Melted by the Sacrifice French beaches! You say that and most people might think about what a vacation that would be. Well, not when the Western world remembers what happened on the French beaches on D-Day. I remember, for example, the 50th anniversary. For several days American media bombarded us; we couldnt forget it. See, something else happened on French beaches - the heroic battle to establish an allied beachhead in France and to push back the darkness of Hitlers madness. I mean theres a whole generation who knew next to nothing about what might be the most significant military victory in the 20th century when theres an anniversary celebration of an event like that. But when we see some of the films-and we did then-we saw the films of those boys barely out of high school storming the shore in the face of deadly German fire and many who died before they even hit the beach. We saw some of the veterans who survived. We heard their stories of buddies who are buried there. We saw the tears in the eyes of some pretty tough, old guys. And those of us who watched were touched ourselves, I think. It was President Clinton - when the 50th anniversary took place - he spoke that day. Hes part of a generation who knows relatively little about D-Day but whose freedom was in a sense really paid for there. And that day the President seemed almost to choke up sometimes when he spoke; especially when he spoke in the American cemetery near Omaha Beach. He was speaking to many veterans of that bloody battle, and one phrase of that speech still sticks out in my mind. Looking at those who risked everything on D-Day and speaking of those who gave everything, the President said these words, We are the children of your sacrifice. Im Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about Melted by the Sacrifice. When you realize the high price paid on D-Day its hard to remain unmoved. Something similar happened 2,000 years ago on the day Gods Son died on the cross. It happened to a soldier, the man in charge of the execution of Jesus Christ. We are about to hear remarkable words considering that theyre coming from a hardened executioner. In Mark 15:19, the man in charge of the execution - Listen to what he says, And when the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus heard His cry and saw how He died, he said, Surely this man was the Son of God. This soldier was melted by the sacrifice of the Son of God. This was no ordinary man dying this criminal death. This was the only Son of God. This soldier had seen a lot of death, so what moved him? Crucifixion was nothing new to him. Lets stand for a moment and listen to what he heard Jesus saying at the cross. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. He had heard everything from crosses: curses, and screams, and complaining, but hed never heard the word forgive. And Jesus was forgiving those responsible for His death. That centurion must have been thinking, Hes forgiving me. He was forgiving you and me too, because it was our sin that put Jesus there. Then he heard Jesus say, Today you will be with Me in paradise. And here he realized that this was a man who cares about the person who needs Him, even in His own darkest hour. And he said, This Jesus must have the power to take people to heaven. He does, including you. And then he heard Jesus cry, It is finished! He didnt lose! He won as He died. He sounds like Hes won. Mission accomplished! The death penalty for our sin fully paid in that moment; the hell we deserve can be traded for the heaven we dont deserve if we put our trust in this One and only Savior. We are the children of His sacrifice. If you know Jesus personally, you should have one objective with the people around you who dont know Christ. Bring them to this cross. Just tell them about Jesus and His incredible love. Help them stand at the cross. If youre not sure you know Christ, God is bringing you to the foot of His Sons cross right now through this visit. Will you put all your trust in Him, or are you going to ignore this love, this sacrifice? If youre ready to begin a relationship with Him, thats what our website is all about; beginning that relationship. Let me invite you to join us there at ANewStory. How can you say no to the One who loves you so very much?
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:25:46 +0000
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