Luke 9:21-27
Taking Up Jesus' Cross
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 7:24-27
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Luke 6:17:26
Sermon on the Plain
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
John 16:33
We Will Have Troubles in this World
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Acts 4:12
Peter Says There is No Other One By Who We Can Be Saved
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
John 17:3
Now This is Eternal Life
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
When I think of Jesus, I think of His forgiving nature, His LOVE, His mercy, His helping and His healing of others...I think of Him constantly teaching about His Father...He prayed often to His Father, and His Father was the central part of His life...I think of His death and His suffering on the cross for me...My sins put Him on the cross...
Sometimes on TV, we see those following Jesus might think that things can look nice and maybe easy, being His follower...But Jesus teaches us that a commitment to the cross is one where we must deny our very selves and take up our cross and follow Him...For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Him will save it...What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?...Whoever is ashamed of Him and His words, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels...Jesus is telling us that following Him is not easy, it is difficult, and there will be trials in our lives...There will be trials and He tells us there will be storms and winds that beat against us and our houses even though we believe in Him...
Jesus died on the cross, a part of Him, a big part of His life is about the cross...Sometimes after I read the Sermon on the Plain I think that Jesus when we take up the cross and follow Him, we will have some suffering, some pain, problems, some afflictions as part of our lives...Following Him goes beyond our earthing comfort and thinking we need and want to be comfortable...He does not promise blue skies, and no rain each day...In fact, He tells us we will have troubles in this world...Telling others that you believe in Jesus, or when others know you have an allegiance to Him can be embarrassing for one or both parties...That is why Jesus talks about denying ourselves, because others may have and get feelings of uneasiness when they learn that you are a devout follower...
But for following Him, believing in Him and following His teachings, and getting to know Him and His Father can bring us eternal life...Following Him truly is the way to live, if one believes that He is in fact, the Truth...Because Jesus is our Savior, their is no other name by which we can be saved...And following Him brings us a peace from heaven, from Another World and a different type of peace...If our foundation is in Him, then we will stand firm like the house built on the Rock, His Rock...And those who believe Him truly He tells us, will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God...Jesus and His Father are the Givers of eternal life...