DCLM Daily Manna Friday 19 April 2024
TOPIC: No Cross, No Christianity
TOPIC: LUKE 14:25-35
25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
34 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
KEY VERSE
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple”
(Luke 14:27).
DCLM Daily Manna Friday 19 April 2024 MESSAGE
On March 14, 1984, The Washington Post reported a war of crosses in Poland. The incident occurred before the collapse of communism. The government of Poland issued an order that all crucifixes be removed from classroom walls just as they had been banned in factories, hospitals and other public institutions. This precipitated a series of protests involving thousands of students who marched with crucifixes held high for Morning Prayer to support the protest. The priest who delivered the message to the weeping congregation that morning said, “There is no Poland without a cross.”
From the passage before us, Jesus told the multitudes of the importance of cross-bearing in Christianity. In a surprising sermon, He told the multitude that cross-bearing is required as part of the conditions for following Him. Required also is the need to ‘hate’ father, mother, wife, children and brethren and their lives before they can effectively follow Him. He told his audience to count the cost before signing up as His disciples. It was a very steep requirement.
READ DCLM Daily Manna Thursday 18 April 2024 – Keep Trusting Him
Christ was not teaching filial irresponsibility or rebellion against parental authority here. The emphasis is to set Him ahead of everything while we take up the cross and follow Him. The Jews knew what the cross represented. It was the obnoxious means of capital punishment on condemned persons. They knew that bearing the cross meant death. And in the case of Christian disciples, dying to self and the world.
There is no Christianity without the cross. The cross represents sacrifice, pain, persecution, shame and death. Take up your cross daily and follow Him. This is the essence of true Christianity.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The cross is not for decoration but a symbol of crucifixion.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: PSALM 105-106
