thecrucifiedlife

1 Peter 4:1-2 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; [2] That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. Did Jesus die so that everything could now go your way? Was the cross instituted so that you would not have to obey God and now all your prayers and financial needs could be answered? The blessing and good news you receive from the cross is to repent. Those that understand the cross know that its design is to go against every selfish thought and action we can have. God desires to oppose the sinful part of your flesh, attacking it so that you become more like Christ every day. Sometimes we forget that Jesus was nail to the cross , after being beaten and humiliated. He did not just mentally believe he went to the cross or pray the cross into his heart, he went to it and hung there, in fact he refused anything to deaden the pain. The Bible says that since Jesus suffered in his body that we must arm ourselves with the same attitude. The Bible says that we are new creations and that we are born again. The only way for this to happen is that our old life must be dead. Crucifixion is a slow, painful death, and as this death takes place we are reborn.

1 Cor. 15:36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. For those into a

1 Cor. 4:13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. Those who want to follow Jesus Christ are the scum of the earth; they are insane; they are detested. Jesus said that we must lose everything to become a disciple. You will lose your wealth and your health, your family and your friends, you will lose everything. Most Christian meeting halls are filled with the message of

Matthew 6:5-7 (NIV) "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. [6] But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. [7] And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Supplication should always have the cross in mind; otherwise it is just a bunch of babbling. While Jesus was on earth he was involved in constant prayer. Many times the apostles went to locate Jesus and he was in prayer. When Jesus prayed the sky was cut open and doves descended. We need to go to Jesus on our knees and find out how to pray. People everywhere say words to God but are they really praying? Many are just self-seeking, trying to get something from God instead of serving his will. Jesus would be appalled at our current day

Isaiah 45:22-24 (NIV) [22] "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. [23] By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. [24] They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.' " All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. Our God is a God who gives us cancer. He allows children to die. He causes depression and anxiety. We worship a God who will put us to shame trying to get us to repent. He does extremely painful things. He is supreme. In Him is righteousness and strength. He can do whatever he wants to do. This is the only true God and there is no other. But we don

True. If some of the Christians of today were with Jesus in the garden they would have told him that he didn't have enough faith. There is also an unwritten rule in church that if things are going wrong God must some how be against you and if you get a new job that God is blessing you, the satanic part of this is that they claim that things that are from God are from Satan and things that are from Satan are from God. Twisted.

Thanks for the post and the history. It sounds like you are one who is trying to stay on the narrow road. I went to a church tonight and although the message was supriseingly OK I always get the feeling that it is about the good feelings. People judge their Christianity on how they feel about their quiet time or a passage, it is absurd. I believe God is searching for those that want to want to obey and are willing to join in Jesus' sufferings. I am encouraged that someone else here seems to 'get it.' You don't post here often, where do you post? In Christ, Matt.

If you could even call these people Christians. People that don't rely on God are not Christians in my book and you are right, these are the kind of people in churches today. People rely on books and principles and men and not on God. What is needed is that people drop to their knees and beg God to show them how the Holy Spirit can lead them.

It is so true that we need to endure. When I think of enduring I think of where Jesus endured on the cross. If I am going to endure to the end, I must also go to the cross and endure the way he did.

2 Cor. 11:14 (NIV) And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Preachers today preach Christ resurrected a message of victory and blessings. They preach anything but the cross. When you become a Christian you are being given a death sentence, you are given a cross to slowly die on. People will believe the angel of light because the message will make sense and it will help our lives and the principles will work, but it will not lead to the cross or Jesus. Ananias and Sapphira were killed instantly for their sin but Simon the Sorcerer was just warned. Peter was freed from jail by a miracle but John the Baptist was left to die. Paul secretly escaped from persecution but Stephen was stoned to death. God does not operate according to some plan or book or law. He acts out of love and does what He wants in any given situation. We are at the mercy of God. God will not play your game, He has given you time enough to get on board with his program.

Matthew 7:26-27 (NIV) But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. [27] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Jesus said that you can either build on the sand or the rock. He says that if you hear God

Luke 19:8 (NIV) But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Zacchaeus wanted to be clean and was eager to do whatever it took to get there. When we were controlled by sin, we had no choice to be righteous. If you look at the precepts of God, announce that they are legalistic, and declare that you don