A very needed reminder. Oh wretched men and women we are when we try in our own strength to produce fruit.

Thank you
Chrissy

Thank you for reading.

We started a race which is already completed by Him, our savior Jesus Christ. Yes we have to embrace the cross daily through living in Him. Everything is done through Him and by Him.
Chip, though it is tough to understand and abide with such kind of teaching, we pray for God to open our mind and fill us his wisdom and more revelation of his Son.
For the carnal and self minded people how difficult and ugly not to live but to even hear about the cross. But this is the only way to get his power, peace, and know ultimate secret of the holy Ghost.
Loving Jesus without embracing the cross is a groundless faith, it is just a religion.
Jesu I live so much for revealing this word.
Chip, be encouraged, Jesus is on the door to come again. I understand your suffering but still embracing the cross has no choice. This is an opportunity and great fortune for us to live his lives in this world. His strength is our strength and we can withstand all what we face through his mighty power revealed when we embrace the Cross.

Shu, For a moment there I thought all I had to do was be apathetic and wait for God to come through. thanks for clearing that up. Now what do I do if my apathy in the past has lead to some irreversible mistakes?

How do you get to where you hate it enough to change? Go to the hospital and find some people dying of emphysema, gasping for breath, desperate for air. Google some pictures of black lungs eaten up with cancer. Imagine your family gathering around you on your death bed while you’re coughing and hacking. Not a pretty picture, is it? Your mind associates too much pleasure to smoking and not enough pain. Start linking “pain” to the smoking instead of “pleasure” and you’ll quit.

That’s because all addictions are mental as well as physical. In fact, it is more mental than physical. And spiritual. But don’t make it into some impregnable “stronghold” that is beyond your control. You have total control over what goes in your mouth. And as long as you get more pleasure from smoking than not smoking, you will choose smoking every time. I’m not a smoker but food and drink were addictive to me. Here’s what I learned: you can’t remove a desire, you have to replace it with an even stronger desire. Easier said that done, but it works. You may need some extra help, like an accountability partner or counselor, to help you break through. But you can do it. Don’t be discouraged.