.jpg)
Matthew
16:24-26.
Then Jesus said to his disciples,“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Jesus did not say we should take up His cross but our own crosses. We deny ourselves when we choose God's will rather than our own. Eventually we will loose our old way of selfish living and find the new one the Christ makes for us. Deny self does not mean forcing your self to do things you hate. It means doing things that God loves. It brings delight to you and more importantly God. We find joy and peace when we in step with Him.
My grandmother always used to say my father was her cross to bear. She was a woman after Gods heart. Even though my father did things that hurt her and caused her much pain she continued to love him. I remember her telling me that "sometimes our cross was our trophies." Things in life that mean the most. Things were proud of. Things we don't want to give up. She always told me "be careful what you put in front of Jesus. He will take it away not to be mean but so we can focus on Him". She was a wise woman. I leaned a lot from her.
We all have our own things that is our cross, that we must carry and endure the pain. sometimes I just feel like throwing it to the side and walking away. But other days I leave it at His cross and say your will be done. I surrender it all to Him. It's a lot easier to just walk away but I would not be learning the life lesson that God wants me to learn. He wants to grow me into His image. Thank you Jesus for pruning me and making me more like you. May I never forget your cross. You gave it all for me. Thank you Jesus.
Then Jesus said to his disciples,“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Jesus did not say we should take up His cross but our own crosses. We deny ourselves when we choose God's will rather than our own. Eventually we will loose our old way of selfish living and find the new one the Christ makes for us. Deny self does not mean forcing your self to do things you hate. It means doing things that God loves. It brings delight to you and more importantly God. We find joy and peace when we in step with Him.
My grandmother always used to say my father was her cross to bear. She was a woman after Gods heart. Even though my father did things that hurt her and caused her much pain she continued to love him. I remember her telling me that "sometimes our cross was our trophies." Things in life that mean the most. Things were proud of. Things we don't want to give up. She always told me "be careful what you put in front of Jesus. He will take it away not to be mean but so we can focus on Him". She was a wise woman. I leaned a lot from her.
We all have our own things that is our cross, that we must carry and endure the pain. sometimes I just feel like throwing it to the side and walking away. But other days I leave it at His cross and say your will be done. I surrender it all to Him. It's a lot easier to just walk away but I would not be learning the life lesson that God wants me to learn. He wants to grow me into His image. Thank you Jesus for pruning me and making me more like you. May I never forget your cross. You gave it all for me. Thank you Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment