I wonder if we can imagine just how much God hates sin. Think of every act of cruel barbarism that twists your stomach into a knot. Think of every act of wickedness measured out against pure innocence by rampant, heartless perversion. Think of the sickening things happening in this moment that no one will ever know about except God. Also at this very second, see the totality of all this evil rising like it always has and will as an unceasing stench to the nostrils of God.

Some ask, why doesn't God do something about sin? Newsflash: He did. All God's righteous hatred of all that sin from all of human history (including your sin and mine) was poured out upon Christ as He hung on the cross. What is Jesus doing on that cross?--He was satisfying God's holy demands. A holy God poured out His wrath on His innocent Son so that we could be forgiven. When Jesus said, "It is finished," God said, "paid in full." Sin was put away. In ways we will not ever fully comprehend, the Cross of Jesus Christ satisfied the requirements of a holy God.

In the last three blogs we've observed the heavy cost of Jesus' suffering in our place. Now consider all that is offered to us in the phrase: He is risen!

In this Holy Week before Easter, the cross is forefront in our minds.

Crucifixion included all the horror that pain and death can offer. This ghastly execution embraced by the Romans involved dizziness, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, shame, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of intended wounds--all intensified just up to the point at which you could endure, stopping just short of the point where unconsciousness would bring some relief. Crucifixion was designed to keep you conscious and suffering.

One thing is clear: first century executions were not like modern ones, for they did not seek a quick, painless death nor the preservation of any measure of dignity for the criminal. On the contrary, crucifixion sought an agonizing torture which completely humiliated the accused.

But there was more happening that Friday long ago than physical suffering . . .

Few things get me out of my chair and storming the stage like injustice. I just can't sit still when things aren't right. If I'm watching basketball (especially during March Madness) and the referee is either blind or clueless about some obvious violation, I can't keep quiet. What bothers me more is when I'm waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic and somebody on a motorcycle or small car shoots up the shoulder past everyone else. That really turns my crank.

Now, those are both silly little grievances, but some injustices are so serious that they keep me awake at night. You usually hear about them on the evening news. Abuse of children, complete financial corruption that devastates trusting investors, murderers who go free because of their poor self-esteem. C'mon people.

I can tell you on good authority that the days before Jesus Christ's death were a complete farce. Injustice at every turn. It was devastating and scandalous to say the least.

In part, the whole thing upsets me--not only because of the horrendous injustice, but when I look at Jesus. Do you see the gracious, patient godly way He bore up under the scandalous treatment? When I look to Him, I realize what a BIG GAP there is between the way He handled injustice and the way I do.

For the next couple days, join me in pondering His grace in light of the gross injustice He bore for you and me. Stand as a witness to the scandalous disgrace Jesus endured in this 2nd picture of Christ on the Cross.
But don't forget . . . Easter's coming.

How many songs do you sing about Jesus on the cross? A lot, I hope!
How many sermons have you heard about His crucifixion? Again, a lot.
So what do you think about it all? Exactly what was Jesus doing on the cross?

Galatians 2:20 says that "I have been crucified with Christ." Yet before that could ever be true, Jesus was crucified in my place. To see the Cross in its proper perspective is to see Jesus in the exact location where you and I should have died. In the place where our blood should have stained the ground, Jesus hung as our substitute.

In preparation for an amazing Easter celebration, ponder this first of four pictures of the Cross of Christ.

Hey, let's do the greatest thing we can do as Christ followers. Yeah, let's do it together as we approach another Easter. It's just a couple of weeks away, so let's do it . . . let's focus on the cross!

What's your problem? You hear that question a lot these days. Kids ask it when someone looks at them sideways, others pose the interrogative when they can't figure out why some people get so energized about any certain issue. It's a good question and it deserves a good answer. Most often the answer is SIN . . . but even in Jesus' day the religious leaders had a hard time accepting that diagnosis . . .

Hey, I am working on a new book, 10 Choices to Change Your Life Forever. It's about the power of personal choice in relationship to the most important decisions of life. Here's a bit I hope will bless you.

I Choose God's Love
I've been a working with people long enough to know that when I say God is love, some people pull back and look at me sideways, "Really? God is love? Well, if that's true, then how could He have allowed . . ."--and out comes a painful story. Are you like that?

Luke 13:1-5, "Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'"

Be careful of believing that God's general blessings, or the absence of significant trials are confirmations of His favor. They are not!!!

How could we ever explain the sovereignty of God? Of course we cannot but we can share the light Scripture gives as in Isaiah 45:7,

"I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these."

Underline that second part, He is "causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these things."