Tag Archives: selfish

Take up your Cross – Luke 9:23

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A blog entry isn’t enough space to fill all the things I want to say about the following, and I will more than likely post a commentary about this verse in the near future.  In the meantime here are some of the home truths I learnt and was reminded of today;

23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

(NIV)

A hard verse to stomach perhaps?  Jumped out at me!  Jesus foretells his own death, then invites His disciples (and us) to pick up their own crosses and follow Him.  I really wasnt all together what picking up your own cross meant so I did some digging around.

From what I have read, in a nutshell, taking up your cross is to lead your life as Jesus would live.  We should therefore not indulge  in our selfish desires, thinking only of our own gain, but live a selfless life just as Jesus led.  This is in no way easy, and we can face many oppositions, many conflicting feelings, attacks and stumbling blocks that will try to steer us off the right path.

To gain life, you need to loose it!  That means putting your old life behind you!  Turning 180 degrees, so our backs are to it, and begin walking with Jesus.  Only then will we begin to experience real life!  A life that is given completely and utterly is a life that is guaranteed to succeed!  After all with God in the driving seat we can lean on Him and trust his direction.

When I say guaranteed to succeed, I don’t mean promotions at work, and riches beyond your wildest dreams, but treasures in heaven, spiritual gifts, blessings, a quenched thirst, a fulfilled life.  The persecution you could receive for living for the Lord is but a small price to pay for the rewards we will get from our Saviour.  The reward of life.

An earthly lifetime of truth, and an eternal life with Him.

Kindness – Philippians 2:1-8

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5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…

Yet another confirmation of our responsibility as Christians to imitate Christ.  His humility, love, compassion as well as kindness toward others.  There is no better way of expressing the Love of Jesus that through action.  In this self centred world, a lost person is more likely to be touched and challenged by a kind and selfless act.

Hebrews 13:2 - Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Our Daily Bread today also focuses on kindness to others.  We live in a society where it is natural to make decisions and to act upon things that are in our own best interests.  Things that benefit us, in status, wealth, position, relationships or power.  Our Lord was completely selfless and gave up His life utterly and completely for our sins.  When he rose again he commanded us to make disciples of all nations.  It is therefore our responsibility to act as he did, being selfless and humble, showing the love of Jesus that others may see, experience and be saved.

And of course, don’t forget the above verse (Hebrews 13:2), you could be unwittingly caring for an angel!  How awesome would that be?!

Don’t Get Burnt – Deuteronomy 4:32-40

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40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.

Today’s devotional pick up on the verse above hight lighting a warning from the Lord. Satan would have us think that we have a God who is out of touch, unfriendly and makes threatening demands. However when I read the above I can only see love!

The devotional cleverly picks up on the differences between a threat and a warning. A threat is something someone would make to get their own way, where a warning is made to protect the person being warned. Confused? Here are 2 examples, which is a threat and which is a warning:

  • A parent see’s a child putting his hand out toward a candle: “Don’t touch that, you will get burnt”
  • A couple argue about an outing: “If you don’t let me go, then we may as well divorce”.

My examples, although probably not scholarly clever, or extremely imaginative, I think highlight the difference well enough!

Sure they look the same! Someone is speaking of something that could happen as a result of certain actions, however the major difference is love! The parent lovingly warns their child, as it is in the child’s best interest not to get burnt.

The person making the threat in the couples argument however is using a possible outcome to get their own way, in other words a threat!

Our Lord through out the Bible never threatens us. He is our loving Father God. Everything he commands us to do is always in our best interests, and for our well being. He wants us to live happy and fulfilled lives in Him. His will is there to ensure we don’t get burnt!