The Cross, and its demands.

Dear believer,

I am particularly concerned for my generation of millennials who have pledged allegiance to the Lordship of Christ, and my concern stems from the inexplicable divergences from the whole truths of scriptures we have had to bear over time. This is not new or peculiar to us, the Body of Christ since its inception in the first century have at different times suffered certain major distortions from the truths that Jesus himself taught during His time on earth, these variations have over time culminated in the aggrandizement of the principles of the world in the Church.

One of such effects of these deadly infiltrations is how that the Cross in all of its glory and life-changing demands it makes on believers has been downplayed and made of no effect. The Christian faith without the Cross is just another movement that will always die off. The Cross is at the center of what we profess. Without the Cross, the powers that we claim to operate in are of no effect and do not hold water in this life and in the one to come. The Cross is simply our identity as believers. Any attempt to take apart the cross from what we have believed will render everything that Jesus died for useless.

“A servant is not greater than his master”, Jesus said. This speaks of the many demands that will be laid on the shoulders of anyone who decides to follow the rugged pathway the Cross provides. This pathway charts a new course of life for us. It decides what can be done and what cannot be done. In this pathway lies the unending and never-abating demands that naturally come as a result of the choice of pledging allegiance to Jesus.

We must understand that our call to Christianity does not begin and end with name-it and claim-it. Our call is a constant and consistent decision to rid ourselves of the longings of the flesh. It is a call to always put first what the Lord says. It is an upward call to always yield our desires and aspirations, no matter how good they are to our Lord and King. It is in carrying our cross and following Jesus, that we will enter the peace that we truly seek.

I did not come this week to tell you what your cross is, but like a 15th-century preacher who was referenced by A.W. Tozer in his book The Radical Cross said:

God is ingenious in making crosses for us.

He further referenced that:

He may make them of iron and of lead which are heavy of themselves. He makes some of straw which seem to weigh nothing, but one discovers that they are no less difficult to carry. A cross that appears to be of straw so that others think it amounts to nothing may be crucifying you through and through. He makes some with gold and precious stones which dazzle the spectators and excite the envy of the public but which crucify no less than the crosses which are more despised.

So ultimate power with God comes in allowing Him to fashion your own cross and letting him teach you how to carry it.

Until next week, stay rapturable.🙏🙏