Today's thought - 20 October 2026 (Is your cross to heavy)

 

How are you, my friend? I want to talk to you this week about the cross. Our Pastor said on Sunday that this is not a negotiation. Remember God loved us first and somehow, we think that following Jesus requires no sacrifice.

My verse is from Hebrews 3:6, “But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ”.

Is Jesus in charge of everything in your house, in your life. We cannot follow Jesus on our terms. That is why when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and saviour we have moved from our old life and our old way of doing things to a new set of rules and a new way of doing things.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds”.

That is why Jesus said to the rich young man in Matthew 19:21, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” And the young man walked away sad because he could not do it. His possession was more important than the life he could have in Jesus.

Now, when we chose to follow Jesus, we step into a new way of living meaning that we have to surrender all of ourselves to Jesus and remove all that keeps us from following Him completely. I spoke about this last week when we talked about who is Jesus to you. What is His position in your life? What does it mean when Jesus said take up your cross and follow me.

Now it does not mean you have to be crucified for real. Remember when we gave our lives to Jesus, we crucified our old life and was born again into our new life. We died to the old and embraced the new. I have also said that taking up this new way of life means that sacrifices will have to be made. There is stuff that you just can’t do anymore. That is why Jesus said if you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. He is saying that if your hang on to the things of your old life, you will lose your life in Him.

Our Pastor said that money does not corrupt people or fame and power does not corrupt people. It just brings to the surface that which was already there. That is why the rich young man could not give up his possessions because it was what bound him to this world. The question remains is that what is it that keeps you in the world and away from God’s presence. What keeps us from sitting in heavenly places and allows the enemy a grip in your life. Following Jesus means that no matter how hard it is to give up your old life you must give it up and take up your cross. Remember you are first a Christian so you cannot place your light under a bushel. When you chose Jesus there has to be a removal, a humbling of yourself and position change. You have to surrender all and become obedient to the new requirements that the Word of God gives you and you need to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We cannot hear the voice of the Holy Spirit if our minds are filled with garbage.

So, come with me this week as we take up our cross and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and realign us with God’s Word.

Have an awesome day, my friend.