I love the words of Jesus. I’ve discovered that most people do, even non-believers. You can even purchase Bibles that only have the words of Jesus printed. It’s been said that no one speaks like Jesus and I would agree. His words have power and they have life. These truths are encouraging, uplifting, inspiring, and challenging. They changed people’s lives in the first century, and they are still changing lives today.  But you would have to agree that as much as we love the words of Jesus, we also recognize that Jesus said some hard things, some very hard things.

Main Points:

1. Today, as Christians, we view the cross as a symbol of forgiveness, grace, and love. But in Jesus’ day, the cross represented nothing but torturous death. The Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of crucifixion.

2. For the followers of Jesus, taking up our cross means “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. It means choosing Jesus above all things. It means putting him first and dying to our desires, ambitions, and worldly pleasures. Jesus said if we “lose our life, we will find it.” The reward for choosing Christ over everything else is matchless.

3. We carry our cross and die to ourselves because Jesus alone is worthy.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Luke 9:23 - “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

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