Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me

These are the words of Christ to His disciples

"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." - Mark 8:34

I was reading a blog post by someone on this and found it very useful in understanding better what it means to deny ourselves and taking up our cross. So, I am posting it here, not the complete article, but the portion which specifically talks about denying ourselves and taking up our cross. I added some notes wherever I had my own thoughts while reading this passage

What does it mean to deny ourselves? Blessed Theophylact writes that we can learn what it means to deny ourselves by considering what it means to deny another. [My notes: A good illustration in the bible is when Peter denied Christ. How about if Peter had turned around that denial on himself? Instead of denying Christ. What would he have done? Confess Christ and let come what may? Arrest? Imprisonment? Even his own death at the same time? Most likely yes. This is exactly what he does years later when Peter has finally learned to deny himself and is crucified upside down by Rome. So, in essence denying ourselves is confessing Christ in us and confessing Him alone and not even acknowledging ourselves] What do we tend to do when we see the suffering of another person? Do we intervene? Or do we go our way, and say nothing? To deny ourselves is to say nothing when it is us who are suffering – to consider ourselves as to be of no value in this world, and so to endure whatever comes our way in this world without protest, without complaint.

What does it mean to take up our Cross? It means to be willing to suffer, even die, for Christ. At some times, and in some places, this means a martyr’s death. Yet even when it is not a literal death, we are called to be willing to endure the ridicule and rejection of a “social” death – to be cut off from those who live in the world around us because we choose to follow the way of life we have been blessed to receive in the Church, rather than to live according to the ways permitted in the world. We are meant to be witnesses to Christ, to show Him present in the world because He is living in us – and so we live according to holiness, and not the way of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

[The complete article is here

http://orthodoxsermonsonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/deny-yourself-take-up-your-cross-and.html]

Some random thoughts...

All that I have, everything good, everything right, everything noble, everything righteous, everything truly profitable, everything worthy of praise is from God. I did not form or create myself, I did not bring myself into this world, I came into this world not of my own choosing, and neither am I leaving this world of my own choosing. I was brought into this world without being asked and I will be leaving this world without being asked. So what am I that I should boast about myself?

So, give God the glory for He alone deserves ALL the glory and honor and praise. For the world is His and all that is in it. For He alone is the one who formed you, brought you into this world, sustained you and sustains you still and give you life evermore if only you will place your trust in Him.

Sin, a hindrance to answered prayer

First of all, I want to say upfront that this is not something written by me. This short but powerful article was written by one, Mr. Carlos Garcia and I found this article posted in turn by someone else in their website. But I myself also liked it so much that I thought I'd post it too here. I couldn't find the original article or the website of the author. So, will all due credit to Mr. Carlos Garcia, I post his article here with the sincere hope and desire that someone else visiting my blog may also be blessed by this article as I myself have been.

Have you ever found that the prayers you have before God have gone unanswered? Have you ever wondered what it could be that is holding back the answer to your petition? After spending some time in fasting in prayer the Lord revealed to me five hindrances to receiving prayers answered, they are the following: sin, fear, self, time and disorder. Today, I’ll be discussing the first point, sin.

God’s word says that without obedience there is no blessing. Disobedience to God’s word is sin. We may be faithful in tithing and church attendance, but if we are not walking according to God’s word, we are in disobedience and sin.

We may want to become angry with God for not answering our prayer, but if we walking in disobedience to God then we are hindering ourselves from receiving a blessing.

Sin seems to develop in stages, A) Thoughts, B) Words, and C) Action. The Scriptures state, “as a man *THINKS in his heart, so is he.” If the thoughts of your heart are angry, lustful, jealous, and the like, then it is an indication of whom we are, even if it is not whom we want or claim to be. (cf. II Co 10:3-5)

As Christians we must strive to keep our thoughts pure and in line with the word of God. Philippians 4:8 challenges the Believer, “Whatsoever things are holy, … pure, … and of good report …think [meditate] on these things.”

If we keep our thoughts on the Lord, we will be much more effective in keeping our thoughts pure. And since our objective as Christians is to be more like Jesus, we must meditate (keep our thoughts) on the Lord so we can become more like Him. And if we walk in obedience we will be at a place to receive the blessing we have petitioned God.

The Bible state, “the power of life and death is in the tongue” and we will eat the fruit of those words. For example, if we are asking God for a financial blessing, but on our “non-prayer” time we keep speaking doubtful or negative words, we will eat the “fruit” of our doubt and miss the blessing of our prayers.

Action speaks to what we live and walk out in our day-to-day lives. There are believers who have the misconception that because we “talk the talk,” behind close door we are not obligated to “walk the walk.” Yet, in Galatians 6: 7-8 it states plainly, “God is not mocked…he that soweth to the flesh…will reap destruction.” We cannot look to blame others for our lack of blessings.

In essence, if we live life as if God is not omnipresent [present in all places] and omniscient [all knowing], than we deceive ourselves. Our Christianity is not only about words, but it’s about actions. As it says in the book of James, “Faith without works [actions] is dead.”

If we desire the blessing of the Lord, we must walk in line with His word. If we walk in obedience we will be in the place to receive God’s blessing.

Then sings my soul - Classic Hymn. Be Blessed

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

It's been a while since I posted something here. So, I thought I'll just post some of my thoughts as I was meditating on the scripture passages in Mark 3:22-30 and Matthew 12:24-32.

Here is where we see Jesus talk about the "sin against the Holy Spirit" or "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost", something which theologians and bible scholars wrestled with for centuries since the time of the early church.

So, I thought that I will add my name to this illustrious list of eminent men and women by posting my own thoughts on the matter. :-) But lest I make the list no more a list of eminent men and women by adding my own name to it, I thought I'd add my thoughts to my own blog. :-) So here we go.

Q) What was the essence of the scribes' or the Pharisees' sin?

A) They saw the miracles Jesus was doing and they attributed those miracles to the devil.

Taking it a level deeper, they saw the work God was doing, but attributed it to the devil.

They saw and knew the truth, but were so caught up in their own sins (legalism, self-righteousness, pride, envy, lust for power) that they willingly blinded themselves to the truth and were willfully rejecting the truth.

Q) But what made their sin different from the sin of the other people who also rejected Jesus and His teachings? What made the Pharisees' sin one that was categorically branded as the sin against the Holy Ghost?

A) There were surely a lot of people who did reject Jesus as the messiah, but stopped at that. They did not so brazenly and defiantly rise up against the Almighty God Himself as did Lucifer and the one third of the fallen angels when the first great fall happened in the heavens. These scribes and Pharisees were not only rejecting Jesus as the messiah, but not content with that, they also willfully and actively turned against God and started making charges (yes, here's where blasphemy comes into the picture) saying that the whole thing was the work of the devil. In short they called the Holy Spirit of God....I will not even dare to write this.

Q) How do you know that they did indeed recognize it (though they weren't acknowledging it) as the work of the Holy Spirit?
A) When Jesus asked them the question in Matthew 12:27 "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?", He asked it because He knew that they knew where the power to cast out demons comes from. In essence, He was exposing not just their foolishness, but much more their sin (with a high hand).

Just thinking about the whole thing shakes me up and fills me with fear. Wasn't this attitude and behavior of the Pharisees the very essence of something that can never be forgiven? Remember, not all sins are the same. There are degrees to sin and there are different kinds of sin. Yes, every sin is worthy of eternal condemnation, but what sets each sin apart from the others is the brazenness and the defiance with which it is committed against God, which is why Jesus didn't say that murder was the unpardonable sin or rape was the unpardonable sin, as heinous as these may be. It's not so much the act itself as it is the willful and active rebellion in the heart against Almighty God Himself.
Salvation is at it's very deepest level not deliverance from the eternal fires of hell and neither is it deliverance even from sin. At it's root, salvation is deliverance from the Almighty God Himself. Why? Because it is deliverance from the fierce wrath and fury of the Almighty God which is poured out upon the unrepentant wicked (like the Pharisees in this passage) which is what makes hell, hell. So, when one goes up against the very God who's supposed to save Him, what is he doing, but literally running headlong into the wrath and fury of the Almighty God, which is nothing but eternal condemnation?

So friends, if you are saved already by the grace and the mercy of God, thank God with me for saving us and giving us such a beautiful salvation. But, if you are not saved by the blood of Jesus, please repent of the sins in your life, cast them away at once and put your faith in the Savior who died for you taking your sins upon Himself on the cross so that you could have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" - John 3:16,17

Jesus asks from the cross - What have you done for me?

నీ కొరకు నా ప్రాణం అర్పించితి సిల్వలో
నా కొరకు నీవేమి చేసితివి అని ప్రభు యేసు నిన్నడుగుచుందే

పరిశుద్ధ పరలోక రాజ్యము - పరమ తండ్రి సహవాసం
ఆ దివ్య సింహాసనం - దూతాళి స్తోత్ర గానం
సర్వస్వం విడచి ఏతెంచితి
...నా కొరకు నీవేమి విడచితివి?

English Translation (not word for word, but thought for thought)
For you, I laid down my life on the cross
What have you done for me? asks the Lord Jesus

The kingdom of heaven with all it's glories, fellowship with my heavenly Father
That glorious throne, praises and worship of the angels
ALL I left and came down for you

...What have you left for me?

Message
Jesus left it all, paid it all. He didn't hold back anything. Not even His life. For YOU and for ME. So, what have you done for Him? What have I done for Him?

Prayer
Lord, the only right response to this can be to myself lay it all down for you O Lord! My life humbly laid down at your feet, as an offering. Please accept this humble offering of mine and use it for YOUR glory. Bind the sacrifice even to the horns of the altar that I may not take it back again as I am wont to. Please Lord. Take this offering. In Jesus name, Amen!!!

Rebel without a cause???

Find a cause. Find YOUR cause.
A cause worth living for and a cause worth dying for.
A cause worth it all.
Let your heart cleave to it. Let your mind obsess it. Become one with it.

I'm sick and tired of living life without aim, without purpose.
You are born, you grow up, you marry and you have kids, you raise your kids, marry off your kids, play with their kids, see them grow up and then die...is that it?
What waste!

Dare to swim upstream. Dare to go against the flow.
Dare the world with your cause.

Be THE REBEL.

A rebel with a cause. A worthy cause.

May that cause be Christ Himself, the ULTIMATE rebel who changed the world.

"Whoever is not with me is against me" - Matthew 12:30

Be Inspired......Nick Vujicic (life without limbs)

Questions to ponder

WHAT IF THERE IS LIFE AFTER YOUR (PHYSICAL) DEATH? THINK

LET'S SAY, YOU DIE TONIGHT. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU WILL GO? THINK

WHAT IF ALL YOU BELIEVED ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL, THAT THERE IS NO HEAVEN AND THERE IS NO HELL IS NOTHING BUT A LIE, AND THERE IS INDEED A HEAVEN AND THERE IS INDEED A HELL? THINK

WHAT IF THERE IS A GOD AND YOU WILL INDEED BE JUDGED FOR THE WAY YOU LIVED HERE ON EARTH? THINK

Serious questions to ponder.

Two soul trains into eternity. No baggage allowed.

The other day I was praying and while praying, and talking to God, I felt this strange connection, a very strong one at that, to the truth that Solomon so emphatically stated in the book of Ecclesiastes, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity". I felt as if the whole weight of this truth was suddenly pressed down upon me. In a moment, all of life appeared to be so vain and without meaning and purpose. (That is, without God in a person's life. But, I will come to that later.) No, these thoughts didn't depress me. They rather made me more aware of and alive to the futility of living in this world as if this world is the be all and end all of life. Life goes beyond the grave. The conscious being, the soul continues to live for ever. In light of this eternality of existence, what is life in this world, but truly a vapour. I just thought to myself, "What if I got everything I ever wanted? All the money, position and power? Ultimately on my death bed, whenever I die, be it today or a 100 years from now, I will be just like everyone else, a traveller in soul, boarding the flight of eternity without any check-in or carry on baggage." The station of death has only two trains to board, one taking a person into an eternity of indescribable and unending bliss, joy, peace and glory, while the other takes a person into an eternity of indescribable and unending pain, horror, restlessness and torment.
THINK reader, whoever you may be. Please think carefully. Fast forward your thoughts to the day you die. For you will die. Like someone said, the last I read, the death rate was still 100%. While this may sound funny to some and not so funny to others, it doesn't take away the truthfulness of the statement one bit. For we all will die one day. Shooing away thoughts about death always is not good, for sometimes thoughts about one's own mortality will wake up a person to what's important and what's not in the big scheme of things.
On the day you die, it does not matter how much money and wealth you have accumulated in your short stay here on this earth, neither does how high a position you have attained to in life nor how much power and authority you have acquired. While you may make arrangements for your family for their stay here on this earth after you are gone, have you thought about making arrangements for yourself for your stay in eternity? Do you even know where you are going?
Suppose you die this day, do you know where you are going? For sure, you don't go into nothingness, only your spirit leaves your physical body, but immediately boards one of the two trains I mentioned earlier. But the choice of which train you will board is something that you have to decide in this body, in the here and now. The bible says, "It is appointed unto man to die once and after that the judgement".
Decide today which train you will board. I hope you will board the first one. Why wouldn't you? But, if you want to learn about HOW to board that train, for there is only one ticket, you may read this short article "Your soul is precious" on my website http://www.asutosh.net

The righteousness of Christ

This is not my own article. But, I found it on the web. The complete article can be found here.

http://www.grebeweb.com/linden/imputed_righteousness.html

But, I've here included a snapshot which very neatly captures the essence of the doctrine of salvation.

1. Justification is an act of God, not a work in progress. However, God’s act of justification always results in His work of sanctification.

2. In justification, God declares the sinner righteous; in this forensic doctrine, God does not make the sinner righteous, but gives him first a standing with Himself. The basis of this declaration is Christ’s obedience, not the progress the Christian is making in holiness.

3. God pardons the sinner in a decree so absolute it has the finality of the final judgment. This decree of God is certain and irrevocable.

4. The basis of our pardon is the atoning blood of Christ alone.

5. The means to justification is faith. "Faith alone" means there is no consideration of our works whatsoever in God’s declaration of righteousness. It does not mean that faith can be devoid of good works, because real faith always results in obedience to God.

6. The principle of grace excludes all participation and cooperation by the believer in the bestowal of a gift. All sense of merit or contribution by sinners toward the decree of "righteous" is excluded. Such contribution would destroy the nature of a gift.

7. Since our pardon is based only on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, all penance and atoning activity by sinners is contrary to this basis. Scripture says, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Galatians 2:21

8. The faith by which we are saved is by nature one that embraces Christ for cleansing, not a false faith that seeks to have the benefit of a pardon, so that indulgence in sin may be perpetuated.