PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 10:32-39
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:38)
Jesus came to displace the dominion of darkness with the kingdom of light.
He stands against hate, greed, injustice, inequality, violence, lust, deceit, etc.
He stands with the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the abused, the homeless, etc.
He comes to restore life, hope, peace, joy, health, goodness… the kingdom of God.
This is a social revolution, turning things right-side up.
Jesus asks His followers to join Him in His mission against evil and its consequences.
And to do nothing is still doing something, only not something good.
Believing in Jesus is not just a ‘religious’ belief, disconnected from life.
It is a call to arms, a signing up to carry the sword that Jesus carried.
The ‘sword’ Jesus brings is the cross, willingly suffering to help others.
The cross is how Jesus helps us, and to carry that cross is to help others!
So why am I so eager to find peace rather than to suffer with those who suffer?
Am I more concerned about ‘my only comfort’ than about the comfort of others?
Am I bearing the cross, or a cushion?
PRAYER
Lord, practically speaking, what does it mean for me to carry the cross? Open my eyes to see those who suffer under the evil, and to see how I can take a stand with them, to help them.
I kept thinking of my public high school days and even my first year university. Many times I stayed quiet to avoid ridicule – I should have been bolder – something I saw in another Christian who was more vocal and open – I know she was ridiculed. Today, I see the hurt when family members deny the faith and go their own way – yet while alive there is hope that they will find their way to Jesus. I pray and listen for the HS’s leading for any opportunity to share the hope that I have in Jesus – I must no longer ‘coast’ as a Christian but be part of Christ’s mission in its full sense.
Christmas Day.
Once again I am reminded of the gift of God for everlasting life through His Son.
In my living for Jesus, He must be first. As God showed His love to me through Christ, I need to show that love to all. Today God Is First (TGIF day) as He needs to be every day. Help me daily to live for You Lord in all I do and say. Word and deed. Indeed.
Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.