This is a portion of chapter 15 of my book The Fall of Christendom…….

The living Jesus empowers us to die. The cross is the symbol of sacrifice and death. To live for Him is to die to ourselves and the world. In the Spiritual we came, we died and we rose again as a new creature in Christ. As we move towards and become like Jesus, we die to ourselves. And so there is an important intertwining of dying to ourselves and living the resurrected life. It is the heads and the tails of the same coin. If you focus on just one aspect to the detriment of the other, you will become imbalanced in your walk. We surely must pick up our cross daily it is important to realize that this will produce an abundant spiritual life in Christ and while you may die to the flesh internally, the world should see your joy expressed externally and wonder and marvel how such a thing could be. This is pleasing to God.

The proof of our new life, our resurrection from the dead, our authentic faith is not a large house or a $2000 suit or a prosperous life in this world, these things prove nothing in the Spiritual. The proof of our faith is how we react to carrying our cross. In the midst of death to ourselves does the love of Jesus pour forth? Do we minister to others when we ourselves are in the midst of trial and testing’s? Have we found the secret of being content in every situation? The cross does not lie. There is no hypocrisy on the cross. Tozer said that you knew one thing about a man carrying a cross out of the city, you knew he was not coming back. The cross signifies death to self and death to the world. It’s only by taking up our cross that we can crucify the flesh. The flesh wars against the Spirit. The flesh must die, it dies only upon the cross, it thrives on indulgence.

The walk of the cross is a lonely walk. Yet in every generation, across denominational lines, brothers and sisters will be called out. They will know each other when they meet. They will be people who have rejected the “norm.” They will be a people who are seeking a deeper walk with Jesus. While the crowd run after the latest craze and those that tickle their ears, these people will find themselves on an ancient narrow path. This path begins at Calvary and ends at the throne. It is a very difficult and lonely path but all the saints who have come before you have walked this very path. Be encouraged today saints, God has seen and sees the afflictions of His people. He has not left us as orphans, we have the Holy Spirit who can take us to a place that Jesus has prepared for us. He is our high tower and the righteous can run into it and are safe. There is a place beneath His wings that is ours. He has given us wings in the Spiritual so that we can fly to this place. And in this prepared place we can discover joy where there should be no joy. We can discover peace where there should be no peace. We can discover love where hate should be. We can be fed although a famine has overtaken the land. He is our fountain in a land that is dry and dusty, in a land where there is no water.

As the spiritual famine deepens, as the drought begins to change the landscape, as the counterfeit increases daily, the Lord knows how to feed His children. As the storm that rages then the Lord says to His children “I am the eye of the storm, do not be afraid of it, walk into the heart of it and find peace at the center it, I am the Lord of all storms and I stand in the midst of them and beckon unto my own to come unto me and take my hand and I will lead you through and you will not be overcome or destroyed.” We praise the Lord today that He sees all things and He knows all things and to those who have taken up their cross and walk the narrow path He is their strength and their comfort and sustainer.