Take Up Your Cross

King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Take Up Your Cross
Date: Monday October 17, 2011
Chapters: Mark 10-11
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-17

Hello My Friend/Guest,

"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.” - Mark 8:31-35.

Jesus suffered many things on the cross He carried as every sin of every person, past, present, and future was placed upon it. Although He was sinless, He died for sin, He gave His life for sinners, He was selfless, unselfish, and denied Himself the pleasures of the world in order to save those in the world. It is the will of God that every person deny themselves, take up their own cross, and follow Jesus. In other words, if we want to be saved from hell we must give ourselves to Jesus, take all of our sins to Him, and follow Him, trusting only in the Gospel, His death, burial, and resurrection, to save us.

If you asked anyone if they know who Jesus is, most people will say they know He has something to do with God. Many do say that He is God's Son, but very few understand that they need Him to get to heaven. Most people who believe they will be in heaven think that they will get there by how good they are, this is false teaching, yes, I was taught the same thing most of my life too. However, it is false and if I died before I got saved I would have ended up in hell for trying to be good as well as everyone else that has been taught this false doctrine. Jesus explains how we get to heaven.

“And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” - Mark 10:13-16.

To be childlike is being pure, trusting, humble, and submissive as a child would be to their parents. When we stand before God our Father, humbling ourselves, and embracing Him as a child, we open our heart to receive His Word, thus receiving His Son, only by our faith in Jesus can we get to heaven, the Kingdom of God. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;” - Titus 3:5,6.

Many people do believe in Jesus, I remember growing up, being taught about Jesus, that on Christmas we celebrate His birth, on Good Friday we observe His death on the cross, and on Easter we celebrate His resurrection. The one vital thing I was not taught was how to receive Him. Many religions are very good at telling us about Jesus, but leaving out that vital piece of information we need to keep us out of hell. However, even more astonishing is the fact that people will deny Christ even upon learning that vital piece of information. Why? They do not want to give up their worldly life. A rich young man came to Jesus asking Him how to receive eternal life (how to get to heaven), Jesus, knowing that the man did follow the laws of Moses tells Him what was missing.

“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” -Mark 10:19-24.

No one can buy their way to heaven, that is why no amount of good can get you to heaven. Why? God knows that the flesh is wretched and wicked and no matter how much good one tries to do, it can never measure up to the bad. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one...There is no fear of God before their eyes...For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” - Romans 3:10-12,18,23.

What is the key to denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Jesus? Having faith in God. We must have faith in God, if we do not have faith in God we get no where with God. Ignoring God, pretending that He does not exist, or trying to eliminate Him from existence will never save you. However, having faith in Him, in His Son, and in His Word will save you. Jesus explains this further.

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” - Mark 11:22-26.

When we go to God like a child, admit that we have sinned, and ask Jesus to save us, believing, He will save us and guess what? All our sins that were taken up on the cross that He bare for us are removed, we are forgiven and get to go to heaven too. God will give us anything we desire if we have faith, which means to believe.“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” - Romans 10:9-13. Praise God!

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, it is amazing that we can simply come to You through Your Son, Jesus and get to be a part of Your Kingdom. We do not have to work our way to heaven or pay our way to get there, because Jesus paid the price for us, we just need to simply have faith in You. Lord, I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice, I am trusting in Your Son to help me endure every trial and every temptation as I follow Him. Even if I fail I know that You are always with me and will help me when I humble myself before You as Your child. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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