DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY, JULY 6, 2012
HE ENDURED THE CROSS
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Hebrews 12:2-8
You better be an over comer if you dare to call yourself a Christian. For we are called by the name of Jesus Christ, and, therefore, we are called by the one who endured the cross. And this wasn't just any old cross, this cross of Calvary. For the cross that purchased our salvation was a cross much different than any other. For this cross held the Lamb of God who was made a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world . When Jesus died on this cross --the sky went dark, the earth began to shake and the dead arose from their tombs. This cross that held our Savior had the wrath of God and judgments of sin poured upon it. Yes, Jesus endured the cross and we must endure the cross which God has designed for us:
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ( Matthew 16:24).
Have you discerned the cross that has been designed by God for you? Are there particular situations in your past or present that have caused you pain, agony, suffering? Are you tempted to give up in the midst of your storm? You must trust God through the pain, knowing that he is the God of the cross and the God of the resurrection.
Today, let us thank God for the cross and the power to endure like Jesus.
