Below I have pasted a great article by Nancy Missler. This was taken from her original book Reflections of His Image - God's Purpose for Your Life. This reading really made me think whether or not I pick up the cross everyday and follow Jesus. Not some times, or maybe it can wait until tomorrow. It needs to be each day. Are we picking up our cross daily?
In Christ,
Michelle
Learning to Deny Self
A Scripture that perfectly describes maturity in Christ is Matthew 16:24: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. (Mark 8:34; and Luke 9:23)
To deny in the above Scripture does not mean to push down and bury real feelings and negate their existence. Many of us have been doing this out of habit because we’ve previously been taught we’re not supposed to have negative thoughts and feelings.
What we fail to realize, however, is that one of the benefits of being in Christ is that we have the freedom to be honest and genuine--to acknowledge our real thoughts and emotions even if they are bad. Then we have the freedom to confess them, repent of them and give them over to the Lord (lay them at the Cross).
As a result, He takes them and we can be free altogether. Thus, “to deny” in the context of the above Matthew Scripture means to bar ourselves or prevent ourselves from following what we naturally think and feel. Again, we’re all human and we’ll all have negative thoughts and feelings until the day we see Jesus. Denying ourselves simply means choosing not to follow these things.
Thus, it’s important that when we look at our real thoughts and feelings, we call them for what they are so we’ll know exactly what to give over to the Lord. Then, we must bar ourselves or prevent ourselves from following what these negative elements are telling us and, instead, give them to the Lord. Then we’ll be free to follow what He wants.
Self-denial, therefore, is the law of the Christian life. Even though our “old nature” has been positionally crucified, he is still not dead. Daily, he must be nailed to the cross. In other words, the Cross is the chief mark of a mature Christian. It’s what true maturity is all about. We are to deny our self, pick up our cross and follow Him. (Galatians 6:14)
Suffering For Christ
It’s difficult to talk about denying self and the Cross without at least mentioning the principle of suffering for Christ. It’s interesting, because throughout Scripture “glorifying the Lord” and “suffering for Him” always seem to be linked. It’s a pattern that we see over and over again. (See John 11:1-4) Indeed, glorifying the Lord seems to be the result of suffering for Him. (1 Peter 1:11)
Suffering simply means choosing to bar ourselves from following what we think, feel and want and, instead, choosing to do what God wants. In other words, suffering often occurs as a result of denying ourselves. Just as Jesus valiantly chose to set Himself aside, endure the Cross and follow what God wanted Him to do, He suffered. (Matthew 26:39; Philippians 2:5-8) So we, too, often suffer when we choose to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him.
One of God’s purposes for suffering is to highlight the things in our own lives that must be dealt with. He wants us to make an honest self-evaluation of ourselves, which in turn, should lead us to confession, repentance and a change of lifestyle.
Again, spiritual death must precede spiritual life. We must decrease, so that He can increase. (John 3:30) We must be stripped of self, so that we can then be filled with Him.
The Fellowship of the Unashamed
The following prose eloquently describes what “maturity in Christ” really is. It’s called The Fellowship of the Unashamed and was written by a young Zimbabwe pastor who was martyred for his faith in Christ.
“The dye has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down or back away. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.
“I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, live by prayer and labor with power. My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven. My road is narrow. My way is rough. My companions are few. My Guide is reliable. My mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
“I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, prayed up, stored up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ.
“I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me, and when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner is clear. I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.”
* * *
May every one of us be able to say those same words in 2008 and mean them with the same passion and conviction as this dear Zimbabwe pastor.
This article has been excerpted in part from Nan’s book, Reflections of His Image.
This article was originally published in the
January 2008 Personal Update NewsJournal.
Reflections of His Image - God's Purpose for Your Life - Nancy Missler
The Lord not only wants you to have salvation through Christ, He wants you to be a reflection of Christ.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hi,
I ran accross your blog and it caught my attention. I'm just curious as to how someone is as strong as to cary the whole cross each day? How far will we have to carry it? For the rest of our existence?
Jesus carried his cross 0.2 miles(0.3 kilometers) from the
Praetorium to the traditional location for Golgotha as the crow flies. The path that Jesus took through the streets of Jerusalem is unknown. Therefore, It is unkonwn how far the cross was carried. It is not stated in the Bible. Jesus actually carried the patibulum, which would have weighed around 110 pounds, not the whole cross. In case you did't know, the cross is broken into two parts. Keep reading.
My question is,
Is there some degree of Christianity that allows you the power of making the load of a 110lb pure wood cross lighter? How do you carry your cross each day? Would we carry the whole cross, the upright (stipes) and the cross arm
(patibulum)? The bible states that he only carried the patibulum.
You made a vaid question, but there is no example or intent?
The reading, "Reflections of His Image - God's Purpose for Your Life," by author Nancy Missler, made you ask the question, if we are picking up the cross some times, tommorow, maybe, or each day? You are asking the public reader if they are picking up their cross, yet you fail to state wether you are?
The reading/article states that we might acknowledge our real thoughts and emotions even if they are bad, So we must lay them at the cross, then carry them once more?
What are your real thoughts and feelings? Once those are reveled, is there a level of Christianity maturity that you have reached, that will allow for that weight to be less? will then, will you be able to carry the cross each day?
Nancy Missler's reading/article, also states that we must suffer for him. Have you? How? Did Jesus not suffer for us already?
It sounds to me as if by reading this book/article, "Reflections of His Image - God's Purpose for Your Life," has led you to doubt yourself as a true Christian.
There shoud not be any
Self-denial once the Christian life is chosen right? There should be absolutly no doubt that Jesus has already carried the cross for us. Doubting is a sign of weakness for what is already historically true both spirutally and physically. Every true Chirstian knows that.
It is my humble opinion that a true reflection of Christ, is walking hand-in-hand with him. acknowledging that fact, that Jesus as well as all of living things, are a creation of god. That is a true representation.
Why would God give us life to repeat the same story as his son? Why would God bring us to earth to suffer? That would defeat his whole purpose of excisting, and thus sparing his son to die for us. Think about it.
I know for a fact that I am recognized by God and then Christ,Jesus. I know that because I excist. I grow each day as a mature Christian because I know this, and I live by it. I recognize that I am a creation of God and that Jesus is my hero. I fall to his knees because he is a true representation, of what his mission on earth was/is, for all of man kind. My mission on earth is to represent God all mighty, and not doubt his excistance, and his reason for our way of life. I am a reflection of God because I am able to say why I exist and pass the true meaning of being a Christian to my children. That is my purpose.
How are you a reflection of Christ? What is your reason for existing?
What is the purpose of you copying, pasting, and then asking, if we are picking up our cross daily? There is no purpose to your question. It is simply masking your doubts as a true Christian. Please take time to answer your own doubts, and questions before posting a blog. Also take time to interpret the readings/article mentioned above. I realize that the book mentioned is not on your Favorite Books List. I can clearly see why? Perhaps your should take time to interpret, copy, and then paste the book instead of just the article.
I bet you weren't expecting a true, confident, and solid response. I don't mean this to be offensive, but I do expect a response. Are you carrying the cross each day? The two parts? Is your load lighter than mine or your neighbor. Please
elaborate.
Very Respectfully,
Confident Christian Public viewer
Hi S gray, the article I posted was not to mask anything in my life. It is simply a rhetorical question to have the reader make an assessment of their heart as I do with mine. I am not perfect and I have to make an assessment of my heart each day to see if my motives lie along with Jesus. Carrying the cross is of a spiritual aspect and not the physical as to how long Jesus carried it. Carrying the cross means am I willing to die for Jesus? Am I willing to do His will for my life? It is not the physical aspect, but the spiritual. I do not doubt myself at all as a Christian. I am a believer in Christ and that is it. I do not put myself under that broad umbrella. I just want to say that I try to follow Jesus as much as I can. I know that I will fall, but He picks me up again and lets me try again. That is the grace He gives me. I am thankful to have it because I know that I will fail sometimes. And if I didn’t have God’s grace than I would be in trouble. “How are you a reflection of Christ? What is your reason for existing?” My reason for existing is to do what God has called me to do. To preach the gospel and let His light shine through my life. We are all called to tell others about Jesus.
I believe you misinterpret the reading. I am sorry that you didn’t receive the message as clearly as I have hoped. God bless you, Michelle
Post a Comment