[Music] one of the ways that you can draw closer to the Lord is to always have a heart full of Praise when you make praise a habit you are continuously demonstrating that God is first in your life it's all about him it's all about his glory it's all about his goodness your focus and attention is always on the Lord when you make it a practice to praise Him daily there are many reasons to praise the lord we can praise him for his protection his Mercy his grace and most definitely his love the love of God
is divine true and everlasting the Bible goes as far as stating that God is love so great is his love that John 3:16 Says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life the love of our almighty god Jehovah is characterized by grace and mercy his Divine love is eternal and unconditional may you recognize the love of God over your life a love that always protects you a love that always provides for you and A Love That Forgives you our
God is worthy to be praised and adored so praise him for his consistency his love is steadfast unmovable and never changing even when we are incapable of living consistently in a manner that is pleasing to him he is still loving and righteous we all have to acknowledge our own inconsistencies when it comes to living righteously because we are all Sinners by Nature this means we must always seek the mercy of God we must repent from our sins and we must also pray praise him and give him thanks for his goodness for simply loving and caring
for us daily even through our own inconsistencies We Must Praise Him and thank him because we are truly blessed that his love is unending and it never changes how great must the love of Jesus Christ have been for him to endure being cruci CR ified for the sake of our sins how great must his love have been for him to endure having Nails hammered into his hands how great of an example he set about being obedient to God the Father by willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of our souls so that we may be
saved and so when the Bible says in Luke 14: 27 whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple does that not make you think if we speak the name of Jesus Christ and claim to be Christians should we not be challenged by what the Bible says in Luke 14: 27 whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple Jesus Christ went through an unpleasant and painful death on the cross also that we can be saved and now the Bible tells us that we
need to Bear our own cross in order to be his disciple the Amplified translation for Luke 14: 27 says whoever does not carry his own cross expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come and follow after me believing in me conforming to my example in living and if need be suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in me cannot be my disciple so if I may ask you the question when you look at the cross what does the Cross stand for what does it symbolize to you many people will say that it stands for Jesus
Christ and the ultimate sacrifice it stands for his death for his burial and Resurrection others will say it stands for salvation it stands for eternal life for love for Holiness and righteousness however when we think of the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross I believe that in our own personal lives we should be looking at the cross through the words of Jesus Christ in Luke 14:27 whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple we all know what Jesus Christ stood for when he died on the cross
however when the Bible tells you and I to carry our own cross what does that mean it means that we are to stand and represent the life of Jesus Christ a life that was marked with righteousness with obedience with prayer love and compassion for those who were lost so in that sense are you carrying your own cross because we need to truly examine ourselves our tongue can so easily profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ but it's the action of carrying our cross in obedience to the Lord that really matters so ask yourself when
people look at your life do they see the love of Jesus Christ in you do they see the light of Jesus Christ in you as we live our lives we ought to strive to be imitators of Christ we may not be physically nailed to a cross but we should present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord so that his will may be accomplished through us and in us dear Lord Jesus in agreement with everyone listening right now we pray that you would help us to take up our cross and follow you Lord we are
willing to leave any relationship if it is pushing us away from you we are willing to set aside The Pursuit Of Money wealth and riches if it means that we can have you Lord father we are willing to set aside our careers to set aside our Ambitions if they take us away from your will King Jesus there is nothing more important in our lives than you and so as I take up my cross as we strive to take up our crosses Lord we pray that you would produce good fruit within us no more bitterness no
more hatred no more sin or Disobedience but produce the good fruit of Love within us obedience longsuffering self control joy and peace instead of always experiencing emotions of discouragement and Gloom because of this world produce in us a peaceful heart the kind of heart spoken of in proverbs 14: 30 which says a tranquil heart gives life to the flesh but Envy makes the bones rot remove any feelings of Envy from us Lord help us to be content and fulfilled within you and Lord Jesus as I make the decision to follow you and to be your
disciple I pray that you would take me as I am and begin a good work within me should you see that I don't have self-control or that I am not gentle and kind then I ask that you would help me in my areas of weakness Lord should you find me not to be longsuffering or impatient I pray that you would work through me Lord and arrest these negative and ungodly character traits when unbelievers look at me let them see the fruit of the spirit in my life instead of endless worry and anxiety may they see
that I stand on the solid rock that is Jesus Christ and in you there is no place for worry for fear or for anxiety instead of pride and arrogance help me to stand for humility to stand for meekness Lord Jesus instead of me being controlled by impulses or passions or lust strengthen me and Purify Me Lord so that I can be able to stand with [Music] self-control and may it all be for your glory Lord help me to live a life that represents the one I stand for and that is you Matthew 6:4 says no
one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and money I commit to you Lord Jesus and my honest request is that the Holy Spirit would work within my heart and within my mind so that I will have the kind of commitment that says not my will Lord but your will is all important it's not about my wants and my feelings but it's all about you Lord Jesus Holy Spirit I pray that you
would give me the kind of commitment that will crucify the Flesh and its passions and desires help me to carry my cross help me to be obedient to Matthew 5:6 which says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied in you and in you alone I will be satisfied Lord I glorify your name King Jesus and I thank you for hearing my prayer in jesus' name I pray amen for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but
have everlasting life whoever does not carry his own cross expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come and follow after me believing in me conforming to my example in living and if need be suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in me cannot be my disciple which says a tranquil heart gives life to the flesh but Envy makes the bones rot no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and money e
