I wrote this note a few months ago and its neat to see how things change and how at the same time they stay the same...
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Im pretty sure this taking up your cross daily thing is lost on us. I know for myself im to busy crucifying Christ again and again for that statement to hold any meaning. I know that sounds crazy but if christ lives in me and i continue to sin Im essentially nailing him right back up there. I sin and give no second thought a lot of times and the more I think about what I force christ to do for me it hurts. I wanna take up my cross' daily bc havent i caused enough harm and hasnt his grace up to this point been sufficient. Romans 6:1-2 says, Should i sin all the more so that grace may abound? by no means, we died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?" ..To Live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul had it figured out. Paul although not perfect wanted nothing more than to be just like Christ. He had previously been an enemy of the cross and persecuted christians but became the most incredible follower and disciple. Philippians 3: 18-19,"For, as I have often told you befor and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction their god is their stomach and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." I just wonder how many of us as believers live as enemies of the cross of Christ. If these verses dont cause you to speculate and ponder upon the way you live then id venture to say you might not be truly living. As much as God has completely transformed my life in the last year I am still on my best days not living as Im called to live. I pray that we as christians can begin to be honest with ourselves and let the author of salvation examine our hearts and change and mold us to who he created us to be. Let us no longer be conformed to this world but let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12:2...I want to stop focus on what others dont do as well as me and begin to focus on what I dont do like Jesus, bc my self righetousness gets me nowhere and his grace and mercy cover me and make me new again. "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love..Galatians 5:6...When all is said and done and I look back on my life I hope that the person I am after today looks nothing like the person Ive been. There is so much love needed in this world and we are capable through the sacrifice of Christ to give that love. Love covers a multitude of sins and my prayer is that our love will truly change this world we live in. Lets stop crucifying christ all over again and begin to die to ourselves today so that his kingdom can come!
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