Matthew 10:38 " And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me."
Mark 8:34 "And when He had called His people unto Him with His disciples, H said unto them, 'Whosoever will come after Me let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'"
John 19:17 "And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of the skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha."
==To 'take up one's cross' is to be fully surrendered to God's will for our life.
==To 'come after Jesus' is to follow God's Word in our lifetime.
==To come to the place of death, where the cross leads us, is to live a committed, fulltime life of ministry according to God's Way.
On the one hand this appears to be an easy task. If life didn't get in the way and cause us to make choices/decisions that interfere with being a fully committed servant of God. We can't live in a box and not interface with other people. That's not living.
We must interact with other people in order for us to fulfill God's purpose not only in our lives but in theirs.
We sing I Surrender All. but do we? We sing I Have Decided To Follow Jesus, but have we? We sing There's Room At The Cross For You, but do we really mean it?
Total Commitment. Fully Surrendered. Have I been found worthy?
Everything we do as Christians must line up with the Word of God; it is our 'rule of thumb', plumbline, level. Do our words match our actions and God's Word? Are we the hypocrite we despise? Only when we are honest with ourselves will we be able to grow in Christ. And who convicts of our guiltiness? The Holy Spirit. Without His presence in our lives, there is no conviction of sin, no shame, no repentance, no peace and no love.
We need God's Holy Spirit to live God's Word God's Way in God's Will. We need God's Holy Spirit to live a life of Total Commitment. Scripture tells us that whatever we ask God for must be in accordance with God's Word in order for it to be answered. John 16:23 "Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete." John 15:7 "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you."
Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Now is the time to seek God's face in order that we may receive God's will for us today. Now is the time to call on God's Name that we might receive God's Word in our lives. Now is the time to ask Him for His Holy Spirit to empower us to live God's Word every day of our lives.
