Lead Me to Calvary

“When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.”  Luke 23:33

As Jesus left the Last Supper with His disciples, He began a movement toward the cross.  We cannot even imagine how He must have felt.  Into the Garden of Gethsemane he walked with three faithful disciples and He asked them to “watch and pray” with Him.  Jesus agonized in that garden with the will of the Father.  Do you ever agonize over God’s will?  Our Savior struggled so mightily with what He was asked to do for us that capillaries in his skin burst to form droplets of blood mingled with sweat falling down His face.  Have you ever struggled that much with what God asked you to do?  Then, having been betrayed by Judas, Jesus spent the rest of that night into the blazing sun of the next day being ripped apart for us physically and emotionally until finally reaching the most terrible of executions on the cross of Calvary.

Our Praise Team sings this special song many times before Easter:  
“Lead Me to Calvary,” by Jennie E. Hussey
King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be;  Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow, Lead me to Calvary.  Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony; Lest I forget Thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.”

Have you been to Calvary in your mind?  Have you placed yourself in the mind and heart of Jesus in those moments?  I believe for true repentance, restoration, and revival to come to us personally and as a church family, we have to remember what Jesus has done!  Brothers and Sisters, this is why we are a church of Jesus Christ.  It is because of Who Jesus is and What He has done for us!  It is not about ministries we do, or a worship style we have, or a building we work in….we are God’s church because of Jesus.  When we stray away from our first decision to follow Him and stray from our first love of serving Him, we venture off the path of His will.

Let the Holy Spirit lead you to Calvary today and remember.  Our lives are about this!  Our salvation is about this!  River’s Edge is about this!

I love you all,
Pastor Stephen

*Thanks given to Claude King for inspiration given in his book: “Come to the Lord’s Table”.