Follow The Leader (Part 3)

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." ~ Matthew 16:24-25

Following God's direction has a prerequisite, and it's located in Matthew 16:24. 

Very simply, if we are to follow God, we are to take up our cross.

What does "take up your cross" mean?

Simply it means that we must die to our flesh, i.e. to our carnal nature, our foolish thinking, and our selfish desires. It means that life is no longer about you, but instead about Him.

Following the Leader is NOT easy. It's hard, because it requires certain things to die within us.

But the good news is that God promises that if we are willing to die in certain areas, He will give us life in other areas.

Will you take up your cross and follow Him today?

God bless,
J.W.

Empty Tombs

"Why do you seek the living among the dead." ~ Luke 24:5

While people typically talk about Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday, today, I want to focus on the empty tomb.

When Jesus died on the cross, He not only died for our sins. The Bible says He "bore our sins in His own body" (1 Peter 2:24). In other words, Jesus became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He stood in our place, and thus, represented us in judgment (1 John 2:2).

Why is that important?

Because the same process by which Jesus was judged, crucified, killed, and ultimately resurrected, is the same process by which he handles our sin today. When we give our sin over to God, He crucifies, kills it, buries it, and makes it disappear as if it was never even there.

God is a God of empty tombs. The things He buries can't be found anymore. The question is, do you trust Him enough to do it?

Thank God for empty tombs. And happy Resurrection Sunday!

God bless,
J.W.

#PassionWeek #ResurrectionSunday #EasterIsComing #EasterIsHere

Get Busy

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." ~ Matthew 16:24

On this past weekend, the Praise Team at my church sang a song that touched my heart. The words include the following:

“I give myself away,
I give myself away so you can use me,
I give myself away.
My life is not my own,
to you I belong,
I give myself,
I give myself to you.”

These words may seem very simple when you read them, but when I sung them, I began to remember that my life is truly not my own. I was bought with a price. He that knew no sin gave up His life for me and for you. He was tortured, humiliated and crucified so that the penalty for my sins and your sins would be paid. Then, on the third day He arose, so that we could have new life… eternal life with Him and our Father.

Do you realize that your life is not your own? Do you realize that we have much work to do in the Kingdom of God and that the Lord wants to use us? We must realize that our journey is about not just seeking the Kingdom of God, but also about building the Kingdom of God. We have to be about our Father’s work, because time is winding up and Jesus is soon to return.

So let us deny ourselves and live and work for the Lord on a daily basis, not just Sundays and Wednesdays. Every day that we awaken, is a day that we should be giving more and more of ourselves to God for His use, for “the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37).

Elder Carol Tolbert

Jesus Walks (Part V)

Today is the day.

The day that Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins.

In honor of this day, there is no message.

Rather, only a proverbial moment of silence in commemoration of Jesus’ death on the cross some 2000 years ago.

God bless,
J.W.

“…this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ~ 1 Corinthians 11:24

Love Series - Part 5: Sacrificial Love

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” ~ John 3:16

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ~ Romans 5:8


If we were to truly follow Christ’s example, we would notice what love truly is.

At the end of the day, love is both sacrificial and committal.

You must be willing to give something of yourself to another, no matter what you might get in return.

Otherwise, what you’re showing is not true love, but self-interested love, which really isn’t love at all.

What are you willing to sacrifice for love today?

God bless,
J.W.

Persecution

No scripture today.

I just wanted to share this article with you all.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87262

It’s about a woman from Egypt who was arrested trying to leave Cairo for Russia, all because she was a Christian.

Let’s not take for granted the incredible opportunity and privilege we have to worship God in freedom.

The crazy part about this story is that even the judge in her case threatens to kill her because of her religious views.

Pray for your brothers and sisters around the world that God might protect them as they live their lives openly for Jesus Christ.

God bless,
J.W.