Even though he dies

Wednesday, January 06, 2010, 6:16 a.m. – This song was in my head:

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane

Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.

In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Romans 5:1-11:

Peace and Joy
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

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My Understanding: Cross – a difficulty in somebody’s personal life that is particularly testing, troubling, or painful (Encarta); identification with Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection, i.e. in our death to the old “self” life and our resurrection to new life in Jesus Christ.

When I think of this song, “Jesus, keep me near the cross,” I think I am asking the Lord to keep me close to Him; close to this death to my “self” life and close to the resurrected life that is free from bondage to and the control of sin over my life in my thoughts, speech, and actions, etc. Sometimes the Lord allows trials and testings in our lives in order to keep us “near the cross.”

This passage of scripture is a difficult one, I believe, because it asks us to “rejoice” in our sufferings - not merely to endure them with grace and dignity; not merely to be patient during them and to grow from them, but to rejoice in our sufferings. Rejoice - to feel very happy or show great happiness about something (Encarta). Rejoicing - An act of showing joy – http://www.en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rejoicing. Joy - to delight in something; or a pleasurable aspect of something (Encarta).

I think that last definition hits the nail on the head. I believe the way that we are to be joyful or to rejoice in our sufferings is by focusing on the potential positive or productive outcome of the suffering, trial or testing. And, that is where the passage continues. It tells us why we should rejoice in our sufferings, because “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” God allows these times of difficulty in our lives to grow us, to mature us and to make us more like Jesus. When we fight against them instead of rejoicing in them, then we miss out on the benefits they have to offer us in helpings us to walk day by day in obedience and in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, that brought to mind the minor sufferings in my life of late:

• Relationship conflicts
• Car troubles
• Computer problems
• An invasion of ants in our house that has not responded well to the exterminator’s attempts to alleviate us of the problem and
• Health issues, etc.

Lord, I give all these “sufferings” over to you. I thank you for them for all the reasons stated in this passage of scripture. Teach me what you want me to learn through them. Help me to respond in a way that is pleasing to you and that is beneficial to others. Keep me near the cross of Christ, I pray in Jesus’ name.

Spirit of the Living God / Daniel Iverson

Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me
Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.

http://www.excite.com Daily Bible Verse - John 11:25-26 - NIV - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"