32 Reasons To Die (By Taking Up Your Own Cross)

1. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.   Matthew 10:38

2. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. Matthew 16:24

3. As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. Matthew 27:32

4. and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Matthew 27:40

5. “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. Matthew 27:42

6. And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. Mark 8:34

7. They *pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross. Mark 15:21

8. save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” Mark 15:30

9. “Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him. Mark 15:32

10. And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23

11. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27

12. When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. Luke 23:26

13. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. John 19:17

14. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” John 19:19

15. Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.       John 19:25

16. Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. John 19:31

17. this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. Acts 2:23

18. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. Acts 5:30

19. “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. Acts 10:39

20. “When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. Acts 13:29

21. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. 1 Corinthians 1:17

22. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

23. But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. Galatians 5:11

24. Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.     Galatians 6:12

25. But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14

26. and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. Ephesians 2:16

27. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8

28. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, Philippians 3:18

29. and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Colossians 1:20

30. having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

31. fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

32. and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24

 

Beyond Salvation

If you read The Harness of the Lord, you’ll see (if you didn’t know this already), that some people move on further in their relationship with Christ than do many people that are just ‘saved’.

In the ‘just saved’ level, there are numerous freedoms. Which church you’ll go to, what Bible school, which job, who you’ll minister to, and so on. As the Holy Spirit begins to lead you though, you don’t have those same freedoms. Progressing on, which can go for many years, He will require stricter and stricter obedience – if you submit.

When I started this blog and was trying to choose a name ‘girl, apprehended’ popped into my head from who-knows-where and I couldn’t shake it (hard as I actually tried). Nothing else seemed right. I believe this was the Father’s choice. By the spirit I was restrained from anything else, not forcibly, but guided by the spirit in my seeking after Him.

To be ‘apprehended’ is to me to be beyond the point of no return in a sense. It is NEVER an issue any longer of my falling away, or not knowing if I am baptised in the Holy Spirit, or wonder if I have ever heard His voice. All of this has been established. He has clearly apprehended me and now, like the scripture above says, it is time I am to apprehend that for which I have been apprehended.

Just like those that see themselves as saved from sin (Jesus died on the cross so they don’t have to) and they stay there, so do many that come as far as having it established in them that they are born of His spirit, and hear His voice. But they too must go further than this. There is ALWAYS further to go. Not even Paul had arrived and He has done far more by the spirit than any other Christian I know so far.

We must be willing to go further on. We must ask to go further on, seek to go further on and knock to go further on. This is the Way of the cross. Do we really think this is as far as we need to go into Him when we look at the early disciples and see all that Christ required of them? If you have been apprehended you know in your spirit if He is calling you on. It may not be in the words of the language you speak, because He often speaks without words, but you know. He’s asking if you will take up your cross and follow Him.

Those that think being a Christian is about knowing Jesus died on the cross so we don’t have to, don’t realize what He shows us as we move on and grow up in Him, that He died on the cross so WE CAN TOO! He is transforming us OUT OF our sinful nature and INTO His nature. And it happens here on earth in this life.

The further you go and grow you will discover that one of the first things nailed to your cross is your ‘religion’. You may not think you’re even religious, but He’ll show you how you are and in what areas of your life.

What else gets nailed to your cross? What doesn’t? But since you asked a short list would be:

• your values
• your friendships
• your relationships
• your bank account
• your spiritual beliefs
• your spiritual gifts
• your ministry

and more…

Obviously this doesn’t happen all at once, and many of these are not as difficult for some as for others. There isn’t any way of knowing (which is a good thing) how deep the pain and suffering of your death will go. If you truly want to worship Him in spirit and in truth, be like Him as He is and want nothing in your life to be more important to you than Him, than you have to go this way. There is no other way deeper into Him.

I would like to hear what the Lord is doing in you. It gives me encouragement when I’m struggling. It gives me hope when I’m down.

Have you counted the cost? Will you pick up your cross? Have you already? What has your experience been to follow after Him? What has been nailed and crucified on your cross?

 

The Wisdom of the Cross

“… let go of all of the religious lies that say that Jesus paid the price for us so that we don’t have to suffer. The truth is that Jesus paid the price for us so that WE CAN SUFFER, and do that in demonstration of the wisdom of the CROSS to the rulers and the authorities in heavenly places. This is all part of God’s eternal purposes in Christ for His church, in that they might suffer in demonstration of the wisdom of the cross, and in so doing, be brought to the full power, glory, and authority of the Manchild caught up to the very throne of God.”

by David Weber, excerpt from “ Birthing of the Manchild”

“Now a good deal of Christendom is of the mind that Jesus died so that we should not have to. If that is the case, then Paul and all the Early Church missed the point entirely. Those of that era followed Christ; no, they shamelessly ran after Him, in such a way and with such intensity that we are often embarrassed today by our lack of desire in comparison, our lack of intensity, our lack of urgency about Him.

They died; we live. They bled; we do all in our power to keep from it. They gave themselves; we save ourselves. They lived a crucified life; we speak of it. They overcame; we undergo. They laid their lives down freely as if it were their privilege; we clutch ours to ourselves, and if we should perchance die anyway, our lives must be virtually wrenched from us. They suffered joyfully the spoiling of their goods; God help any who even think of defrauding us today. They lived as those who were not of this world; we speak as those who are not of this world, but just try withholding any part of this world from us and we have a fit. Rather, we want to impose our standards upon a blind world so that their entertainment is tame enough to suit our tastes. We have an unerring tendency to speak high and live low.”

by Larry Hodges, excerpt from “Living at Gilgal”

“… the Testimony is not simply stating, “Jesus is Lord.” The Testimony is DEMONSTRATING the Lordship of Jesus with the way we live – by overcoming sin, Self, and Satan. If we are not living in such a way as to demonstrate the pre-eminence of Christ over these three enemies then words are of little use. My Testimony is not something I GIVE, but something I LIVE.”

by Chip Brogden, excerpt from “The Remnant Principle”

“Yahshua will lead each of His disciples to a cross appointed to them. Many Christians today despise the disciple’s cross, being what the apostle Paul terms “enemies of the cross” (Philippians 3:18). Their unwillingness to suffer for Christ reveals that they are not lovers of the truth, and for this reason they will be given over to delusion that they might believe lies (II Thessalonians 2:11).”

by Joseph Herrin, excerpt from “A Ministry So Designed”

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

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