Take Up the Cross and Follow Me
© 2024 Debbie Turner Chavers
Water-Man Series
Vlog of Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me
© Debbie Turner Chavers
Do you want to be changed or entertained? A simple question with a profound impact.
Repentance is a noun as well as a verb. Repentance changes how we think and how we act.
Repentance brings about a leaning into God and away from our own understanding.
The Word of God in scripture when applied in our everyday life changes us by the Holy Spirit imparting the mind of Christ unto us.
Repentance can be seen as a noun when there is clear contrition concerning our past or present actions.
It acts as a verb when our understanding becomes a change in action and character.
Repentance is a gift from God, it is the goodness of God that leads us to repent.
Repentance begins in the spirit and manifests physically in the Body.
The entire Body. The Body of Christ corporately and the individual body.
What we eat physically changes cells. What we eat spiritually changes minds.
Repentance is prefaced by our choices in our gatherings, in our churches, and in our homes.
A single choice lays a foundation and the choices that follow build the house.
When we accept Christ as our Savior the corner stone is laid for our future.
Our daily choices build upon this foundation
When a foundation is being built it is checked from several angles to ensure accuracy.
We too must be trained well and know how to build a firm foundation and be prepared to remove anything that does not match the Plumb Line of the Word of God, as in Taking Up the Cross and following Christ.
As a Nation and as a People we have great need to repent. To turn our whole hearts and attention to the LORD. We need to gather for God’s glory and His alone. Let us gather in His Presence to be changed, not entertained.
Build well,
Debbie
The art parable- Take Up The Cross and Follow Me © 2024 Debbie Turner Chavers, is in the shape of a sword, ie wooden stake and the names of the 66 books of the KJV Bible are written upon it. The Water-Man represents each one of us who have accepted Christ as our Savior.
Jesus Christ was crucified and died on a cross. I thought about how beautiful it was that most bibles are made from paper from trees and how that my Savior was nailed to a cross and died and rose again after being nailed to a tree.
As I contemplated the Bible, the written word of God and my bloodied and beaten Savior, I heard in my heart, the scripture in Mark 10:21-“Take Up The Cross and Follow Me.”
I believe and have painted the art parable to reflect my current understanding.
I believe the written word of God is mine and your Cross. We are to pick it up, to read our Bibles and begin to live daily as God opens our eyes of understanding concerning His Word by His Spirit.
*Note: Christ had not been put on a cross as of yet, yet was instructing him to take up the cross and follow Him.
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”
Luke 23:26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
*The first thing written on the cross was the fulfillment of the scriptures in the written Bible about Christ.
John 19:19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS
1 Corinthians 1:17
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be of none effect.
Colossians 2:14
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Scripture references taken from the KJV
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