Inspiration
When I’m looking for things to write about, I try to listen
for God. I believe God uses his Spirit to
pull
me into what He wants me to write.
Sometimes I know right away, after the first time he shows me-- “Yep
that is what he wants me to write about”.
Other times, even when I’m all excited and ready to go to work, He wants
me to store it away for something later, which is exactly what happened with my
last two blogs.
I think as people we all find inspiration from different things:
songs on the radio, images of people and the world or even time together with
friends or family. I believe God has
called me to write about the things he shows me, and my hope is simply to bring
people closer to Him.
Death at The Cross
30Well then, save
yourself and come down from the cross!” 31The leading priests and teachers of
religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t
save himself! 32Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross
so we can see it and believe him!” Even the men who were crucified with Jesus
ridiculed him.
The Death of Jesus
33At noon, darkness
fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 34Then at three o’clock Jesus
called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My
God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” 35Some of the bystanders misunderstood
and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 36One of them ran and filled
a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could
drink. “Wait!” he said. “Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down!” 37Then
Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38And the curtain in the
sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39When the Roman
officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly
was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:30-38, NLT)
The cross is a symbol that Christians have taken up to
represent our walk with God. Followers
of the way use the cross as a holy symbol to embody the sacrifice Jesus made
for all
mankind. The Cross is the tool men used
to kill The Son of Man and yet has so much more meaning to it than the dark
image that the enemy would try to claim it for.
Here in Mark, we see how Christ was mocked and scoffed
at. Even in Jesus’ suffering on the
Cross, the evil in our hearts kept some of us from reaching out to him. Through the torment of His death on the cross
we see how the hearts of men turned from God.
Taking up The Cross
27And if you do not
carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. 28“But don’t
begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building
without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish
it? (Luke 14:27-28, NLT)
38If you refuse to
take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39If you
cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you
will find it. 40“Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives
me receives the Father who sent me. (Matthew 10:38-40, NLT)
Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord
our God above everything else.
His commandment is something I always aspire to attain, but I know that
I fail in. It does put me in the right
perspective when I look at taking up the cross in my own life. My children, my wife, my family and my
friends are all among the greatest blessings the Father has given me in this
life…would I be willing to give them all up for Him? My mind says Yes, but my heart says No. I know I fall when it comes to loving God
more than anything in this life, and indeed there is a great cost to
following Jesus. Someone very close to
me does not believe in God and my faith has tattered our relationship, even threating
to tear this person from me. However, my
trust in God has me hold onto his promises and my heart finds peace there.
New Life
The Wisdom of God
18The message of the
cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being
saved know it is the very power of God. 19As the Scriptures say, “I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the
intelligent.”… 24But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and
Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25This foolish plan
of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger
than the greatest of human strength…30God has united you with Christ Jesus. For
our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he
made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. (1 Corinthians 1:18-19; 24-25;
30. NLT)
There is a new life promised in following Jesus, and all the
wisdom of man cannot give you what the Good Shepherd shows us is His purpose in
giving believers a rich and satisfying life.
Near God is shelter that only The Most High can provide and his truth will
set you free from all the hardships of this world.
12For you were buried
with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life
because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13You
were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut
away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14He
canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to
the cross. (Colossians 2:12-14, NLT).
20and through him God
reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and
on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were
once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil
thoughts and actions. 22Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the
death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his
own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a
single fault. (Colossians 1:20-22, NLT)
Peace be with you Brothers and Sisters.
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