In Luke 9:23-26 we read... “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.” These verses of scripture deal with the idea of dying to ourselves. The cross is a place of death. It is a place of self-denial. The only way that Jesus could secure our eternal salvation was to take our place on the cross and deny Himself of life so we could have eternal life. When we follow Christ, we imitate Him. So if He took up the cross, we must also take up our cross. The only way the church will survive the times we are living in, is to take up the cross, deny ourselves and follow Jesus. Matthew 10:22 tells us... “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” Jesus went all the way to Calvary. We must go all the way in the denial of self and allow God to live His life through us! Christ is challenging His church to take up their cross and follow Him.

Isaiah 61:1-3 prophesies of the ministry of the Messiah in vivid detail. He says the Messiah would be “anointed to preach the good news to the poor, give freedom to the prisoners, give sight to the blind, release the oppressed and proclaim the Lord’s favor.” This scripture was fulfilled in the life of Jesus in Luke 4:16-21. Jesus Christ came to make broken people whole again! He is ready and able to help all who cry out to Him. God is the God of restoration...He wants to restore those who are broken. When God makes a person whole, He doesn’t just gather up the brokenness and try to piece it all back together again. That would only result in a vessel that is marred and still carries the brokenness it once had. When God makes broken people whole, He does it through a recreation process. Like a marred vessel on the potter’s wheel, the potter cannot just repair the mar and call the work flawless. He must tear it all apart and recreate the work in order to make it perfect. God does that in the lives of those who are broken. He doesn’t leave you in your brokenness and just patch you up, He does a recreation process that makes you a new vessel. A vessel that is not broken and a vessel that is complete.

What is your idea of what God is like? Is your idea of God one who is an authoritarian, meaning a God who is perceived as angry and ready to throw the thunderbolt of judgment on anyone who is unfaithful? Some may see God as a critical God who is critical of people; while others may see God as a distant God who is somewhere far away in the heavens but does not really have a personal relationship with humans. Or maybe you see Him as a benevolent God who is a God that loves us and forgives us and blesses our lives with good things. In these four perceptions of God, the fourth is the closest to who God is. I John 4:8 tells us the ultimate nature of God... It simply says, “God is love.”
God’s love is consistent, unfailing and pure because love is the “core” of His nature. To prove His great love for us, “Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.” He also gave us a free will to choose Him or reject Him. This shows us that God's love is not demanding, but a love that is free for the asking. The truth of God is that He likes you! In fact He loves you! Whether in the Garden of Eden or the Garden of Gethsemane, He shows Himself in both mercy and love. Trust in His love today, He really loves you!!!

Matthew 5:5 - “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” To some people, meekness may sound ridiculous in the age we live in. This seems to be an age of pushing to get ahead, climbing over others to scramble to the top...and if the meek do inherit the earth, some bully’s going to take it away from them anyway. But is this really what it means to be meek? Someone who can be pushed around...? Not according to God. There are only two people in the Bible who were called meek...Jesus and Moses, and neither one of them were pushovers! The real meaning of meekness is not weakness, but it is having power under control. Moses illustrated this many times as he led God’s people through the wilderness. Jesus showed us extreme power under control when on the cross He said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” Meekness in essence is the ability to control your reaction to a circumstance that is less than pleasant. It is not allowing a situation to make you the victim. God’s Spirit gives us a three-fold result when He touches our life, it is power, love and self-control...in that order! Let’s learn the secret of how to use meekness...power under control in our everyday living.

Every word a person speaks has an impact on their life and the lives of others. Whether to bring encouragement or discouragement, words go deep when spoken. Proverbs 18:4 says, “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.” So then, are the words we speak words of wisdom or just meaningless babble? Let’s first remember that in Proverbs 18:21 it reads, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue...” Entire destinies of countries have been altered as a result of just one word of that country’s ruler declaring war. When it comes to the words we say, let us be careful to choose the right words, and not just the right words, but words that we mean. When it comes to saying things to God, your words are very important. First of all, be real with God. Don’t use flowery phrases and words that sound religious. Just be yourself, pray from your heart. God knows exactly what you mean. Don’t make promises to God that you won’t keep. It would be better to make fewer promises, than to make promises you break. Also listen more than you speak. Sometimes just hearing what God has to say about something will bring the answer you need to your questions.