<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Historically, the cross is a wooden structure consisting of an upright and a transverse beam used by the ancient Romans for the execution of criminals.\u00a0 It was a horrific, slow, painful and humiliating death process that was watched by many.\u00a0 More broadly, a cross refers to an affliction that tries one\u2019s virtues, steadfastness or patience, in the affairs of life.\u00a0 Most importantly, today, the cross is the symbol of the Christian faith.<\/p>\n
God in His mercy sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sin of mankind.<\/p>\n
His death was on the cross.\u00a0 By that death, the cross obtained another symbolism, from a structure of criminal execution t a symbol of hope, redemption and justification.\u00a0 Therefore, the cross must never lose its place in our lives.\u00a0 We must glory in the cross because it daily declares God\u2019s undying love for a lost world.\u00a0 It reminds us that salvation is not cheap, but was purchased for us by Christ at a great price.\u00a0 It is necessary for us to always redirect our minds on the significance of Christ\u2019s death on the cross.<\/p>\n
To the Christian, taking up the cross daily entails a conscious effort to follow in the footsteps of Christ, manifesting His character and drawing strength for perseverance from the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The way of the cross which Jesus went through was unique in many respects, and clearly different from the logic of the world system.\u00a0 First He prayed and allowed the will of God, though grievous, to be done.\u00a0 He offered no resistance and rejected Peter\u2019s violent response.\u00a0 To the amazement of Pilate he did not enter a plea; neither did He put up a defense before His accusers.\u00a0 He did not deny His kingship.\u00a0 He was declared innocent, not guilty, yet condemned and sentenced to pacify the crowd.\u00a0 The Priests and the people consented to take the guilt upon themselves and their children.\u00a0 At His trial a notorious criminal was preferred and released.\u00a0 His conviction and execution were all done with speed and coincided with the age-long feast of Passover, a time of redemption for God\u2019s people.\u00a0 A gentile was invited and made to share in the burden of the cross of Christ.\u00a0 All these were not accidents of history, but a carefully ordained plan of salvation unfolding for all mankind.<\/p>\n
He was stripped of His clothes, flogged, ridiculed with a scarlet robe, a crown of thorns, a wooden scepter and a mockery of homage with spitting in place or royal kiss.\u00a0 He was nailed hands and foot to the wooden cross raised up and left hanging in pain.<\/p>\n
Jesus had to die because that was the purpose of God for the redemption of mankind.\u00a0 The justice of God required blood to atone for the sin of man.\u00a0 Jesus had to die for this sacrifice.\u00a0 Secondly he had to die to conquer death and free all the captives of death (sinners). Furthermore His death was a demonstration of the strength of His love.\u00a0 This is the love that gave all for us.\u00a0 Jesus died to reconcile the world back to God and to destroy the dividing wall of enmity between man and God.\u00a0 He died to reconcile all races of men into one truly great and peaceful family of God.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cCarrying one\u2019s cross daily\u201d was a figurative speech by Jesus Christ to His disciples, emphasizing the need to demonstrate enthusiasm, commitment and sacrifice as they follow Him.\u00a0 The cross here refers to all providential afflictions, persecutions and every trouble that befalls us either for doing well or for refusing to do evil.\u00a0 This cross is what we bear in common with Christ and it is the common lot of God\u2019s children.\u00a0 Following Christ is a deliberate choice that must be done cheerfully and resolutely.\u00a0 The cross embodies the totality of the walk of the believer with the Lord Jesus Christ as the Master.\u00a0 We are to bear the cross after the manner of Jesus, not in our own way, but in His steps.\u00a0 The cross is personalized to each of us as we follow Christ.\u00a0 The presence of Christ ahead of us will reconcile us to the challenges of persecutions and will rob such of their terror.\u00a0 If we follow Him faithfully in the line of duty, we shall also share joyfully in His glory.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Self-denial is what our Master Jesus professed and practiced in His time on earth.\u00a0 Self-denial is the fundamental law in true discipleship.\u00a0 We must deny ourselves for Christ and for the brethren.\u00a0 Self-denial is to downplay one\u2019s personality, comfort, appetites and interests for the single purpose of pleasing God and Serving the body of Christ.<\/p>\n
Self-denial is needed in every area of life.\u00a0 They could be temporal or permanent measures, depending on what is involved.\u00a0 All sinful pleasures and gratifications of self must be dealt with permanently.\u00a0 Our status, talents and acquisitions must not be allowed to arrogate to us undue glory and pride.\u00a0 Relationships could be suspended or sacrificed to please God.<\/p>\n
Self-denial involves giving one\u2019s life to Jesus Christ in repentance, making sacrifices of one\u2019s worldly rights and privileges, and being available in the service of the brethren.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The benefits of the Cross of Christ to the believer are numerous.<\/p>\n
Fist the cross is a symbol of commitment to duty as assigned by God, and so it is a testament of a glorious future in eternity with God.<\/p>\n
Secondly, the cross is the manifestation of God\u2019s justice, by which the price of sin was paid in full and the grace of God made available to all who believe.\u00a0 It is the power of God to the salvation of mankind.\u00a0\u00a0 Furthermore the cross brought man back into fellowship with God.\u00a0 The cross is a place of death to self; a place where the sinner is slain and a new creature emerges to live the life of Christ in obedience to the Word of God.\u00a0 This new life is not defined by the standard of the present world.\u00a0 By the cross, the power and sting of death is destroyed and man can live forever again.\u00a0 The cross restored Man\u2019s dominion over Satan and brought liberty to all his human captives.\u00a0 The cross is the manifestation of real love, unconditional love, God\u2019s kind of love, which brings about the total health of man.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From time to time, we are confronted with situations of choice between pleasing God and pleasing ourselves, seeking the welfare of someone else or serving our personal interest, accepting some indignities due to our faith or flowing along with the world in her system.\u00a0 The actual choices we make shows how ready and willingly we are carrying our cross, and reflect the extent we have denied ourselves in deference to our Master Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Our love for Him must reflect in our daily desires, decisions and actions. By the cross we are crucified unto us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Galatians 2:20 \u2013 \u201cI am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Power of the Cross Central thought: Without the cross of Christ there is no crown. Text: Mark 8:34-38; 1Corinthians 1:17-18; Galatians 6:14 Historically, the cross is a wooden structure consisting of an upright and a transverse beam used by the ancient Romans for the execution of criminals.\u00a0 It was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":450,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449\/revisions\/450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}