This entry is slightly different than the other blog posts. I believe that the recent decision to write this particular post was led by God, and now is the time to publish it!
So, Christian, are you willing? Are you willing to truly be God’s own?
Believer, will you stay true to God, even when you are persecuted?
Are you willing to take up your cross to follow God?
If you believe in God, and if you call yourself a Christian, you must think about this:
Jesus said, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, [then] you are not worthy of being mine.” (Matthew 10:38)
No one said that being a Christian was going to be easy! In fact, it can be quite difficult at times. It’s going to become very critical soon. Persecution is knocking at our door. If you haven’t already experienced persecution to some degree, you may be caught off guard.
Yet, God gives us the strength to be worthy of being called His own. He is mighty to give us the power to live in obedience to Him.
Jesus tells the disciples that the only way to follow Him is by turning away from their selfishness.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
When Jesus spoke again, not only to the disciples, but to other people as well, he added that we must even “deny” ourselves.
“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.’ ” (Mark 8:34)
When Jesus fed a huge crowd of people (numbering approximately 5,000), he blessed a mere five loaves of bread and two fish that were miraculously multiplied until the 5,000, or so, had eaten until they were completely full. Afterward, Jesus spoke to the crowd:
“Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.’ ” (Luke 9:23)
The difference in this passage of scripture is that Jesus is saying we must take up our cross daily. Yes, He said daily!
What do you do daily? Brush your teeth? Comb and/or brush your hair? Eat? Of course! Yet, do we start every day with God? It is essential to be close to Him always! If you should find yourself lacking or far away from God, wake up! Get right back to Him! This should be the most important decision of our life every day! C’mon! We don’t forget to eat every day, do we? We must be willing to follow our Savior with enthusiasm, with passion, and with great love, and we should be eager, not just willing. We need His direction daily!
A willingness to take up our cross means that we must agree to do so, and continue to do so. We must agree to take it up daily. We must turn away from our own selfishness. We must deny ourselves. And we must follow Jesus Christ.
Being human, we can certainly tend to be selfish. To turn away from our selfishness, we must go against our own flesh. We must learn to live in the spirit to be holy and to do what is right.
Are you willing to take up your cross daily? Can you do it? Of course! It’s a choice.
We must! God requires each of us to be willing. He will help us, but we must be willing to submit our will to Him, and follow His will for our lives.
Certainly, there are distractions in life. We may be on the right path, taking up our cross daily, turning from our selfishness, denying our own will, and submitting ourselves to God by following Him in obedience. Then, suddenly, we get off track. Something or someone pulls our attention away from God. Someone or something tempts us to turn away from the path we’re on.
We must get back on course — the right course! The view on this course sees the cross by seeing exactly what Jesus did for us. We have been offered salvation. God deserves our all.
“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
I could write so much on this subject, but I must keep this blog post short.
I strongly urge you and encourage you to read The Holy Bible and discover the truths available to you. And pray, pray, pray!
This is a warning from God! God is love, but He is also just. We need Him. Call out to Him today and do not lack in doing His will. Are you willing?
Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.
God’s Word for Today: “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:21)
Copyright © 2014 by Patricia Shehan
