Jesus Bids You Take Up Your Cross

Luke 14:25-35 KJV  "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die."  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) Consider the cost of following Jesus. It is not a commitment that we should take lightly.

Take Up Your Cross And Follow

"And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

                                                                            (Mark 8:28-36 KJV)

No... no... no... We cannot and should not have to endure death. We should have to endure trials. We should not have to struggle! 

Yet, we do. We do and we will. God's will for Jesus was not to have a life of ease. He was destined for death; to die so that we might live. Life is a struggle and if you think that it should not or will not be one then you probably are following a false god down a very wrong path. 

These false gods would have us strive to gain the worldly things and in the process we may, as Jesus said, lose our souls.

Life is not easy so you may as well take up your cross and follow Jesus and when you do know that the Christ is with you on the journey. That road, although it may feel like death is drawing near leads to life everlasting. That is the will of God for you. 

As St. Paul drew closely to his own earthly death he wrote these words to his fellow missionary and evangelist Timothy:

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:"

                                                                                        (2 Tim 1-7)

St. Paul took up his cross and followed Jesus. He endured afflictions even as he continued the work of an evangelist. He finished his course when he was executed for his faith in Christ. 

He was willing to give up a life of luxury in this world and reside as a prisoner of the government so that he could proclaim the Gospel according to the will of God. He was willing to give up his body. But, he was not willing to give up his soul as he entrusted it to the love of God in Christ Jesus.

God help us to endure all afflictions and fight the good fight of truth found in Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Will You Lay Down Your Life For Me?

Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.

Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. 

                                                                                  (John 13:26-38 KJV)

How will we answer the question that Jesus asked of Peter. "Will you lay down your life for me?"

We make so many commitments. We plan to do so much including share the love of God in Christ Jesus with all people. Yet, we often fall short. Peter loved Jesus. He fully intended to be a faithful follower. He wanted to. But, he was not ready to follow Jesus to his death. Not yet, anyway. This faithful follower would desert Jesus when Jesus was arrested and taken to his trial and execution. In the end though, Peter did follow Jesus as Peter was crucified on a cross for his faith thirty some years following the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus loves you so much that he was willing to lay down his life for you. Will you take up your cross and follow? Will you lay down your life for him?

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's Peace - Pr. J

Called To Love

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 KJV)

We are called to love one another even as Jesus loves us. Because of what Jesus has done for us we are of the mind to follow in his footsteps, humbling ourselves, putting the welfare of others before our own. We care for the sick. We care for the hungry. We care for the homeless. We care for those who have lost their jobs and cannot care for themselves or their families adequately. We care for those who are disabled. We care for the elderly. We care for the young. We care for the persecuted and for those who are unjustly accused. 

We do not fear. We step up and care for those who are in any need because that's what Jesus did and does. If Jesus truly abides in us then we will be of like mind with him; putting the welfare of others before our own.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

God Turns Things Around and Upside Down.

The Way Of The Cross: In order to live one must die.

(Billboard from years past in Baraga County, MI)

"It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low." (Ezekiel 20:26 NIV)

God has a way of turning everything around. Those who think too highly of themselves will be brought down. The humble will be lifted up. That is not the way it works in this world; but, that is God's way. 

The LORD promises, through Ezekiel, that the one to whom the crown rightly belongs will ultimately wear it. The one who wears the crown was raised up in humility and reigns in glory at God's right hand. Jesus, who came to serve humankind, was willing to lay his life down, to wear the crown of thorns, and to be lifted up on the cross for our sakes. In this act of sacrifice, he was lifted to the heavenly realms, to ultimately sit at the right hand of God, our Father. The lowly has been exalted...

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:1-2)

God's Peace - Pr. J