“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (Jn 12:31-33)

These are the words our Lord spoke before He died on the Cross. It is clear that the victory of the Cross manifests as the ‘casting away’ of satan, called ‘the ruler of this world’. The victory of Christ is total and perfect. Nothing can be added and nothing can be removed. The glory is His alone. Christ took our sins on His body and died in our place. He died naked and forsaken. He took away our disgrace as condemned sinners. He opened the door of life eternal. He is the eternal hero of heaven and earth!

Christ’ death was painful and fearful. Men are supposed to run away from the Cross. But oh, the wonders of love… there is a strange magnetic attraction to go closer and see the Son of Man dying for me. The Blood shed on the Cross for my sins speaks of love never ending. The tears that fell at the foot of the Cross water any dry heart that lost its hope. Just as Moses lifted the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man was lifted up. Like a banner of the army, directing and encouraging its soldiers to victory, so the serpent is lifted on that pole for all to see. But one glance is not enough to appreciate the death of the Lover of your soul.  You must look long until what you see changes your heart. Love changes hearts. In the desert there were poisonous serpents that killed the sinners (Numbers 21). There is no man-made medicine that can destroy the poison of sin. Doctor Jesus prescribes the only cure available to men. It is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Do not look at yourself. You cannot save your soul and you cannot heal your sickness. But nothing is impossible with Jesus! That ulcer is not in your stomach. It is hanging on that pole. That fibroid is not in your womb blocking the way to pregnancy. It is there hanging on that pole. Look well and see malaria hanging there… If you believe, you shall be healed. But you need to look long to see Christ crucified. You must feel the pain and you must experience the victory. I declare that even now there is a lifting unto life. There is also a looking of faith. If you see what I see, if you see the truth of God’s sacrifice, then you shall live. You shall be healed! I promise you!

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?” (2Cor 2:14-16)

We just came from a nice vacation in Thailand and Singapore. These countries are blessed with many exotic fruits and vegetables. For example, I have never in my life eaten mangoes so sweet like the ones we bought from the river market in Thailand. But one of the most interesting fruits we saw was the Durian. It is called ‘the king of the fruits’. The outside layer is hard and has spikes. If you are not careful it may wound you! It has a very bad smell (like rotten meat). But the inside of the fruit is yellow, sweet and soft like vanilla custard. If you are able to ignore the smell you will be surprised how good the inside is. They say that this exotic fruit has many healing properties: it prevents cancer, diabetes, headache, anemia, insomnia, depression and anxiety. Because of its smell this fruit is not exported. You need to go to Southeast Asia to eat it. It is forbidden inside most hotels, halls and malls. It is always sold and eaten outside on the streets.