Michael asked us to post this for your reading on THIS GOOD FRIDAY!

The prayer below was written by Scotty Smith of Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN.  Very special words on this day.  Read the prayer and others by Pastor Scotty Smith HERE.

And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.   Luke
23:34

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? That is, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Matt. 27:46

Dear Lord Jesus, it's the painfully glorious day in Holy Week we call
Good Friday.  I¹ve always felt somewhat conflicted about calling the day of
your crucifixion "good." On one hand, it seems quite insensitive and
self-serving. That there had to be a day when you, the God who made us for
yourself, would be made sin for us is not good at all. The necessity of your
cross underscores the crisis of our condition, the "badness" of our
brokenness, the darkness of the day.

But on the other hand, the bigger hand, that you freely and fully give
yourself for us on the cross is quintessential, archetypal, never-to-be
surpassed goodness. There never has been and there never will be anything
more deserving of the appellation "good" than your death for us, Lord Jesus.

For out of the same heart and the same mouth came these two cries from
the cross: "Father forgive them" (Luke 23:34) and "My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). The first required the second. The second
secured the first. Taken together, both of them buckle my knees, still my
heart, and loose my tongue for proclaiming the greatness of your glory and
grace.

How can I begin to offer you worthy worship in response to what you've
accomplished for us on the cross? It's like wanting to paint the most
magnificent landscape I've ever seen, but with a palate of three colors and
both of my arms in a cast. It's like having a passion to write a great
symphony in honor of you but knowing I'm just a kazoo player who doesn't
read music. It's like desiring to cook you a great banquet with my microwave
oven, a loaf of white bread, and a can of processed cheese.

There's no way any of us can possibly offer a response congruent to the
magnificence of your mercy and the measure of your grace for us at Calvary.
So like everything else we have to offer you, Jesus, take our humble praise
and purify it, magnify it, and cause it to be a sweet aroma in your heart.
"This, the pow'r of the cross: Son of God, slain for us. What a love! What a
cost! We stand forgiven at the cross."

No one could ever take your life from you, and we could never find life
on our own. Because you were fully forsaken, we are forever forgiven.
Because you exhausted God's judgment against our foul sin, we now live by
the gift of your perfect righteousness. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
So very Amen we pray, in your all-glorious, all-gracious name.

WRITTEN BY SCOTTY SMITH

Pastor for Preaching
Christ Community Church
Franklin, TN
READ THIS AND OTHER BLOGS BY SCOTTY HERE