Facing Crosses with Hope...Daily

~~~ Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 9:22-25 ~~~

 

 

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

 

"...I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then..".

 

"...If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me..." 

 

 

Today is Valentine's Day.

Above are three verses that especially spoke to me

from today's readings.

 

The psalm speaks of hope.

Hope is a belief that events will turn out for the best.

We all reason to hold on to feelings of hope.

If it were not for hope we would live in a very dark and desperate world.

Hope gives a person a reason to keep trying...to keep believing.

If we did not have hope in the promises made to us by God

how we lived our life might look very different.

 

 

 

If we are to be ambassadors for Christ then we must choose life over death.

Likewise to be an ambassador of Christ, who died for us,

we must daily take up our cross.

 

Through the grace of hope we can bear whatever crosses comes our way.

 

Sometimes the cross set before us to bear seems closer to death than to life.

So how can we accomplish this task?

 

Life in Christ is a life that includes the good, the bad, and the unpleasant.

Certainly you would agree that, all things did not go to Jesus' liking.

He endured much for us as he fulfilled the will of the Father.

 

We can expect to have times of trials.

We should expect to have periods when life seems remote.

I have experienced the sense that I was living my life in a kind of remote

limbo type of environment.

Where I was being asked by God to embrace one more 'cross'.

After all I have chosen to follow him.

I have chosen to be one of his ambassadors.

 

Some days present themselves with more crosses than others.

Each day we are to choose life in Christ.

Jesus is the Hope of the World.

I pray for strength and perseverance.

O Lord, hear my prayer.