Bible Reading: Are You Making It to The Cross?

In your regular reading of God's Word, are you regularly making it to the cross?

Today, whether you read a few chapters in Leviticus or Luke, Ezekiel or Ephesians, Proverbs or Philippians, you must make it to the cross. If you don't make it to the cross, if you don't see the connection between a chapter in Proverbs and what Jesus accomplished on the cross, you'll miss the whole point of your regular Bible reading. The whole point of reading through your Bible on a regular basis is to begin to see and celebrate that the whole Bible is about the cross--about the gospel, about the good news of what Jesus has done for you.

Make it to the cross.

If you don't make it to the cross, if you read a few verses in Proverbs and a paragraph of commands in Philippians without detecting how these sentences connect to the blood-stained beam of wood where, "For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21), then consequences will follow.

If you don't make it to the cross, you'll make your Bible reading and your relationship with God about your performance rather than about Jesus' performance. You'll gravitate away from the gospel and towards religion. Anxiety and fear will take the place of confidence, joy, and rest. Legalism will replace freedom. If your eyes don't catch a glimpse of the cross as you turn the pages of Scripture, you're likely to spend much of your day staring at yourself, wallowing in endless introspection, rather than staring at your Savior, delighting in his costly love.

Cultivate the habit of making it to the cross every time you read your Bible.

If you need help with this habit, if, like me, you're prone to forget the wonder of the cross, you may want to establish for yourself some drastic reminders of the cross. You probably don't need to do anything as drastic as this former cross-forgetting Pharisee did. Eight years ago I tattooed a cross on my inside wrist (see pic above) so that every time I looked down at my open hands I'd be reminded of the outstretched hands of Jesus. When I read my Bible this morning, as I scanned the sentences in Psalm 40, I also looked down at the cross on my wrist which served as but one simple reminder for me of how the statements of deliverance in Psalm 40 point forward to the ultimate deliverance that Christ purchased for sinners on the cross.

You probably don't need a tattoo, but you probably do need to set up some sort of reminder that will help you make it to the cross in your Bible reading. Find your reminder, make it to the cross, and then you'll find that your Bible reading becomes a part of your day that you look forward to, that you can't do without. As you make it to the cross your Bible reading will become a time of great gladness, gratitude,  and refreshment. 

Today, I think for the first time, I'm praying for all of you who read this blog. I'm praying that you'll make it to the cross, find fresh joy in your Bible reading, and give God glory as you survey and savor the good news of the gospel.

Comments

[joanyb(mom)]

Love the reminder of cross & gospel focus in your post. Not being from the tattoo generation, I remember gasping a bit when you and your brother Mark got matching cross tattoos during your Santa Barbara days. I have come to rejoice and celebrate the spirit and meaning of them. So very awesome!

[Kevin]

Hi Justin,
Thanks for this helpful post. Two ways I find to get to the cross from each passage is by firstly asking God to show me the thoughts and attidues of my heart (Heb 4:12) from that passage - this helps me see more clearly my sin and therefore my need of the cross. Also I ask God to help me see more clearly in light of the passage who he has now made me to be through Christ, which also helps me give thanks for the cross.
By the way do you mind if I use your entry (and other occasional blog entries) in my church newsletter to encourage others? Thanks again.

[Anthony]

Hey Justin, that was a awesome. Something that can be easy to forget at times as well. Would you mind if I borrowed this for my blog page??

[Amir]

Hi Christian Lord,

I thought that you said that your tribe was peaceful. You have killed many (animals, people) in violation of your history book.

So will the whole lot of you go to hell?

Is that book to rationalize your way of living?

Do people go to hell for having sex as suggested by the pope?

Is the pope a sick, tired, old guy like the dali Lama?

I have always felt that the market in a global sense is fair. I can see that there are some of the same problems with Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Seekism and the like. We will see who comes out ahead in another thousand years........

Various People

[Rebecca]

inspiring.
thank you.

[Rebecca]

inspiring.
thank you.