...”and take up his cross daily,...” (Luke 9:23)

“‘Take up thy cross and follow Me,’ I heard my Master say; ‘I gave My life to ransom thee, Surrender your all today.’ Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go, I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.”  These words written by B.B. McKinney come from the heart of Christ in the above passage.  Do we really wish to follow Christ “wherever He leads?”  Where will Christ lead?  He leads to a cross.  The cross is a place of personal death.  It is a place where our self-reliance and self-rule is revealed and Jesus says, “That must come off.”  It must come off because it is not like Him and He cannot be glorified in our lives as long as it is present.  There can be no release of His power as long as our fleshly desires are dominant.  So He gracefully takes us to a cross and says, “Kill it.  It must go.”  Once the fleshly desire of our own life is “put to death,” the liberty of Christ is experienced.  Spiritual fruit begins to bear forth and the blessing of God flows like a mighty river in us and through us.  Christ is our greatest example of this truth.  He willingly went to the cross and offered His life as a ransom for many.  Following the cross was the glorious resurrection.  Now eternal life flows to whosoever will receive Him.  He was broken to bless and now we must be broken to be blessed and to be a blessing to others.  For no one will ever see Christ in us as long as the flesh prevails.  So let’s follow Christ today...and when He shows us the cross, take it up!

Today is August 28.  Take up thy cross!

Blessings,

Jim