A life of comfort and ease, filled will leisures and pleasures inumerable. In a word Blessing.
The words of a prophetess Irene Gleeson ring true.
“ People in the west care only about keeping their bodies fat and warm!”
But what has God given us? hardship and frustrations, toil , pain and sorrow. In a few words a Cross.
“A servant is not greater than His Master. If they hated me they will hate you.”
“He was despised, a man of sorrows and aquinted with greifs”
“For the Joy set brfore him, Christ endured the Cross.”
Have you ever been reading a book and skipped to the end to get to the happy ending. Thats what a lot of the people want to do in their Christian jounery, just give the middle a miss. Unfortunately in the case of the Bible the centre of the book is unmissable. Miss it and you miss everything. Its even usually printed on the front cover, heathens are so offended by it they never draw near to God. They seem to understand even by looking at the guilded symbol on the cover that before every follower of God lies a unpleasant and uncomfortable cross. There is no way around it. And no eascape from it. Not for christ and not for us.
What does it mean to take up your cross daily? The cross is suffering, being prepared to suffer daily for christ's name. Here is a verse from a song the Lord gave me,
Let me not be ashamed
to stand for you name
in the courts of the heathen
and the mockers.
For the honor of your name
for the Glory of your name
I offer my life again.
The name of the Lord is the most valuable thing in this world. It is the pearl of greatest price.
If we start to speak in defense of the name of Christ where ever it is being profaned, we will begin to meet opposition, and the intensity of this opposition will increase as we keep on doing this until we know what suffering is. At this point do we cease? No we must continue and press on we must defend his honor to the death if nessasary, there is No turning back, No turning back. We must give our utmost for His highest!
But the good news is the cross is not the end but a new beginning. If we remain faithfull to the end we will know fully the Joy of the Lord and enter into the place the Father has been preparing for us.
Peace and Restfullness without end shall be our inheirtence. Praise be to His name.
“There is a way which seems right to a man but the end thereof is death”.
If we think that getting saved is all that needs to happen we are mistaken, in the path to eternal life for every believer (except those saved only by the skin of there teeth!)is a cross that we must take up daily. Sorrow must come before Joy. Expecting to bypass our cross and enter the blessing now is foolishness and is definitely a snake and not a ladder!!Woe to those who try to enter the sheep fold except by the door.
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