The Way of the Cross

As we prepare for the last event of the 2017 season on MMTV, we also prepare for the new year. This is the time of the year when reflection is utmost in peoples minds. Most are taking inventory of their year and starting to plan for the one ahead of them. While we do reflect on the past and look forward to the future, as Christ followers we have a different focus, one of gratitude for all the Lord has done for us and a giddy anticipation of what the Lord has for our future.

There is no longer term planning per se in our house, but a curiosity of what He has next for us. Yes, we need to do the work in front of us and yes we need to plan for how that work will be accomplish, but we do not seek the reigns of authority in what direction our lives will take. We simply wait for the signs He will lay before us to mark the path of our forward movement. When they come, we walk in His light.

Sometimes He will have us stay in a place for a time. When life seems stagnant, we must be certain to be about the work He has brought us to in that season. When life takes unexpected turns, we must hold on to our faith in who He is and the history of protection He has provided for us. I have this quote as the background screen on my phone, ‘This is my Confidence, You’ve Never Failed Me Yet’ #thereisacloud

2018 is already in full swing in our minds. There is plenty of preparatory work for how it will be fulfilled. The off season is a time for reflection, renewal and preparation. The Lord continues to bring us plenty of work, almost more than we can handle. He will stretch us again this year and ensure we continue to rely on Him for all our needs. Why do you ask? Because faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Paraphrased from Hebrews 11:1)

Blessings

The Way of the Cross
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
December 27, 2017

” … come down from the cross and save yourself!” (Mark 15:30).

God calls each of us to the cross in order for all the things that are alive in our flesh to die. Daily we are invited by the enemy of our souls to love ourselves and come away from the cross.

What are the signs that you have come off the cross? When you are overly concerned with appearance, you have come off the cross. When the words of others cause you to react and defend, you have come off the cross. When you strive to have your world in perfect order, you have come off the cross. When you complain about circumstances, you have come off the cross.

The way of the cross means letting go and letting God have His way in every matter, every relationship, every outcome.

“When God starts to deal with the old nature He heads straight for the center of all that you hold most dear. Allow Him to bring you to the cross in the very center of who you are. Don’t grumble and become agitated when the process starts. Silence and peace will help you much more than being upset. To bear the cross simply, without letting your self-love add all sorts of dilemmas to it, will make your life easier. When you accept the cross simply allow it to do the work God intended, you will be happy because you will see what good fruit is produced in you.”* Those were the words of Francois de Fenelon, a man who lived in the 1600s and was considered one of the most godly men of his time.

The apostle Paul sums up the way of the cross: “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil 3:18-21).

Let the cross have its way in you.

*Francois de Fenelon 100 Days in the Secret Place, Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg, PA p. 24 2001