Is it your cross to bear? Or is it your power to forgive and heal?

Luke 9:23-24 ²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and lose or their very soul?

• There is no forgiveness without sacrifice. There is no sacrifice without obedience. No obedience without love.
• Never utter the words “This is my cross to bear” The world has twisted the words of Christ from this scripture to make them virtually mean the opposite of Christ’s intent.
• The cross is the greatest instrument of overcoming power in the total history of all creation. Christ suffered the torture of the cross so that you will never have to suffer that way for your sins. Then he handed the power of the cross to you to be used to set others free too.

Matthew 11:29-30 ⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The cross was torture for him. It is a gift of power, knowledge, humility and rest for us. He made the way for us at the cross, and it is complete and it is perfect.

Cancel the debt of others , disarm the powers and make a mockery of them

Colossians 2:13-15 ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

• There was a death certificate assigned against each of us in the form of the law of Moses, the righteousness of God, the curse of sin, the blood sacrifice for sin which required blood and death. All of this was to instruct us that we simply could not earn and certainly not maintain our forgiveness.
• God himself will have to deliver us from sin and death and reconcile himself to us.
• As a husband and father, what are you willing to sacrifice, what are you willing to die for to see your family reconciled to God?