It is not always easy to live in a world that thrives on condemning others. But when the condemning begins to crawl into the church it becomes worse. The church is the “body of Christ” and the body is supposed to be a “the fullness of the Godhead.”
Ephesians 1:23 Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].
Christ is the head of the church and the church is his body.
This scripture had my head reeling for a long time, until last night, suddenly I heard the holy Spirit talking to me and it filled my heart with so much love.
So here’s……..
Mark 8:34 And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].
Many times I’ve heard preachers quote this verse and say that we must “take up the cross” and follow Jesus. Every time I’ve heard a message on the subject, it always had to do with “suffering” and “pain”, it always had to do with going through difficulty.
Exodus 17:9 And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us out men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.
17:10 So Joshua did as Moses said and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the hilltop.
17:11 When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and when he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
17:12 But Moses’ hands were heavy and grew weary. So [the other men] took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
17:13 And Joshua mowed down and disabled Amalek and his people with the sword.
17:14 And the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens.
17:15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord is my Banner;
Moses lifted up the rod and kept it raised up, as long as it was up, Joshua was victorious. When he put it down, Amalek prevailed.
Now, Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses and helped him keep his hands lifted up. It was prophetic of the Cross of Jesus. And when the battle was over, Moses built an altar and called it “The Lord is my Banner.”
When Jesus was crucified on the cross – He became our Victorious King and His banner (the cross) is a symbol of God’s unfailing love for us.
John 3:16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
3:17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
God loved the world and sent Jesus to die for us, to give us life and not condemn us.
If I choose to believe in Him, I am saved and free.
The cross of Christ is the banner of love.
Mark 8:34 And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].
“Take up your cross and follow me”. This has a whole new meaning to me now. The cross is the banner of Christ, the cross is the banner of His love.
You and I are called to take up the banner of His love and follow Christ. How else can we bring salvation to the world?
God LOVED the world and sent Jesus to die for us. If we want to reach out to the WORLD – reach out with HIS undying love.
“Take up your cross and follow me.” – This does not mean that we must live a life of suffering, sickness, poverty and pain, but rather a life that is free and full of the LOVE of God shed abroad in our hearts.
Finally,
Song of Solomon 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love [for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over my head when I was near him].
Song of Solomon 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
He brought me to the banqueting house (table) – the Holy Spirit showed me the communion table. Every time we participate in the communion we are at that table in the house. And as we eat the bread and drink the wine, we partake of His love – the body and blood of Jesus.
What greater thing there could be that participating in the communion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – a table of love – undying, eternal, pure love.
Do not live your life full of condemnation and guilt, take up the cross and follow Jesus.
Take up the “Banner of Love” and follow me.
That’s the Grace of God!
Be Blessed
Karl Walker
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