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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Where the Power Is          

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The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. —1 Corinthians 1:18

I once asked Billy Graham, “If you had it to do it all over again, are there things you would have emphasized as a younger preacher that maybe you are emphasizing now?” His response surprised me.

Without any hesitation, he said, “The cross of Christ and the blood. That’s where the power is.”

I remembered that. I took note of it as a preacher: the cross of Christ and the blood. That is what he would emphasize more. That’s where the power is.

It comes down to the cross. Any accurate presentation of the gospel comes down to the cross. You can talk about loneliness, and you can talk about hope and life beyond the grave. But it all comes down to the cross.

Paul said, “Let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. . . Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (1 Corinthians 15:1,3-4 NLT).

We need to remember this as Christians. Perhaps you don’t consider yourself a theologian or the greatest intellect of all time. But you can tell the story of what Jesus did on the cross and how He died and shed His blood for us. There is power in that simple message. I have watched it transform people time and time again because God anoints it, blesses it, and He uses it to penetrate the defenses that people can put up.

Jesus died on the cross for us. That’s where the power is.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Why the Cross?

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The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. —1 Corinthians 1:18

A true story was reported about a couple visiting a jewelry store. As the jeweler showed them various crosses, the woman commented, “I like these, but do you have any without this little man on them?”

That is what so many people want today: a cross without Jesus. They want a cross without any offense — one that will look cool with their outfits. But if we could travel back in time and see the cross in its original context, we would realize that it was a bloody and vile symbol. It would have been the worst picture imaginable to see someone hanging on a cross.

The Romans chose crucifixion because it was meant to be a slow, torturous way to die. It was designed to humiliate a person. The crucifixions outside Roman cities served as warnings to anyone who would dare oppose the rule of Rome.

If there had been any other way, do you think that God would have allowed His Son to suffer like this? If there had been any other way we could have been forgiven, then God surely would have found it. If living a good moral life would get us to heaven, then Jesus never would have died for us. But He did — because there was and is no other way. He had to pay the price for our sin. At the cross, Jesus purchased the salvation of the world.

If you ever were tempted to doubt God’s love for you, even for a moment, then take a long, hard look at the cross. Nails did not hold Jesus to that cross; His love did.