Author Darlene J. Conard

I never tire of recounting the story of Calvary. The sacrifice was undeniably brutal. Although Jesus was not obligated to make such a sacrifice, the love within Him was more powerful than His self-will. There is a poignant song that expresses how He was thinking of me when He died, emphasizing that it wasn’t the nails through His hands and knees that held him on that cruel tree, but rather a self-denying, all-consuming love for someone like me. This signifies a powerful, unconditional love. There have been numerous occasions when I’ve needed mercy and release, and each of us has our own story to tell. Finding comfort in knowing there is a higher authority than this world is reassuring. Every day, we can acknowledge that we’ve been at the foot of the cross, seeking mercy in our brokenness. The more I meditate on His death, burial, and resurrection, the more it is impressed upon me that I was on His mind, and so were you. While rivers may dry up occasionally, the crimson flow from Calvary still flows just as fluently as it did then. We require that experience every day.

“Surely, he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”  Isaiah 53:4-5 KJV

“Only in the Cross of Christ will we receive power when we are powerless. We will find strength when we are weak. We will experience hope when our situation is hopeless. Only in the Cross is there peace for our troubled hearts.   –Michael Youssef- “

You were on His mind when He hung on the old rugged tree.

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