Carry the Cross< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Mark 8:34-38

It is a good thing when you sing and express your love to Jesus. To love Him is to be able to answer His calling by carrying the cross. Mark 8:34, ÒWhen He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.Ó When He called people to Himself, the purpose is for people to deny self and let Christ take over. In going after Jesus, you will have to let the Spirit of God take the leadership, not the self in you. When you follow Jesus, you will have to take up the cross. Taking up the cross demands all you have in loving as you have constantly confessed. Carrying the cross and carrying self at the same time is absolutely impossible. Can you walk two ways at the same time? If you cannot walk two ways at the same time you cannot carry cross and yourself at the same time. Indeed, it is easier said than done. Carrying the cross demands a divine intervention because determination will fail. Carrying the cross does have great pain that will lead to greater gain. If it is impossible to carry the cross, Jesus will not have requested it, but the fact is, carrying the cross is possible. Above all, as challenging as it could be, carrying the cross will give life, and not take it. Mark 8:35, ÒFor whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospels will save it.Ó Ask Him and let Him know that your desire is to carry the cross, and He will deposit in you what it takes to carry the cross.

Light and Sight< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Mark 8:22-26

The blind man of < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Bethsaida has the Light of God in his presence, but he does not have sight. Mark 8:11, ÒThen He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.Ó Without sight there will be no motion, only stagnation. The blind man was before Jesus and could not move because he does not have what it takes to move out of stagnation. You have the Light of God in front of you when you go to church, when you go to fellowship, when you read your bible, yet your story remains the same; your story has not change and your struggle continues to be the same. If you will do what it takes to gain your sight, you do not have to be in stagnation forever. Do you wonder what the blind man did to gain his sight? Mark 8:23, ÒSo He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.Ó The blind man begged Jesus; he allowed Jesus to take leadership. Jesus took him out of his ground of stagnation into a new ground when he followed Jesus out of town. As a result of his response to Jesus, he had a touch from Him and he received his sight. With Light, he gained sight. Are you calling on Him enough? How have you been following Him? Step up your prayer life and follow Him wherever He is leading you–he will no doubt touch you. The blind man let Jesus touch him, and the blindness was let go from his life as he gained his sight.

Your Desire< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Mark 8:34-38

What do you desire? There are so many choices that can make or unmake man. However, what you desire will have a direct effect on the choices that you make in life. Mark 8:34, ÒWhen He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up the cross, and follow Me.Ó It is not a forceful calling, it is a call of choice, and it is a calling to be desired before it becomes deposited in your life. God made and He gave us freedom of choice because He is not a slave-master but a saving-master. He said whoever desires. Have you ever thought about the calling that you claimed to have answered, or are you just flowing with the crowd? Can anyone possibly be able to carry a cross in one hand, and then carry self in the other hand? It is absolutely impossible. Think about it and determine for yourself if you need to rededicate your life to Christ or if you need to repent. Listen, God cannot be deceived and you can only walk, dwell, or hide by mixing with the crowd as long as you choose to. However, the time is in His hand and when it is time for Him to identify you, it will cost Him nothing to expose your faking, but it will cost you beyond what you can imagine. Ask God today to give you the grace that will cause self a permanent death while you are alive in carrying the cross.

Calling of God< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Exodus 2:11-25, 3:1-10

Man cannot determine or decide for God when and when not to be called. GodÕs timing is different from manÕs timing. Are you making up time for yourself to be called for His assignment? God will always call when He is ready to use you for His assignment. If you have received any call outside of His calling, you will end up outside of GodÕs plan for your life, and you are running a risk in your life.  Whenever God calls you, He will back you up, you will not fail, you will not miss the road, and no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Moses wanted to answer a call when he was not called; he went and intervened in a fight between a Hebrew and an Egyptian. In his support for his Hebrew brethren, he killed the Egyptian. He became a murderer, and it was used against him by his brethren. Exodus 2:15, ÒWhen Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.Ó He lived 40 years in the palace he fled from because he was not called. It took another 40 years for him to actually receive a call that caused neither man nor weapon to stand against him and prevail. When the time is right before God, he will call you. Do not call yourself in doing His work. Exodus 3:4, ÒSo when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ÔMoses, Moses!Õ And he said, ÔHere I am.ÕÓ He will call you if you will turn aside to Him and not to yourself nor to man.

Adult-ery Hinders< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Matthew 18:3-4, Jeremiah 3:9-10

Have you been converted but lack the spirit of a little child? Are you allowing wickedness, unforgiving and lack of humility to reign and rule in your daily walk? It does not matter who you are or the position you are holding inside or outside of your group of believers, your walk have to be consistent with the LordÕs requirement. Jesus said, in Matthew 18:3-4, ÒAssuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom.Ó What a wake up call for those with wrong assumptions of what it is to be a saint? Jesus is saying ASSUREDLY–that means without any other means, with all certainty. Thank God, you have been converted (born again). However, it is not enough because Jesus said unless you are converted AND become as little children; there will be no other way to enter the kingdom of heaven. It cannot be clearly said than the way Jesus said. Give up your Òadult-eryÓ life (not just adult life). That is a life that has turned his love from God to someone or something else. When there is no obedience to the word of God, it is a demonstration of no love for His word. In your conduct and everyday life, try being a little child and see what difference your life will bring to those around you. Undoubtedly, you have been converted now be a little child for a change.