1) Beneath the Cross (Matt Hennecke)
2) Seek God When He May Be Found (Psalm 32:6) (Mike Johnson)
3) Psalm 119:113-120 (Berean Standard Bible)
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1cor11-25-bsb-1019x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n-1-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beneath the Cross<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Matt Hennecke Upon that cross of Jesus<\/em> I take, O cross, thy shadow<\/em> ——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n -2-<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Psalm 32:6) Samekh<\/p>\n\n\n\n 113<\/sup>The double-minded I despise, but Your law I love. 1) Hear <\/strong>the gospel — for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31). “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).——————– Contents: 1) Beneath the Cross (Matt Hennecke)2) Seek God When He May Be Found (Psalm 32:6) (Mike Johnson)3) Psalm 119:113-120 (Berean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3614"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3618,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614\/revisions\/3618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Whenever we gather to partake of the Lord\u2019s Supper, we join in remembering<\/em> something we didn\u2019t witness\u2014Jesus\u2019s crucifixion. We attempt to somehow \u201csee\u201d what we didn\u2019t see. Is this even possible?
When Jesus instituted the Lord\u2019s Supper, he told his followers to eat in remembrance<\/em> of him; but I wasn\u2019t at the cross and you weren\u2019t either, so how can we remember? And we\u2019re not the only ones who weren\u2019t there. Except for one, that ragtag group of apostles who had followed Jesus during his three-year ministry weren\u2019t there either.
You know who stood beneath the cross of Jesus when he was crucified? His mother. Why? One word: love. Hers was the undying devotion and amazing love of a mother. Despite the absolute horror she was about to witness, no one\u2014neither the Jewish religious elite nor the Roman government\u2014could have kept her from being at her son\u2019s side when the world was at its darkest. There\u2019s nothing in this life more powerful than a mother\u2019s love. It is only eclipsed by God\u2019s love who sent his son to die on the very cross beneath which Mary stood.
The Bible records several other women were present, but where were all the men? Where were the apostles? They\u2019d run. Matthew 26:56 says simply \u201c\u2026all\u2026left him and fled.\u201d John\u2014the one whom Jesus loved\u2014also stood beneath the cross of Jesus. Apparently, he\u2019d fled with the others; but love stopped his flight and, despite the danger, he returned to be with Jesus. Of the apostles, then, only one\u2014John\u2014saw Jesus crucified. The others had fled for their lives\u2014the very lives Jesus was sent to save. Perhaps later, to their shame, when asked if they had seen the crucifixion of Jesus, they had to reply, \u201cNo, I wasn\u2019t there.\u201d When these ambassadors of Christ who preached the gospel throughout the known world joined with fellow Christians in taking the Lord\u2019s Supper, they likely felt pangs of guilt as they sought to remember something they had not seen.
So, again, the question: Can we remember what we\u2019ve not witnessed? Can we \u201csee\u201d what we\u2019ve not seen? Can we stand beneath the cross of Jesus and see him crucified? I think we can. I believe we are standing beneath the cross of Jesus when we assemble to partake of the Lord\u2019s Supper.
How can I say this? Because faith is all about \u201cseeing\u201d what we haven\u2019t seen. Hebrews 1:1 says, \u201cfaith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen<\/em>.\u201d A bit later in the chapter\u2014in verse 27\u2014the writer describes faith somewhat differently. He says faith is \u201cseeing the unseen.\u201d<\/em>
Elizabeth Clephane\u2014a young Scottish poetess\u2014wrote the lyrics to a hymn we occasionally sing. Sadly, she died at the young age of 39, long before her work was published. One of her poems put to music is entitled \u201cBeneath the Cross.\u201d Elizabeth believed we could \u201csee the unseen\u201d and she believed\u2014despite not having been there\u2014that we could stand and take a stand\u2014even today\u2014beneath the cross of Jesus.
Consider her beautiful lyrics:
Beneath the cross of Jesus<\/em>
I fain would take my stand,<\/em>
The shadow of a mighty Rock<\/em>
Within a weary land.<\/em>
A home within the wilderness,<\/em>
A rest upon the way,<\/em>
From the burning of the noontide heat,<\/em>
And the burden of the day.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mine eyes at times can see<\/em>
The very dying form of One<\/em>
Who suffer\u2019d there for me.<\/em>
And from my smitten heart, with tears,<\/em>
Two wonders I confess:<\/em>
The wonders of redeeming love,<\/em>
And my unworthiness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
For my abiding place.<\/em>
I ask no other sunshine than<\/em>
The sunshine of His face.<\/em>
Content to let the world go by,<\/em>
To know no gain nor loss,<\/em>
My sinful self my only shame,<\/em>
My glory all the cross.<\/em>
— Via Think on These Things<\/em>, July-August-September, 2026, Vol. 57, No. 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2cor6-2-bsb.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSeek God When He May Be Found<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mike Johnson
In Psalm 32, David describes what might be called the \u201cblessedness of forgiveness.\u201d In this Psalm, David speaks of the agony of sin and of the joy of receiving forgiveness from God. In the course of doing this (v. 6), he speaks of the need to seek God when He \u201cmay be found<\/strong>.\u201d Cannot God always been found by the penitent sinner? In a sense, the answer is \u201cyes,\u201d but something else is involved here. God is not hiding from the sinner, but the sinner may not have the opportunity<\/em> to find God. Many events in life can happen, which take away opportunities to make ourselves right with God. Consider three circumstances\/events, which can occur:
1. Our conscience can become hardened or seared. <\/strong>Hebrews 3:13 speaks of a person being \u201chardened through the deceitfulness of sin\u201d; Romans 2:5 describes an \u201cimpenitent heart\u201d; 1 Timothy 4:2 speaks of those who have \u201ctheir own conscience seared with a hot iron.\u201d People often want to repent and confess their sins to God because their conscience bothers them. However, as time goes on, and they continue to ignore conscience, it then ceases to bother them and becomes hardened or seared. They have lost their opportunity.
2. We can die at any time<\/strong> (James 4:13-17). We are going to be judged based on that which we have done in our body (2 Cor. 5:10). After death, it will be too late.
3. Christ can return at any time <\/strong>(Mt. 24:36-44, 2 Pet. 3:10). At a time when we least expected it, time, and our opportunity to repent can end on this earth.
The point is clear. We must take advantage of the time we have now to receive forgiveness lest we lose the opportunity, i.e., we must seek forgiveness \u201cin a time when God can be found.\u201d II Corinthians 6:2 says,\u201c\u2026 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.\u201d<\/em> All of us should seek God now while we can find Him.
\u2014 Via Seeking Things Above<\/em>, Volume 1, Number 1, April 2020
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-3-<\/p>\n\n\n\nPsalm 119:113-120<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
114<\/sup>You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word.
115<\/sup>Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may obey the commandments of my God.
116<\/sup>Sustain me as You promised, that I may live; let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117<\/sup>Uphold me, and I will be saved, that I may always regard Your statutes.
118<\/sup>You reject all who stray from Your statutes, for their deceitfulness is in vain.
119<\/sup>All the wicked on earth You discard like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies.
120<\/sup>My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
— Berean Standard Bible
_____________<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2) Believe <\/strong>in the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent <\/strong>of sins. For every accountable person has sinned (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10), which causes one to be spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). Therefore, repentance of sin is necessary (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30). For whether the sin seems great or small, there will still be the same penalty for either (Matt. 12:36-37; 2 Cor. 5:10) — and even for a lie (Rev. 21:8).
4) Confess faith <\/strong>in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized<\/strong> in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21). This is the final step that puts one into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27). For from that baptism, one is then raised as a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), having all sins forgiven and beginning a new life as a Christian (Rom. 6:3-4). For the one being baptized does so \u201cthrough faith in the working of God\u201d (Col. 2:12). In other words, believing that God will keep His word and forgive after one submits to these necessary steps. And now as a Christian, we then need to\u2026
6) Continue in the faith <\/strong>by living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Matt. 24:13; Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday:<\/strong> 9 a.m<\/strong>. Bible Classes (except for last of the month Song Service)
and 10 a.m. <\/strong>Worship Service
Wednesday:<\/strong> 7 p.m.<\/strong> Bible Classes
evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/a>
https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go\/all.htm<\/a> (This is a link to the older version of the Gospel Observer website, but with bulletins going back to March 4, 1990.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"