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HELEN SANDERS
3-20-2023
THE CRUCIFIED LIFE
When we picture Jesus on the cross being crucified, it brings many emotions. It can cause one to weep over his pain. It can cause anger that He was put through this horrendous death. It can cause one to weep over their own sin as we see our sin being put into his innocent body. It can make us hide from it because we do not want to deal with his pain.
Whatever the case, crucifixion is said to be the worst form of death there is. It does not happen suddenly. In reading how what happens during crucifixion it is heartbreaking. Eventually the one crucified dies of suffocation.
We are each called to crucify our own flesh. One might say how? Do we get on a cross and go through what Jesus did? No, that is not what it means. A crucified life is one that has suffocated sin in their life. They have come to the place where nothing matters except total obedience to God in every area of their lives, spirit, soul, and body. It means we no longer are in control because we have surrendered every area to Christ.
When Jesus said in Matthew 10:38, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” When he said this He had not gone to the cross himself. That happened later. This was a prophetic word spoken that each of us must surrender to the crucifixion of our flesh daily. If not, we are not worthy of being His followers.
So, how do we go about this? It is a breath by breath walk with God. We choose to not be controlled by our flesh, and mind (eating, drinking clothing, speaking, sexual sins, anger, etc.) and surrender it to God. An effective way to do this is to ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do in this situation?” If we know that he would not do it, then we should not do it. If we are uncertain then we look into the scriptures to get our guidance.
We must train ourselves to say no to our impulses that are not of God. It doesn’t happen overnight, anymore than training a baby to walk is instant. Yet, when we fail, we don’t look for excuses. We repent. The crucified life is a constant repentant lifestyle. It becomes a life wanting to please God rather than self.
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