Our Cross Matthew 16:24
"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
and follow me."
The "cross" is a symbol of crucification, of death. The
judicial custom by which the comdemned person carried
his stake to the place of execution, was applied by the
Lord to those sufferings by which His faithful followers
were to express their fellowship with Him. If we
desire to 'come after' Jesus, we must deny our selves,
take up the cross, and follow Him.
"Cross": the act of crucifixion.
Metaphorically: the putting off of the flesh with it's
passions and lusts.
"Cross": exposure to death, self denial.
Galatians 5:20
"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with
it's affections and lusts."
A true disciple of Christ walks and talks in the same
way that Jesus did. A true disciple of Christ is led
by the Spirit, and does not let the 'flesh' rule.
Denying one's self means doing what is right, rather
than what one wants. Denying self means putting
others first. Denying self means seeking the good of
others. Denying self means doing those things that
please the Lord, instead of those thing that please the
flesh.
And so on.
Romans 6:6-7
"Knowing this, that our old man is cruciried with Him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin."
(12-13)
"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that
ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield
ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness
unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that
are alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness unto God."
(16)
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience
unto righteousness."
God says to "be holy, for I am holy." People tend
to rationalize this statement, but God means what
He says and says what He mwans. If we could not
be holy as He is holy, He would not instruct us to
be so. He also says "be ye perfect, as I am perfect."
To whomever we yield, we are servants to. If we
yield to God, we are alive from the dead, and have
new life, and new life eternal. If we yield to satan,
then we are his servants unto death and will reap
a harvest of darkness.
Taking up our cross means actively "putting on
the righteousness of Christ" and taking off the
power of the flesh to rule. We 'put to death the
deeds of the body' and live unto righteousness.
We do not let 'affections and lust' have dominion
over us.
"Affections"...passions, the uncontroled
nature of evil derires.
"Lusts"...strong desire; evil desires ready to
express themselves in bodily activities.
Galations 5:20
" I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet
not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loveth me, and gave Himself for me."
Paul says he 'dies daily' and we are to 'die daily'
to the flesh, and live unto God. Paul says he
"brings his body into subjection' and we are to
keep our bodies under subjection also. At times
this may not be easy, the flesh has it's wants and
desires, but we have weapons to defeat the enemy
and his onslaughts. The life of disicipleship
involves sacrifice, self-denial, even the possibility
of physical death.If we yield to sin, it is because
we want to, not because we could not resist.
Matthew 10:38
"And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after
me is not worth of me."
Friends, let us 'take up' our corss and follow Him.
Let us 'deny self' and 'come after Jesus.'
Walking as He walked, talking as He talked,
forgiving as He forgave, living as He lived,
loving as He loved. Living a 'holy' life as He
led a holy life. Let us strive to be
MORE LIKE JESUS!
Romans 8: 18
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared to the glory
which shall be revealed."
Take Up Your Cross
Take up your cross and follow God,
And He will lead the way,
To bring you hope and inner strength
To face each new day.
Take up your cross and follow God
And cast aside your fear,
For when you need a helping hand
He always will be near.
Take up your cross and cast aside
Your gloom and dark despair,
For He will help to ease the pain
That in your heart you bear.
Take up your cross, be not afraid
However dark your plight,
For God will see you through the storm
And Be your guiding Light.
Thefruit of the Spirit is Jesus in me
Living the Christ life so others may see:
The lust of the flesh evil contrast indeed,
Is my carnal nature just going to seed!
THE CROSS ROOM
The young man was at the end of his rope.
Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.
"Lord, I can't go on," he said.
"I have too heavy a cross to bear."
The Lord replied,
"My son, if you can't bear its weight,
just place your cross inside this room.
Then open another door and pick any cross you wish."
The man was filled with relief.
"Thank you, Lord,"
he sighed, and did as he was told.
As he looked around the room he saw many different crosses;
some so large the tops were not visible.
Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.
"I'd like that one, Lord,"
he whispered. And the Lord replied,
"My son, that's the cross you brought in."
Unknown
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