Second Sunday Of Lent
March 4, 2012
My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
I greet you in the Holy and Righteous Name Of Jesus.
Our Lord and Savior.
Inspiration
Faith is a gift of God. It is given to the steward who is willing to move out in service in the face of an uncertain destiny. The road may lead to fulfillment or failure, opportunity or opposition. When we accept the cross of Jesus, we identify ourselves as stewards of God. We are certain it is better to lose with Him than win without Him.
This is day the LORD hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
HEARING GOD'S VOICE
Genesis 17:1-10
Romans 4:16-25
Psalm 105:1-11
Mark 8:31-38 or 9:1-9
Through His cross, Jesus gave us the call to follow Him in faith. For many of us this calll was received and we were given the faith to follow it at our baptism where we were marked with the cross of Christ. It is where we renounced the devil, and our sinful flesh was crucified and buried with Christ. This conversion marked the beginning of our discipleship.
The call to follow means that the one who is leading determines the course. This is the difficulty Peter had. He wanted to determine the way events should unfold and wanted a Savior without sacrifice, either on the part of the Savior or on his part.
It is here in verse 34 that we hear Jesus saying, "Whoever desires to come after Me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me. It is His to command, ours to obey. His to lead, ours to follow. His to call to service and sacrifice, ours to answer. "My LORD, and my God." in doing so He offers us glorious compensation. For "in the cross is salvation, strength of mind, joy of the Spirit, height of virtue and the perfection of sanctity.
Dear Friends, What is your cross? Some think that family problems, heartbreaks, limiting physical conditions and sins are their crosses. Jesus was referring to a willingness to endure pain, shame, and persecution for His sake. The cross of discipleship we must carry takes a lot of effort. God may lay some heavy burdens upon us. What a blessing to know that He will use these things to make our faith and trust in Him stronger and He has promised to help us bear the load. Matt. 11:30 (Look it up)
As we continue our Lenten walk with Jesus knowing that we are going to end up at the cross, let us remember what Jesus suffered and how He suffered was all according to God's plan for each of us. As we dedicate ourselves to serving the LORD Jesus, we will one day hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant, you may enter into the joy of the LORD."
Son of the living God! Oh call us
Once and again to follow Thee;
And give us strength, whate'er befall us,
Thy true disciples still to be.
PRAY- O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
