The Narrow Way of the Cross

The Narrow Way of the Cross
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The road that Jesus travels is not a popular one in this culture today. It is one that is mocked, ridiculed, and scoffed at. Take one look around society and you'll know! Take a stand for a truth and you'll know! Jesus is not cool in the world that we live in. But you want to know a secret? He has never been looked at as cool. There is a reason why He was nailed to a cross!

  

He calls His disciples to travel the same road, though it is not an easy one to follow. Jesus told them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  (Luke:9:23 ESV) 

The life of a disciple of Christ is not an easy one. It is a life of pain and sacrifice. And yet, Jesus never meant it to be easy. Just take a look at the cross and you'll know!

If you walk this road in the way that He has called you to, you will be hated on this earth. The world does not like it when we give ourselves fully to Jesus Christ. He is then seen, not us; and thus exposing their sin in the light of Christ. (See John 3:19-20) But though men may hate us and throw our name out as evil, should we not still stand in the truth and live according to the calling He has placed upon our lives? Does not our Savior deserve the very same throne of our heart and life which He purchased for Himself by dying a horrible death on a cross? This road is hard, I know! But is He not worth our all? 

  

Again, Jesus lays out for us the value and also the cost of full givenness to Himself in scripture when He says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  (Matthew 10:39) And again, Jesus emphasizes this truth when He says in Matthew 16:26, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" Jesus seems to make it very clear here that the world and it’s pomp and praise is empty, and worth nothing at all in light of eternity; and full givenness to Himself is required.

I admit, the cost of true discipleship is one that makes me squirm a little every time I hear it. I think every one of us struggles when it comes to holding on to our own comforts, whims, and pleasures. Which one of us wants to be slandered, rebuked, and mocked for their faith in Christ. This goes completely contrary to our flesh! And yet, Jesus requires this kind of dedication from us. To hold to Him and none other.

  

May I ask you a question? How much is your soul worth? Enough to save it from eternal damnation? What profit is it to gain all you want in this life, and yet in the end dying and going to hell? There is no loss as great as this!

So, how much does eternity matter to you? Enough to do a little spiritual examination? Will you consider the risk of losing all for His sake, in order to gain all in the end? 

  

Many of us think that they can lead two lives. They are one person when they go to church on Sunday, or when they try to please their Christian friends. Then they have their other life of partying and living to the flesh, completely opposite to the one they were just imitating last Sunday. Is this true of you? Do you live a life that is comfortable and pleasing to yourself? May I ask, is this the way that Christ intended you to live? 

Jesus did not come all the way from heaven to die so that we can live a life that is pleasing to ourselves. He came so that we could be pleasing to Him. To have a relationship with Him and to live in fellowship with Him. Not to use salvation as a licence to sin -This kind of lifestyle grieves Him!

  

We, as God's children, are bought at a price. Think about that for a moment. He gave His very life for us! He gave us freedom from sin, death, and hell. Doesn't He then deserve the very best that we have for Him - 100% of our very being? Truly He deserves even more than that!

 If Jesus is indeed our Lord, and Savior should we not at least ask Him what He wants us to do with our time, money, energy, and resources? We spend so much time trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives, but do we even give a thought to what He wants to do with our lives. He gave everything for us! Therefore, this body is rightfully His by ownership. If we don’t give God what He has purchased that is simple robbery.

The point of all this is to remind us that Jesus did not suffer to just save us from hell. He came to purchase us for Himself and to save us from ourselves.  He knows that we are lost and cannot possibly live a life that is pleasing to Him on our own. He knows that by ourselves we can produce nothing better than filthy rags. "We have all become like one unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like polluted garments." (Isaiah 64:6 ESV)  God demands a perfect life from us - one that we cannot possibly attain on our own. We need God’s help! 

Dear Christian, please hear these words: Jesus owns us. He lives inside of us. He wants all of us - every little scrap of us. We are bought at a high cost - His own body and blood - so should we not obey and give Him all? He left the most glorious place that ever exists to deliver us from ourselves - our sin. Should we not let Him do it? 

Whether this means we die a martyr's death, spend years in a dark, cold jail cell, or just to go down the road to share the gospel with a neighbor. Jesus is worthy of all! He has done all that we may live in fellowship and intimacy with Him. Jesus, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords wants a relationship with you! 

The question remains for you to decide, Christian. Can you not give Him everything? Will you not give Him the very thing that caused Him to die a horrible death upon a rugged cross? Will you accept all that He purchased? Can you not spend every last drop of your blood for the glory of His everlasting name? Surely the least we can do is give all back to Him to use how He sees fit. Let Jesus have us - all of us - for His glory!

God has left this decision for you to make. The choice is yours. The broader road the life of ease, truly is more comfortable. It can be all about you! But let me warn you, this
 road leads to certain death. Nothing good can come of it in the end. There is no life in it. There is no Jesus in it. This is the way that many are walking, most of them completely unaware of their danger it leads to.

But there is another way, the narrow way. The only one that leads to Jesus. It is the only road that promises life, the only one that is pleasing to the Father. This road is difficult. It is not one of ease, but of danger, embarrassment, and self sacrifice. It is one of hardship and struggle. And yet it is the road with Jesus on it. If you want to follow Jesus you will walk this way. Though it takes you to the cross. Your flesh surely will be crucified if you go down this path, but know that the flesh is crucified so that true life can be found. 

 After Jesus was crucified and buried, He arose and went to the Father in the heavenly places. He is the One whom has the life. He is the one we must follow, and He went down the narrow way of the cross.

So my challenge remains for you to decide. Which way will you choose? Will you deny yourselves, pick up your cross, and follow after the One who has called you to Himself. If so, let me leave you with this song.

Jesus I My Cross Have Taken

Jesus I my cross have taken.

All to leave and follow thee;

Destitute, despised, forsaken,

Thou from hence my all shall be.

Perish every fond ambition,

All I sought, and thought, and known;

Yet how rich is my condition,

God in heaven are still my own!

Let the world despise and leave me,

They have left my Savior, too;

Human hearts and looks deceive me;

Thou art not, like them, untrue;;

And, while Thou shalt smile upon me,

God of wisdom, love, and might,

Foes may hate, and friends disown me

Show Thy face, and all is bright.

Man may trouble and distress me,

Twill but drive me to Thy breast;

Life with trials hard may press me,

Christ will bring me sweeter rest.

O tis not in grief to harm me,

While Thy love is left to me;

O 'twere not in joy to charm me,

Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Take, my soul, Thy full salvation;

Rise o'er sin, and fear, and care;

Joy to find in ev'ry station,

Something still to do or bear;

Think what spirit dwells withing thee,

What a Father's smile is thine,

What a Savior died to win thee:

Child of heav'n, shouldst thou repine?

Haste then on from grace to glory,

Armed by faith and winged by prayer,

God's eternal days before thee,

God's own hand will guide thee there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission,

Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days,

Hope shall change to glad fruition,

Faith to sign, and prayer to praise. 

Lyrics written by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)

Redeeming Our Time

  Wow! Has it really been nearly eight whole months since I wrote last? That hardly seems possible! And yet, time keeps on ticking.

  And speaking of...

Do you know and are you aware that your time is a special gift straight from God? Life is a gift, so time is a gift. Both are intertwined with each other. We can't have one without the other. And both are given the purpose to glorify God.

  Time... Something I think we all take for granted. I know at least I do! Time spent with family, loved ones of all ages. Time to sew, cook and play; all a gift. And how often we waste it!!! I need to be reminded along with all of you that our time is LIMITED. It is short; like a vapor.
  I truly believe that it is God's heart for us to use what He's given us wisely; time being the greatest thing of all. It is priceless! Once spent it will never get boughten back. You can only use it one time!
  How sad it would be to find out on judgment day that if we would have just taken that one moment out of our day to minister to that needy friend, instead of wasting it on something that doesn't matter, it would have changed their life for ever. Wouldn't that be the saddest thing ever? How ashamed we would feel! I know I would be!
  And so many of us do. We spend our time counting down the minutes, days, the hours until the next exciting event in our life, instead of fully focusing in and using each moment God's given us RIGHT NOW, for His glory. How different our lives would be if we would keep this attitude in mind every second!

   Friends, it is not too late to change! It is not too late to redeem the mistakes we have made. God promises us that He will redeem the things the locusts have eaten up. (Joel 2:25)
All we have to do is ask God, and then trust Him to do the rest.
  Every day we need to be asking our Savior to help us use our time wisely, because in our own strength we just can't do it. It is physically impossible! There are so many people everywhere who are struggling; who are needing our encouragement, love and prayers. If we would just ask God to open our eyes, to see like He does, our lives would be completely changed!

  With God's help it is possible to live a life that is full and rich with purpose. But only through Him!
How often I need to remind myself of this! If I could just get to the place where I would constantly go to Him in prayer, asking him to use my time and energy in each of my days. How different would my life be!
  Would you all please join me as I strive to seek the Lord daily, asking for his help to redeem the time? Our life is way too short to be wasting it on things that don't really matter! Let us go to Him in prayer, to show us the way to redeem our time.

"Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise,

making the most out of every opportunity, because the days are evil."

Eph. 5:15-16

Camp of Hope

  Girls Camp was another amazing year for me! This would be the fifth year I've attended, two of which I was a counselor. Past years the camp has been held in Rhinelander, WI at a Spa Resort, but this year we were able to have Birch Haven Bible Camp in Clam Lake, WI. It was a wonderful change!

  

  It was such a good time to get away from the hustle and bustle of life for awhile and spend a few precious days with my Jesus. He is everything to me!!! And to be able to just focus on Him for a week... SO AWESOME!!!

  The week consisted of three meetings a day (one main speaker, then a different one the other two sessions), study time with the girls that were in my team, bible memorization, singing, laughing, talking, and encouraging each other from the Word. We also did fun things such as group games, various indoor and outdoor actives, singing and playing instruments around a camp fire, swimming, and hiking. It definitely was a fun and blessed week!

Camp of Hope!

This is the main cabin.

The overview of the facility.

 I was privileged to be a camp counselor for the week. Here's my team.

Only a fraction of the girls are pictured in this photo, but this would be the room where the meetings were held, three times a day. 

It's dinner time!

Group games!

And also one on one time. 

Almost every day of the week we did a craft.

Here we are making individual quilt pieces. All the pieces will then go towards a quilt made for the special lady that put all the work and effort into making this camp happen.

We each took turns going through the line and picking out our materials. 

Now it's time to design them!

We also did a lot of outdoor actives, such as this one. 

Water Balloon Volleyball!

Some preferred to watch and take pictures.

Smiles.

We were blessed to have this wonderful small lake at the camp site. The girls loved it!

The steps leading down to the water...

There was a little trail that went along the lake around the camp site. 

A wonderful place for some quiet time.

The lake was so pretty!

Time for some swimming!

And some exploring! 

Looks like these girls found something a little disgusting. 

What they found was a little tadpole. 

Bringing out the water mat. 

Another activity... This I call Watermelon Water Soccer. 

So here this watermelon is getting smeared in shortening. We want it to be able to float.

Just like in soccer the object is to get the ball to the other side of the court. Instead of using a ball we use a watermelon, the goalies are the docks, and you use your hands and carry instead of your feet to kick.

The slippy slide was definitely THE highlight for the girls!

Copper Falls Field Trip

The last full day at camp was spent at the beautiful Copper Falls Park of Wisconsin. 

Heading out!

This view took my breath away! It was stunningly gorgeous!!!

These steps were tiring. Over 100 of them!

The 80 foot tower!

View from the tower.

The view of the bridge from down by the water.

Having fun exploring the shallow waters.

We found this turtle on the side of the trail. 

Smiles at the falls.

Back at camp, the whole group of campers!

I'll have to say I miss each and every one of you already. And I can't wait to see each of you again!

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.



"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Matthew 6:33