciples ahead of time what was going to take place according to the will of the Father, and how He laid down His life for us all. He willingly went to the cross, in perfect obedience to the Father, to die the death that we all deserve for our sinful rebellion against our Holy Creator. On that cross, suffering and bleeding and dying for our sins, God's love and righteousness were put on display for all the world to behold. His justice and His mercy joined together in perfect harmony as the Son of God was crucified in the sight of the nations, that all who would believe in Him might be saved from God's wrath toward sin. The purpose of God in offering up His Only Son for us is summarized in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

"He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

The astonishing work of God didn't end there though. If Jesus had stayed in the grave, our sins would have been paid for until that point, but there would be no more acceptable offering for all our sins since. We would still be condemned and without hope. But death cannot hold the Son of God! For after remembering His crucifixion and sacrifice, we recall with great joy the triumph of His resurrection! On the third day, He rose from the dead to victory and to everlasting life, just as He said and just as it is written. Now we who have believed in Him are alive with Him; the old things have passed away and look, new things have come! As we continually celebrate the resurrection life we now live by faith in the Son of God, we aim to grow more and more in the grace and knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to walk with Him as His Spirit who lives within us leads us and guides us into all truth, so that we may endure in doing the will of God while we are here on this earth, and receive an eternal reward in the end to the glory of our God and Father and King!

Jesus Christ is our Faithful High Priest, our True and Eternal King, our Savior and our Hope for both this age and the one to come. In His name alone do we have all the fullness of life and hope and peace and joy, for it is by His blood that we have been redeemed — from slavery to sin and the fear of death — to serve the living God. May our lives reflect this truth and give glory to the One who is worthy, that all the nations on earth may hear and come to know the one true God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Savior of the world.

Hebrews 7:26-28:

"For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He doesn't need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do — first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever."

Colossians 2:6-15:

"Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.
Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. For the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. You were also circumcised in Him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of the Messiah. Having been buried with Him in baptism, you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him."

Galatians 2:19-20:

"For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Songs: