Dr Paul Allen

English: Detail of a sculpture showing Jesus Christ carrying the cross in the grounds of the Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator in Singapore. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ , by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” ( Galatians 6:14 ) As we ponder the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, a fuller understanding should bring us to an ever-deeper reliance on and identification with Him. To assist us in examining the work of Christ on the cross, let us use the beloved hymn “ The Old Rugged Cross .” Here we will find its words reflecting a deep and abiding love for Christ and His cross. The next four days we will, in turn, study each of its four verses, but today, note its chorus: So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown. Our text reminds us that there is no worth in...

Image via Wikipedia With conversion comes a new capacity for understanding and appreciating the true nature and character of God . We are now open and receptive to an unprecedented degree of acknowledging, loving, and adoring the God who is. Learning of the character of God is an experience that cannot be exhausted in a single lifetime in this world. Even with the new eyes of faith we grope at times as blind men and squint with myopic eyes through a glass darkly. The more we interact with God’s unveiling of Himself in sacred Scriptures , the more light we are able to apprehend. I know that life changes. We decay. We hurt. We die. Nothing in this life is for sure. That’s why you and I need a God who is bigger than life, certainly One who is bigger than death. We need a God who cannot be slain, a God who cannot die. Magic won’t do. Myths won’t work either. This God must be real. Because God is silent and invisible, we tend to think He is absent from us. When we can’t “feel” His pres...