“The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? And what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth for the dumb In the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 31:1-9 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.31.1-9.KJV
How to Save Your Life
Jesus willingly sacrificed everything for the sake of the world—for you. He took the punishment of our sin so that we could know God intimately, forever. 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 suffering as an ...