You Will Suffer

I've watched this twice. Reduced to tears both times. I'm tired of killing myself every day trying to justify myself in not living as Christ has called me to live.

Jesus is good. Jesus is very good, and He deserves far more than I have been giving Him for quite some time. I've been showing up. I haven't been truly believing, I haven't been truly worshiping, and I haven't been truly loving God or others. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner, and help my unbelief. May I be given the grace to move forward with joy and contentment in the midst of any circumstance.

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." - Philippians 3:8-11

The Cry from the Cross

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a C.J. Mahaney sermon that I had somehow missed on my iPod. I had an hour's worth of walking ahead of me, so this message fit the bill nicely. I had no idea what was in store for me as I listened, but by the time I had reached my friend's house for Saturday morning bible study, I was practically in tears. It was at that point that I realized how beneficial this message would be for my small group meeting the Thursday before Easter. Well, that day is today! I believe that Christians everywhere could benefit from this as well, so I have posted the message below in order to help all of us to recognize and be affected by the cross, and also to prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of our risen Lord!