The cross - kept in focus

Hope you are still hanging in here and reading, and studying along with me....I've found so much here that is helpful, and I hope the Spirit can use some of what we study here to help you, too.

We've been talking about keeping Christ's cross in focus in our lives, and how that can deliver us both from the penalty and the power of sin. We discussed how before we were saved, we continually strayed because of sin, and how we now have a new life that can be free from the power of sin.

 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:24-25)

Let's dive in again!
In some translations, Peter's words read: "you have been turned to the Shepherd and Guardian" of your souls. Isn't that lovely? Think about it.....it would have been especially sweet to the slaves who heard this letter read aloud, for some of them were mistreated by their earthly masters. Peter encourages them (and us) by reminding us all we are under the tender care of the Good Shepherd -- the one Who has the welfare of all of His sheep in view.
And the word "turned," as we have mentioned before, makes us remember the image of the Shepherd with His staff, gently guiding us and turning us to the right path....making certain that we do not follow the wrong path and fall headlong from the precipice. We'll back this up with some verses in a moment. The word "guardian" is the Greek word "episkopos," where we later derived the word "bishop." We see both words applied to church leaders as their responsibilities -- it means to watch over in the sense of guarding from harm. Jesus, the Best Shepherd, watches over our souls.

Hmmmm. Does the fact that Jesus is watching everything that we think, say, and do make us uncomfortable? Or does it make us comforted? (Grin) If we are striving to live a "godly life in Christ Jesus," then our focus will be on the cross, where the Good Shepherd laid down His life for us, His sheep. If that is the case, it should be a comforting thought, to know that He is keeping watch over our souls. If we seek to follow Him, He will feed, lead, and guard us. (Wow, there's a lot packed into that small sentence!)
We mentioned that Peter's words were translated as a passive verb in some translations. "You have been turned."  Again, I would like to remind myself and all who may read here, that we don't turn to Christ because of our awesome intelligence. We don't turn to Jesus because we have amazing will power. When we turn, it's because God graciously turns us!

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,    the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you;    revive us, and we will call on your name.  Restore us, Lord God Almighty;    make your face shine on us,    that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:17-19)

I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. (Jeremiah 24:7)

Though at the same time, it's our responsibility to turn from sin to God when we are offered the opportunity:

Let the wicked forsake their ways    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,    and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)

I think Peter is saying that our salvation involves our responding to the "turning" of God, by turning away from our sin and turning toward Him. It's turning from our self-willed life that seeks to have our own way (this patch of green grass is best, so I don't want to follow the Shepherd to higher pastures...) to a life that is yielded to the shepherding and guardianship of our Savior. Our lives should be lives of consistent growth in submission to Him.

Those of us who are moms, or have helped out in family life with other folks' kids, will certainly identify with this..... what happens when one of two children is sick with a fever, and needs attention, extra fluids to drink, etc -- and the other child is pleading, crayons and paper in hand, for our attention? Well, most of us are going to say that the sick child, the hurting child, needs our special attention, while the other will need to wait a moment or two. It doesn't mean that we love one child less -- just means that we need to lavish some special attention on the child who is hurting.

The cross says that God loves all of us the same, but that He has the capacity to especially love and guide those who are hurting. Those who are under the penalty and power of sin. If we will turn to Jesus and trust what He did for us on the cross, He will deliver us from both the penalty and the power of sin, by being our Shepherd and Guide. You see, He loves all of us just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. He wants to heal us from sin.

He wants to give us these gifts:
Eternal life  (Romans 6:23)
Forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7)
Adoption into God's family (Galatians 4:5-7)
Deliverance from sin into purity (Titus 2:14)
Peace with God (Colossians 1:18-20)
The Holy Spirit within us (II Timothy 2:14)
I hope you will take a few moments as we are closing this study, to look up those verses. Have a time of prayer and communion with Him, and thank Him for each one of those gifts.
I promise you, it will make a difference in the rest of your day!!