Jesus, as our Forerunner (One Who has run the same race ahead of us), has opened a way for us to enter the Father's presence and dwell there all the time. This way is called "the new and living way" (Heb.10:20).
Paul speaks of it as "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus" (2 Cor.4:10). He once said, as his personal testimony, that he was crucified with Christ and lived himself no longer. It was Christ that now lived in him because he himself had died on Calvary. This was the secret of his amazing life and usefulness to God.
Jesus once said that no one would be able to follow Him, unless he decided to deny himself DAILY and to die to himself DAILY (Lk.9:23). It is impossible to follow Jesus if we don't deny ourselves daily. We may be cleansed in Christ's blood, have received the Holy Spirit and have a deep knowledge of the Word. But if we don't die to ourselves daily, we cannot follow the Lord Jesus.
The way of the cross is the way of spiritual progress. If you are not overcoming sins like anger, irritation, impatience, lustful thinking, dishonesty, jealousy, malice, bitterness, and the love of money etc., the answer lies here: You have avoided the way of the cross. A dead man does not stand up for his rights. He does not fight back. He does not care about his reputation. He will not take revenge. He cannot hate anyone or have a bitterness against anyone. This is what it means to die to Self.
[The foregoing is in excerpt from: http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/word_for_the_week.php?display=01_05&year=06]
Greg,
ReplyDeleteAn excellent choice for today's word of exhortation! Zac Poonen has a way of going right to the heart of the matter! His pastoral outlook, combined with yours and those you associate with in this ministry (i.e., John Woodward, etc.) make this into a sheepfold for the Body of Christ at large! This is a safe place to rest and to be able to focus on re-aligning ourselves on a personal level with the words and direction of the Great Shepherd.
Stan