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From: SF Daily Devotional
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2010 3:27 AM
Subject: SF Daily Devotional - He Did That For Me
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Monday, March 28, 2010 Print Article
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He Did That For Me
Alan Riley
Theologians have a fancy phrase for it... they call it
"Substitutionary Atonement." What it means in plain English is that Jesus died
on the cross paying the penalty for sin. From the beginning of the church,
there has been a clear understanding of what Christ's death on the cross meant.
It was not simply the unjust murder of an influential if somewhat unorthodox
Jewish teacher on a Passover weekend. It was the only begotten Son of God
willingly giving up His life to pay the price for sin. Your sin. My sin.
But for any truth to be a life-changing one, we must come to
the place where it moves from being simple fact to being a truth that we
embrace with our entire being. It is one thing to know that Jesus died for you,
but another thing altogether for the full weight of that truth to become
painfully clear to you. Someone once said this process involves making the
18-inch journey from your head to your heart.
I remember when I was 17 years old and a brand new Christian,
so excited about my new-found faith. It was the Easter season, so the old movie
"King of Kings" was on TV. When the movie showed the crucifixion, I was deeply
moved as I saw Him beaten and mocked. As Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for
they know not what they do," tears began to roll down my face. How could they
have done this to Jesus? Why would they want to crucify Him? Why didn't He call
down angels to destroy them all and save Him?
It was then for the first time in my walk with the Lord I
clearly sensed the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, as clearly as if I had heard
it audibly. Just five simple words that pieced my heart like a knife: "I did
this for you."
For the first time the full weight of that truth hit me like
a ton of bricks. It was my sin that put Him there. He suffered and He died in
my place. He did that for me.
Many years later I was reminded of that experience again, as
I saw someone else experience the same thing. We went with a group from church
to see the film "The Passion of the Christ." I wept along with most everyone in
the theatre as I watched a much more true to life depiction of Jesus' suffering
and death. As we were leaving the theatre, I noticed a member of our church - a
92 year-old retired physician who walked with two canes - make his way to a
seat in the lobby and begin sobbing loudly. Several of us walked over to him.
No one said anything for a few moments. The doctor struggled to regain enough
composure to speak. When he finally did, he cried out through his tears, "That
was for me!"
How long has it been since the reality of God's grace and
forgiveness reduced you to tears? When was the last time you wept over your sin
and what it cost the Lord Jesus? For most of us it has been way too long.
I encourage you to get caught up - again, as if for the first
time - in the awe and wonder of the fact that the only begotten Son of God
would give His life for you.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far
too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life... my
all.
Rev. Alan Riley is the Director of Web Operations for
Streaming Faith and serves as the Managing Editor of StreamingFaith.com. He is
an ordained Baptist Minister and a frequent contributor to the Streaming Faith
Daily Devotional. His personal blog can be found at www.alansblog.com.
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