“The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: Neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, So great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, So the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; And the place thereof shall know it no more.”
Psalm 103:8-16 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.103.8-16.KJV
How to Save Your Life
Jesus willingly sacrificed everything for the sake of the world. He took the punishment of our sin and wrongdoing so that we could know God intimately, for all time. And when He rose from the dead, He made it possible for us to have a close relationship with Him.
Jesus made a way for us to know Him, but we have to choose whether or not we will follow Him.
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”
Mark 8:34-35 NLT
What does it mean to take up our cross?
For Jesus, the cross was a literal object upon which He suffered and died. It was a physical weight that also symbolizes the spiritual heaviness He bore.
The cross also represents the suffering and surrender we all choose to endure for the sake of knowing and obeying Christ.
The apostles viewed ...