Empty Race< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Mark 10:17-22

In this race of life, ask God to intervene in how you run yours so you will not run empty. Mark 10:17, ÒNow as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ÔGood teacher, what I shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?ÕÓ The rich young ruler knew about Jesus but he did not know Jesus. So many are running, but they have no understanding of where and how to run the race. He went running to Jesus, you also have been running after Him from crusade to crusade, revival to revival, and from fellowship to fellowship. Just as the rich young ruler knew about kneeling down, you also know how to kneel down before Him. You know the entire religious program and all about acting in the church. Do you really know Him enough to be counted at end of the race? The rich man knows about the commandments, just as you also have had it memorized at a young age. However, he lacked letting all the ungodly riches go and giving all to Jesus to enter the finish line. Mark 10:21-22, ÒThen Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ÔOne thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me. But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.ÕÓ It takes letting self go and carrying the cross to run your race and at the end you will be counted.

Religion Killeth< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Mark 10:17-22

Just as the young rich man was running after Jesus, just as he was kneeling before Jesus without readiness of heart to live by His word, so you also might have been doing. Mark 10:17, ÒNow as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ÔGood teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?ÕÓ For the young rich man to be running after Jesus, he must know about Jesus. But, he does not know Jesus for who He was and who He is. Have you been running from one church to another church? The young rich man knew all that he needed to know about religion by keeping the entire commandment from his youth. You also have the same knowledge because you were born in a Christian home. Jesus is saying to you, all that you need is to give all unto Him. Mark 10:21, ÒThen Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ÔOne thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross and follow Me.ÕÓ All that you have is a baggage of delay, it will not enable you to properly carry the cross. Your own self is heavy enough to add to the cross; as a result, a choice has to be made. Mark 10:22, ÒBut he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.Ó Playing religion has to give way to Jesus reality, or it will kill and destroy.

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.