Luke 14:26-27, “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple." One of the most overlooked facts in our walk with Christ is the cross that we must bear because we belong to Him. Christ never promised that following Him would result in abundant blessings given unto us by men, but quit the opposite. In Mark 13:13, Jesus stated “And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." The cross that Christians will have to carry is mainly one of rejection, many still need to be shown the light of the cross and my reject the fact that they need to be change in order to be redeemed. So friends and family may be hesitant on how to approach you given your new found Faith in Jesus. Instead share with them the joy of all that He has done for you in your life, by sharing the Gospel which when heard can activate the Holy Spirit unto those loved ones who are currently lost. Find a common ground with them that allows you to open up plead your case to change. Another example of the Cross we are to bear can come from "a thorn put in our flesh," that the Lord will use for us to be at times totally dependant upon the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul testified to this revelation in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, "even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." I love the fact that the Holy Spirit never tells the reader exactly just what this thorn was, allowing us to insert our own problem into the equation instead. This could be a disease, reocurring sin, Homosexual tendecies, or any other sin that we seek the Lord for deliverance from. This is our cross, which we seek Christ for to redeem it and make us whole for the glorification of the power of the cross. If we endure unto the end, we will be saved as stated in Mark 13:13. Pray to the Lord that He strenghthens your shoulders for the weight, so that we can continue our fight of purification unto Him. Remember the saying, "Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No! Theirs a cross for everyone and theirs a cross for Me!
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