Throw The Cross Into It

Exodus 15:25, “And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.”

That tree dear reader symbolizes the cross upon which Jesus Christ died for you and me, and for the sins of the whole world. Throw the cross into it!

One of my loyal ministry followers told me that his father commit suicide today. My heart broke with sympathy and empathy for my Christian brother. Oh my. We never know what's going on in someone else's mind. There but for the grace of God, go you and I.

I comforted my friend, letting him how sorry I am for his father's death. I am so very sorry for his inexplicable loss, pain, grief and suffering. My best friend during childhood, Greg, commit suicide with his father's shotgun in Tennessee. He was only 22 years old. I wept bitterly at the funeral for Greg. I placed my pocket New Testament in his coffin. Although I miss my friend, no one can take away all of the cherished memories I have of my childhood and teenage years spent with my best friend. We went to the Bill Rice Ranch in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, together with our church's youth group as teenagers. We attended the same public and then Christian schools together.

Greg strayed away from the Lord, dropped out of church, started drinking booze, and then the family moved from Chicago to Tennessee. A few years had passed and then one day I learned that he had killed himself. I was heartbroken. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) was absolutely right, who said: “Behind every tragedy in human character is a slow process of wicked thinking.” That is why for the longest time now my favorite Bible verse has been Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

I was reminded today of a beautiful sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) titled: "Throw The Cross Into It." I shared that sermon with my grieving ministry friend today.

In the sermon Brother Hyles talks about a woman who was one of his church members in Garland, Texas. She called him in panic one day to let Pastor Hyles know that her husband had just commit suicide, and she found his body. Brother Hyles rushed to their home and arrived before the police did, and he saw the man's brains lying on the floor. Dr. Hyles opened the Bible and showed the man's distraught wife Exodus 15:25, “And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.” She threw the cross into her tragedy! The cross is the answer to everything.

The multitude of Jews in the Wilderness came across some much needed water, but it was toxic. In Exodus 15:25, Moses cried out to the Lord, and God showed him a piece of wood, which he threw into the bitter water at Marah, making it fit to drink. This event demonstrated God's provision and guidance for the Israelites in their time of need. Dear reader, we have the precious old rugged cross of Jesus Christ to throw into all of our burdens, bodily pain, bitterness, loss and inexplicable trauma that happens in life. 

Pastor Hyles shares another story about a woman in his church in Texas who became bitter against God when her baby died. He showed her Exodus 15:25, but she refused to put the cross into it, holding onto her anger and bitterness against God. Weeks later Brother Hyles said that he and his wife read in the local newspaper that the woman had murdered her husband. The bullet had entered into the top of his head and exited at the bottom of his neck, which indicated that she killed him while he was on his hands and knees begging for mercy and forgiveness. Then she drove off speeding over 80 mph and died in a crash.

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS

Alas! and did my Savior bleed

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For sinners such as I?

Refrain:

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!

Whatever you burden may be dear reader, throw the cross into it. If you are fighting bitterness, throw the cross into it. Whatever your loss or heartache may be, throw the cross into it. If you are going through a divorce, throw the cross into it. If you were the one who filed for divorce, commit adultery or had an abortion, throw the cross into it. THROW THE CROSS INTO IT!

My heart is with my brother in Christ whose father killed himself today. I have been thinking lately about famous country singers' Mel Street, Faron Young, Naomi Judd and Tom Hall, who all sadly commit suicide. There but for the grace of God, go all of us. Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Famous movie producer Ridley Scott (Aliens, Blade Runner, Gladiator) had a younger brother named Tony Scott, who was a movie producer in England. At age 68 Tony jumped off the 185 foot high Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles to his death. Ridley was heartbroken. Life is so short and unpredictable. We don't know what another day may bring (Proverbs 27:1).

“You can't keep from becoming bitter, but you can keep from staying bitter. Throw the cross into it!” - Pastor Jack Hyles, “Throw The Cross Into It!”

Don't let bitterness rule your spirit concerning enemies, family and disgruntled former friends who have hurt you. Let God fight your battles dear child of God. Exodus 14:14, “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Throw the cross into it.

I love you dear reader with God's unconditional love, whoever you may be. We all go through difficult times in life, and seemingly unbearable tragedies at times, but the cross is the answer! John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Exodus 15:25, “And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.”