I think that out of all these wonderful songs, I would have to say that one of my all time favorites would have to be, “I have decided to follow Jesus”.
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.
Living in the world, but not giving in to worldly distractions and temptations takes a lot of effort on our part these days. In fact, living in this world and not becoming overwhelmed with despair while trying to live our Christian faith can seem very much like a battle from time to time.
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that this battle is against the great deceptor, Satan himself. He loves nothing better than to see us turn and run from our crosses.
He likes to see us distracted and overwhelmed, he likes to confuse us regarding issues of truth and morality, and he likes to see us keep ourselves so busy that we neglect the true vocation to which we all have been called.
But our Lord Jesus conquered sin and death by humbly embracing the cross. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39.
We all have different crosses that come in different forms; the Lord knows what we can bear and what we can not. And I believe that He will never give us more that we can handle, after all His mercy has no end.
Everyday we find ourselves meeting new challenges as we strive forward trying to bring Christ’s message to those that are part of our lives, and to those that cross our paths.We must be willing to embrace our cross for it will be our means to battle the sin of the present time.
"Dear children, Today I call you to a humble, my children, humble devotion. Your hearts need to be just. May your crosses be your means in the battle against the sins of the present time. May your weapon be patience and boundless love – a love that knows to wait and which will make you capable of recognizing God's signs – that your life, by humble love, may show the truth to all those who seek it in the darkness of lies. My children, my apostles, help me to open the paths to my Son. Once again I call you to pray for your shepherds. Alongside them, I will triumph. Thank you." BVM, Medjugorje October 02 2010 Message to Mirjana
10 comments:
That's a wonderful reflection about taking up our cross. Thanks for sharing the messages of Medugorje as well. Have a nice weekend DG!
DG,
I thank God for the virtue of hope in these days because at times the sin in the world can seem overwhelming.
I noticed that Mother Mary has stressed humility in two separate messages lately. It shows the importance of this virtue to God. Our Lady was very humble and we are blessed to have such a beautiful example of how we should be! Thanks for the wonderful post!
Satan is very good at what he does, and if all he can do is distract us, he will try like heck to do it. The world today is so filled with the weapons of the evil one, it is so hard to see a clear path. "Embrace our crosses, for they will be our weapons..." that is truly something to think deeply about., to contemplate. Thanks, DG, for a great post.
In these troubled times, I feel sorry for those who do not see and know the Father and His Son, Jesus. Yes, I have lots of trials, but I KNOW that if I give them to the Lord, He will bring me through them, AND I will LEARN a valuable lesson as well. God is so amazing!
Be blessed,
Abbey
The Almighty God, in all His wisdom and grace has found no other way to heaven but through the way of the cross. He knows how the evil forces within and around us conspire constantly to keep us away from the way of the cross.
Thank you for this wonderful reflection about our privilege and call to follow the Lord on His way to Glory. We never run short of grace when we keep ourselves closer to the Lord.
I have taken the liberty of following this blog. I like the simplicity and clarity of this blog. You are more than welcome to visit my blog of meditations and reflections on the Word of God.
Keep smiling--Jesus loves you; I love you, too!
James
http://thayil-james.blogspot.com/
DG, my mom used to play Tennessee Ernie Ford albums all the time while she did her mending for the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. I loved it and miss those old songs. My favorite was the Old Wooden Cross. The song that you quote is a favorite of my children from their old Sunday school classes before they started at the Catholic school.
Anne, my mom's favorite was the Old Wooden Cross too!
Thank you all for your comments. I always look forward to your input, it means a lot.
Peace
Just visiting to say "Hi".
God bless.
Wonderful post. I really sat and reflected on "I have decided to follow Jesus". For some reason, the simplicity and directness of it is beautiful. Everything else should revolve around that statement - which as you pointed out, isnt always so easy!
God Bless!
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