Category: Food For Growth

“‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain,’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” ~1 Kings 19:11-13^NLT

Elijah spent so much time with God that He knew His voice, His presence, and probably even His taste and smell (Psalms 34:8 and 2 Corinthians 2:14) Elijah wasn’t distracted by the large blasts and intense scenes, like windstorms, earthquakes, and fires, no instead, Elijah waited for the LORD. Not a great and mighty sign. Not what he thought God should appear like, but who God actually was.

When you spend quiet time with God, you build your relationship. You get to know Him and things begin to change. You aren’t easily led astray by false prophets or pastors. You aren’t led astray by Hollywood or culture’s version of God, because you truly know Him. You know who He is and what He does. What He wants and what He does to get it. You know who God is.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen For The Whisper.

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“²³ Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” ~ Luke 9:23

In the movie “Passion of the Christ,” one of the thieves that was crucified with Jesus ridiculed Him saying, “Why do you embrace your cross, fool?”

Well, Jesus stated it twice in the book of Matthew, once in Mark, and two more times in the book of Luke. The purpose of embracing, or taking up your cross daily, is to deny ourselves and put Jesus first by putting others first. Paul takes up the torch on this as well when he instructs us to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3).

So what does it mean to embrace your cross? In its simplest form, it means to do things you do not want to do, like forgiving others for slight as well as grievous offenses done against you. It means that when others curse you, you bless them. Do not return railing for railing, or insult for insult, but rather offer words of hope, encouragement, and avoid word wars at all cost. If we do these things, we will do well.

Father, thank You for the blessing of reconciliation. Help us to count the cost and to pick up our cross and follow Jesus daily. Help us not to tire of doing good. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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