Crossroad-moments…We can confidently expect them to be woven into the fabric of our live, whether we are prepared or not. Health crises that unexpectedly arise; the loss of a job you enjoyed; financial obstacles that constantly loom; the heartbreak of fractured relationships, and the parenting inadequacies we all encounter daily. Despite how seemingly insurmountable some may feel, we can look at these occurrences as gifted opportunities to consider God…namely, the cross of Jesus.

These opportunities to consider the cross are incredibly important! For when we acknowledge that we need help, we then have to decide from where that help will come. Are we the true source of our hope and salvation (creation wanting to be the Creator), or does hope come from outside of ourselves?

The Cross: one column positioned vertically, pointing up towards the sky while anchored into the ground…holding a second beam fixed horizontally, stretching to the east and to the west. Friends, as weighty decisions unfailingly enter our paths, we often find ourselves soberly face-to-face with those wooden beams… posturing our “gaze” in one of three possible ways:

Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.

Elisabeth Elliot

Corrie Ten Boom, after enduring tremendous suffering within a Nazi Concentration Camp, defined crossroad-moments with these words: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.” Friends, looking first to Jesus (in prayer) is not putting your head in the proverbial sand…nor is avoiding difficult conversations. Deferring to God and asking for His lead puts our perspective in His Hands…and seeks His wisdom instead. Asking for God’s guidance enables us to respond to conflict and hardship in ways that are best for every person involved. For what seems good and right might not be best. And selfless love seeks the best for others… even if it feels painful for a season. Friends, It’s arrogant to think that we could care more about our loved ones than God does.

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?

Corrie ten Boom

When we turn our gaze upwards, we can place our complete confidence in God’s sovereignty… trusting that He will faithfully provide what we need, when we need it, and in the best way possible. The love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control He supplies will be a blessing both horizontally: in our homes, work places, church families, and local communities…as well as within our own hearts: providing needed encouragement, perspective, and truth. Gals, as crossroad (crux) moments come your way, take a breath, look to Him in prayer, and dive into His Word (Bible) . Place every ounce of self-sufficiency in His hands, and allow the work that Jesus accomplished on the cross (on our behalf) to be enough for all that you will face. 🙏🏼♥️

…But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
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Matthew‬ ‭6:32-33‬ ‭

His Love through me,
Mer

Scripture

Galatians 1:16 “ I did not immediately consult with anyone (flesh);”

Psalm 118:8 “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”

2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:18. “as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Philippians 3:2 “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”

Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.“

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength^[a]of my heart and my portion forever.”

2 Corinthians 3:4-5 “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.⁵ Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,”

Proverbs 3:5-7 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”

Acts‬ ‭17:24-27‬ ‭ “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,”

Galatians 6:9-10 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹⁰ So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Psalm 16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Galatians 5:16-18 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

“These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.”
‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:12-13‬ ‭

Ephesians 4:15-16 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

Ephesians‬ ‭4:17-24‬ “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” ‭

Romans 7:18 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

John 15:5 “…apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Apologetics