...have you ever noticed that there's an area that God has gave you a Cross in? How its ugly and painful and doesn't make sense, yet no matter where you go, your Cross seems to appear and grow more and more real...and you know you gotta get on it and enjoy its "death"?

[QUOTE=Anesis;698614]Hi, Leight!

I do think there are some people who have specific, recurring struggles in life. Some have more than one. No matter what it is, we do need to carry it. I am not so sure we need to "enjoy" it's death, though.

If we are to carry our cross, and then crucify ourselves on it, what does the cross symbolize? Is it the cross of struggles we have had to endure, or is it the cross of sin that we need to crucify our old nature on? Perhaps our cross is Jesus, where we share in his sufferings and then are resurrected in him. What exactly does it mean to take up our cross and follow him? What is our cross? Is the cross we take up the one we crucify (die to self) on?

You often have such thought-provoking questions, Leight. I really appreciate them![/QUOTE]


Leight and Anesis,

I think taking up our cross is going where he leads us, as he leads us to share in his sufferings, to glorify God in our lives by seeking to love others as he loved us and doing it, sacrificing self for our love for others. We each have our own crosses to bear. It can be a burden he places on our hearts, a cause to support, a people to love, injustice to stand against. It can be all of these. There are present rewards, not just future rewards, but present ones. There is indescribable joy there, a heightened sense of God's Presence and his incredible love for us, we see it more clearly and only desire to draw closer, indescribable joy that words cannot even begin to convey, though I tried to convey it in a song. And when we are there embracing that cross, self and we do not matter anymore. We are nothing. He is everything and He is all that matters. We die, and He lives in us. We are exactly where He wants us to be. That's where the martyrs were when they died for Christ. That's what Paul describes when he speaks of suffering for Christ. That's where the Arab Baptists in Lebanon were, as they held prayer meetings twice a day and opened their school to Muslims made homeless by bombings in Lebanon in July and August of 2006. They stood there, as they were being bombed, and they showed God's love to those around them who were hurting  and they had no fear. They could not have been closer to God, and God was there with them giving them strength and courage and showing them his love. It's placing complete faith and trust in God to provide all our needs, letting go of all of the material things of the world we were taught to value.

Let Us Pray

Let us pray in the morning, as the sun lights up our world
Let us pray for you, God, to lead and guide us, throughout our day
Let us pray for every person, that they feel your love, God
And that they turn to you, this day
Each one of us, your own special creations
Molded into who we are, God
With your own hands
So, let us thank you our Lord
For this beautiful gift of life
And the wonderful gift of your Son
Let us pray, let us pray

Remember Jesus sacrificed his life on that cross, remember Jesus died to save us all from  our sins
Jesus died, to glorify you God, his Father, and out of his love for each of us
Remember Jesus tells us to love one another, the same way God loves us
Jesus calls us to live lives of sacrifice, we each have our own crosses to bear
So, let us run and embrace those crosses and love one another, the way he calls us to do
It's where pain and God's love come together, such a beautiful place
Such a beautiful place, I don't ever want to leave that place
Let us pray, Let us pray   

Sherri

I try to dwell on the blessings that God has given to me; I thank Him everyday.  My daily crosses are not my concern, Jesus took care of that.   
I know that whatever happens to me God will get me through it.

I am already victorious, I'm just waiting for the celebration.

Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 

1Cr 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

1Cr 15:57 But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

:)