Lois J. Stucky (1928-2014) Our great example of living to please God is our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who said of Himself:" . . . He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him" (John 8:29). (Google image, Jesus praying)
Christ's choice was always to put His Father's will above His own, cost what it may. "can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear; I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the father which hath sent me" (John 5:30).
And this Noble Captain of our Salvation desires followers who will do likewise. He hid nothing of His expectations from His would-be followers who will do likewise. "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" (Mark 8:34-35).
This is not an appeal that is popular. At that word, many turn back. We want the marvelous blessings and benefits that Christ purchased for us But must we walk the way of the cross?
Oh, the sorrowful Garden of Gethsemane, the beatings of the soldiers, the torturous Via Dolorosa through Jerusalem's streets, the utter agony of the spikes on Calvary—that, of course, is all unique to Christ.
Yet, He says, he who would follow Him must "take up his cross." God has a unique cross for each of us. If the cross God asks us to bear seems heavy, think of Christ! Watch with Him in Gethsemane; witness the beatings, trace the bloody trail through the streets of Jerusallem, to the unspeakable spectacle of the loving and gentle Master agonizing on the Cross. It will put lovers of Christ on their knees afresh in humility and brokenness."
Our Prayer-
Father, as was Christ's choice to always put Your will above His, no matter the cost, may we also choose to not do our own will, but to choose Your will for us. As we study what this noble Captain of our salvation did, and what He desires us to follow Him, may we follow His example.
May we overcome our selfeshness, and be submissive to Your call on our lives. We want to surrender our lives to You for the spreading of the Gosple. We understand that this isn't a popular way, but as Christ surrendered His life in order to purchase Life for us, help us walk in the way of the cross, to always have in mind what He did for us; sorrowfully praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, enduring the beatings of the soldiers, His torturous walking through the Via Dolorosa streets on His way to the cross, and the utter agony of the spikes on Calvary.
Help us know that You have a unique cross for each of us to carry. It may seem heavy at times, but may we think of Christ's sacrifice; the unspeakable spectacle of the loving and gentle Master agonizing on the Cross for us. May it put us on our knees afresh in Humility and brokenness.
We pray this in the Master's name, Jesus. Amen
1011-1015 One-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-
1011- Ps. 1:1a "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly."
1012- Ps. 59:16 "I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning; for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble."
1013- Ps. 62:6 "He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved."
1014- Prov. 11:3a "The integrity of the upright shall guide them."
1015- 2 Cor. 10:3 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh."
~Quote for today-
Verse from poem, Stir Me, Oh, Stir Me, Lord (arthur unknown)
"Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, Thy heart was stirred
By love's intensest fire, till Thou didst give
Thine only Son, Thy best beloved One,
E'en to the dreadful Cross, that I might live.
Stir me to give myself so back to Thee,
That thou canst give Thyself again through me."
Words of wisdom-
Carry Christ's peace into every situation. Be gentle, but firm when confronting opposition. Rebellion needs to be delt with. Establish godly order of authority.
Words from the Father in a journal:
"Satan would like you to keep your mind on the way you feel, not on Me, so make every effort to concentrate on Me and what I want you to think and do. I will enable you to walk in victory each day in order to accomplish all My will for you. Don't worry about how you feel; I'm able to make your body work properly, even though you may feel poorly at times. What you'll accomplish is My will for you, regardless of what your body is telling you. Keep your mind fixed on Me."
Some encouraging words-
James 4:8 tells us to "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." We determine the level of our relationship with the Lord. May we choose to be close!
#20 of 23 Parallels between Moses and Messiah:
Moses' face radiated with the bright glory of the Lord (Exodus 34:29:35).
Messiah's face "shone like the sun, and His garments become as white as light" during His trnsfiguration (Matthew 17:2).
Upcoming posts:
9/2nd- NAPPING ON GOD'S WORK
Marcellus George
9th- FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT
Dave Branon
16th-THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING
Roy Clark
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts) Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage
Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDelete