“And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).

As we celebrated Easter this past Sunday, we remembered how Jesus was tortured for our sins, then how he had to carry that massive wooden cross on his bleeding shoulders to the top of the hill before being crucified on it. We remembered the stunning miracles that occurred as he gave up his life. And we celebrate his miraculous resurrection. He is risen. He is risen, indeed. Hallelujah!

Well, shortly before Jesus’ last week leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection, he was teaching about the cost of being a disciple. And he put it like this: “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-27).

Jesus’ audience would have understood the reference to carrying a cross. One did not carry a cross unless he was literally going to die. What are we to make of a statement like this? It sounds very harsh, very scary. In fact. Jesus was using exaggeration to make a strong point. We do not have to actually hate our family (remember the fifth commandment in Exodus 20:12), but, he is saying that we must love Jesus more. He must be first in our life. Anything that comes before Jesus is an idol, and what Jesus was preaching was that we must eliminate all idols; we must die to self to be his disciple. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 6:1-14 (it is a bit lengthy, but I cannot say it better than Paul):

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Does taking up our cross mean that we will be persecuted? Perhaps. Does it mean that we will give up sinful pleasures? It should. Does it mean that we will serve Him? Hopefully. Does taking up our cross mean that we will love Him and worship only Him? Yes!

Here’s the thing: Jesus died for our sins, but then He was resurrected to eternal life in heaven with his Heavenly Father. We must die to self and sin so that we can not only walk the Christian walk, but also so that we can live eternally with Jesus. It will not be easy to exchange the worldly life with all its seeming pleasures for a life of following Jesus, but it will be eternally worth it. It is the only way.

In Christ,

Judy

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

I had a moving experience last week. I have a set of resurrection eggs at home that I put out at Eastertime. Several of my grandchildren came over for a sleepover; they saw the eggs and asked to play with them. I sat with them and walked them through the story using the little toy that is in each of the twelve eggs. The first toy is a donkey, so we talked about how Jesus rode into town on a donkey. Remember, I am talking to small children. They liked the part about the donkey. We walked through some of the other events, each a little more disturbing, such as the whip and crown of thorns, but I chose my words carefully because of their young ages. Then we got to the crucifixion which was symbolized by a large cross-shaped nail. Again, I tried to describe it in an age-appropriate way, and then was ready to move on to the linen cloth and the stone for the grave and the empty egg representing the empty tomb. But the five-year old just stopped, near tears, and hugged me and said she was so sorry that Jesus had to be hurt so badly. I was surprised at how tender her heart was toward Jesus and his pain.

I was convicted by how she was impacted by Jesus’ suffering. While I know the crucifixion really happened, I do not feel it like I should. I am only too happy to move on to the resurrection and ascension, which of course are central and foundational to our faith. But we should not overlook the monumental event of the crucifixion.  It was my sin that put Jesus on the cross. It was my sin that killed him. And it was a brutal, painful death. The man, Jesus, physically suffered like any person would suffer. The divine Jesus also suffered as God turned his face away from him unable to look at his only begotten Son who had taken on the sins of the world, my sins. I can hardly write these words.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Because of Christ’s willingness to suffer for us, we as believers have been redeemed from the pit of hell to live victoriously in Christ forever. “For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!” (2 Corinthians 5:21 TLB). Praise God!!

In Christ,

Judy

I was going to call this devotional “Lent,” but I thought you might not read it if I did. That said, the season of Lent begins today. Although my church does not officially recognize Lent, I observe it. Lent is not mentioned in the Bible, but it has been recognized as a practice since the earliest days of the church and was referred to by name (Lent) by the Council of Nicea in A.D.325.

The name “Lent” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for Spring, and its length (40 days not counting the Sundays before Easter) represents the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying in preparation for the start of his public ministry.

I think the reason I like to observe Lent is that my favorite day of the year is Easter, the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Lent is a time of intentional preparation for Easter in recognition and as a way of following the example of Jesus.

I am not writing to recommend any particular way to observe Lent. Prayers and fasting are typical ways, but I think most of all it should be a private way to renew our commitment to spiritual growth in Christ. This might be through reading special Lenten devotionals and practicing spiritual disciplines. Whatever we do, we do it not for public recognition but for private reflection and meditation and renewal.  I have included some links to some resources that you might find useful.

Lent Devotional Resources: https://www.bible.com/search/plans?q=lent

Spiritual Disciplines:

• https://bible.org/illustration/spiritual-disciplines
• Sacred Rhythms (book, recommended by Zach Bryant)
• Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren

I guess I’m basically an optimistic person. I am excited about every opportunity to make a fresh start. That’s why I get so excited about New Year’s Day—yes, I still make resolutions. And I love Sundays because it’s the first day of the week, another chance to start over. And Easter is the event that proved beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus is Lord. He overcame death and the grave as the first to ascend to Heaven. I celebrate it not only as the resurrection of Christ, but also as the anniversary of my new eternal life in Christ.

I am filled with gratitude for opportunities to make a fresh start. I am so thankful that we serve a God of grace, who sent his Son who paid the price with his life to reconcile us back to Him. I praise God for all our second chances (and third and every one after that).

In Christ,

Judy