Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

Do you know Jesus?

Do you walk with Him and talk with Him…moment by moment?

Do you know His story?

Did you know He died on a Cross for you?

Did you know that the cross is a symbol of love that Christians have carried throughout history?

Did you know that the cross represents death and pain and sacrifice it was used to crucify people in Roman times…

The cross was a tree, a pole that Jesus hung upon. He shed his blood, and sweat, and tears. There was such anguish and betrayal and persecution. He hung there naked and beaten. Nails held his body there…

Oh he could have called angels from heaven and they would have taken Him from that cross if had asked…he could have said, “Father this is too much to bear.” But he didn’t say that…He said, “Father forgive them they don’t know what they are doing.”

The cross was not only a place of death. It was a place where life would be restored. The veil that separated men from a Holy God would be ripped in two all because the Son of God hung there and died for humanity because of His great love for all mankind.

The thief, the murderer, the liar, the cheater, the adulterer, all sinners…God loved each of us even in our sin even before we asked Him to forgive us. He loved us so much that He allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross; a tree; so that you and I could be free from death, hell and the grave!!!

The cross is more than a pole that stood on a hill described as the place of the scull. It is a landmark in history that will stand throughout all time…

Men of evil intent may burn it…destroy it…hide it…bury it…smash it into dust…that will not matter…it is sealed in the minds and hearts of every living being…WHY? Because the Only Begotten Son of God hung on that cross to give us reconciliation to the Father of Heaven…The Living God and Creator of every living thing…

You think you can destroy it…There’s No Way…hold out your arms and look at yourself…you are a cross…

Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

Oh it’s not just a symbol to be worn as an accessory…it not just a symbol to be set on a church steeple…it’s not just a symbol to be sung about or carried on someone’s back at Easter-time…It is so much more…

The Cross is a place of Liberty and restoration…It was used to show the whole world that the Son of God was sent to hang there so that we would know His sacrifice was greater than any, that could, or would, ever be able to stand in the midst of evil. To bear up under demonic torture and shame and guilt and betrayal…but it did not end there… It was not a pretty sight…it was no Hollywood movie…it was not something to be proud of or glorified…it was heart breaking, a horror to watch as the stench of blood and urine and sweat poured out…His skin was ripped, bones stretched a torture beyond anything imaginable… can you get that? Can you see the precious Son of God hanging on that cross for us?

Jesus/Yeshua the son of the living God…Gave His life freely…He died there. His blood and water poured from there…and Glory to God in the Highest…He did that so that we would live and never die…so that we wouldn’t have to be crucified…

Mockers and soldiers and family and friends…outcasts and beggars…tired lonely women and old men…lepers and blind, lame and demon possessed watched the man, Jesus/Yeshua die, upon the cross…

You can’t destroy the cross…it is indestructible because, Jesus/Yeshua lives…in spite of evil’s tactics…they’ve already lost…

Give me Jesus/Yeshua give me the cross…

I’ll carry it always; it will never be lost…

Child of God, stand tall, stand strong…

This will be your calling; this will be the cost…

Come follow Yeshua…and carry the cross…

The thing is…Jesus/Yeshua is no longer on that cross…He is ALIVE! But because of that cross, and His love for us…we as His children…know the price of what He accomplished on that cross, and one day, every knee is going to bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus/Yeshua the Christ, is LORD!!!

~~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 26, 2017

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 English Standard Version (ESV)