Take Up Your Cross

Matt. 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

To take up the cross is to deny the things of this world and live with eternity in mind. We live in earthen vessels and our humanity in closely tied to what we see, hear, smell, and touch. But every man is created with a soul. The soul is the spirit of man. The self that will live on after this earthen vessel is gone. Living for this world is to be blinded by Satan to what is really important and essential to life. Enjoying life in this world is not forbidden. But if it hinders us from taking up our cross to follow him, then we will lose our eternal soul for what this temporal world has to offer. The implications of taking up the cross goes beyond the unfortunate things that happen in our live that we bare. It is willingness to submit our lives into the hands of God and let Him take control. “Not my will Lord, but Thy will be done”

The Light of the World

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Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

As follower of Christ, there are no secret Christians. How you live will portray what you believe. The life of a Christian is to show the world that it is possible to live a life of love and kindness. Not only possible, but essential to calling yourself a follower of Jesus Christ. Being  the light of the world implies that the world is filled with darkness and those that live in the world walk in darkness and are lost. Light is what pierces the darkness. It illuminates the way and serves as a beacon to help people find their way out of darkness. We our the light of the world when we reflect the true light for “He was the true Light, which lights every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9). If your light is shining, it is seen by all who know you. Christian are not to hide this light, but we are to let it shine, not in word only, but in the way we live.

The Best Teacher

Titus 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.

Teaching is more than disseminating information to others. Good teaching is better demonstrated than told. Telling someone that living for God requires being faithful is good, but showing them what faithfulness looks like by the life you live is the best teacher. Moms and dads will send their kids to church to learn about God, but are not willing to go themselves showing their kids that church is not really that important.  It is good and necessary to read and learn the Bible stories and doctrine of God’s word, but learning is best when it is practice. We may be the only Bible that people ever read, let us lead by example and not word only.

Unruly Spirit

1 Thess. 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

There is no excuse for being rude. Universal courtesy among all decent people is to be polite and be respectful of others. Being rude is not only unacceptable, but especially to anyone who names Christ as their Lord and Savior. As Christians, we are the mouth piece of Christ, to the less fortunate ones in life we are to show empathy and understanding. There are those in life that are born with learning disabilities or physical abnormalities and lack the ability to function as most human beings. Through Christ, we should be the first to show kindness and refrain from making unruly remarks. The fruits of the Spirit are the manifestation of a person born again of God. Let God work through us to show the world that God is love and is patient toward all men.