Luke 9:23-27 (KVJ): "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God."
Mark 8:31-38 (KJV): "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Matthew 10:31-40 (KJV): "Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."
The recurring theme here... We must take up our crosses in this life daily. We have to take up our burdens, stresses, sicknesses, diseases, spiteful ways, grudges, put away the hurt & pains of our pasts, and stop holding the mistakes of the fools in our love lives, because of the bad choices we made against the men/women whom the Lord is attempting to place in our lives, but we may be too stubborn & fearful to allow/accept what He's trying to do to heal us, running away your own blessings. I'm sorry... But this note just took a turn in a completely different direction that I intended it to be... And really, I'm not sorry at all. I'm just letting the Holy Spirit have it's way. As a people of faith, and as children of the Most High, we need to accept the fact that every hurt, pain, and sin included that we've done, was nailed to the cross at Calvary with Jesus Christ. I'm not 'sugar-coating' anything. I'm gonna give to you pure, raw and uncut, just it's written. Stop holding your own hearts in contempt & fear and allow love to enter in, and flow freely out of it. Put away the fear. God created and founded this world upon love, and everything He created is perfect. So what's that tell you? Two things:
1.) "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." - 1 John 4:18 (KJV)
2.) "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
And last, but certainly not least... Put your pride to death. Humble yourselves and NEVER be ashamed to proclaim the gospel of Christ, and your salvation before any man/woman.
- Psalm 36:11 - Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
- Psalm 59:12 - For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in theirpride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
- Psalm 73:6 - Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.
- Proverbs 8:13 - The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
- Proverbs 11:2 - When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
- Proverbs 13:10 - Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
- Proverbs 14:3 - In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
- Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
- Proverbs 29:23 - A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
... Now take all of that in, & walk in it in your lives. And all the 2,000 plus friends on my page knows that this applies to either them, or someone close to them, so share it. I love you all. Be blessed.
"If Any Man Be Willing, Let Him Take Up His Cross, And Follow Me..."
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