Golgotha

When you are at a crossroads, it means you have a decision to make. Sometimes, what to do can be painful. Jesus faced such a time when he was talking to his heavenly Father about facing impending crucifixion on the cross.

He pulled away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?” At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face. Luke 22:41-44 (MSG)

Since the entire Christian faith is based upon Jesus dying on the cross, I can’t imagine what we would do if he hadn’t. As a human, I can understand why he wouldn’t want to. After all, he was an innocent man. But he knew taking on all the sins of the world was the whole reason he came to Earth, to begin with.

Jesus’ Father did indeed help him face the cross and continue up the hill to do His will.

What decision are you facing? Are you going to do God’s will, or are you going to decide what you want? Your heavenly Father is waiting to help you if you will only ask. Doing what God wants may be painful and challenging, or it may not make sense to you or others, but I assure you it is the right decision and could change the lives of others for the better.

Today is “Good Friday.” The day we recognize that Jesus died on the cross. Every person on Earth comes to their own crossroad where they face the cross. They have to make a decision: are they going to accept Jesus and his forgiveness for their sins, or are they going to turn and walk away? I pray you nail your sins to the cross and begin to truly live life the way God intended, with Him and His love. Do it today, and today will be your “Good Friday!”

“Thank you, God, for giving us your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for doing the hard thing and submitting to the cross. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for raising Jesus from the dead and for rolling the stone away from his grave. I will be eternally grateful.” – Mark

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 (MSG)

Golgotha

Life can be tough, especially when there are people in it. We are all challenged to face life, deal with life in the midst of people. Life can come with mountains. It seems as if everyone has one to climb. While trying our best to scale the mountain in front of us we, many times, will stumble over someone else. That’s when someone usually gets hurt.

Keep in mind, this wasn’t God’s idea, plan or intent, and it still isn’t. He made man and placed him in a garden. Typically, a garden is a mountain free zone. This doesn’t mean God is allergic to mountains. He has used mountains, or hills to do some of his best work. From Mt. Sinai, He gave us The Ten Commandments, which if followed, helps us live a better life. Jesus taught about his Heavenly Father, life, and many other important issues to help us from many hills, or mounts around Jerusalem. Of course it was the hill of Golgotha, where Jesus died for our sins, that gives us life eternal.

So what do we do with mountains? We should name them for what they are. Face them with boldness, but the most important thing to do is to ask Jesus to guide you through it, around it or over it. Even Jesus had a mountain (Golgotha) to face, but didn’t want to. He asked his Father to remove it from him, but then he went on to say, “Not my will, but your will be done.” When mountains are conquered, you can stick a flag in it that waves in the wind declaring to all that someone made it. It might just encourage them to keep climbing, to keep hanging on, and take another step where the Master has stepped before us.

“This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.” (1 Pt. 2:21 MSG)

brady, mark a.

Words to inspire you

Crossroads

Everyone Has a Mountain to Climb