Category: Cruciform

  • Tuesday – The Idol of Convenience

    Tuesday – The Idol of Convenience

    Red paint

    Today, as you begin your time of prayer and fasting,  pray like David:
                        "Search me, God, and know my heart.
                                          Test me and know my worries.
                         Show me anything in me that offends you,
                                          and lead me to everlasting life."

    Psalm 139

    We often don’t notice it, but convenience can become a hidden master in our lives. Our world makes everything easier and faster. While comfort isn’t bad, when convenience controls our spiritual life, it stops us from truly serving God.

    How Convenience Can Hurt Your Faith:

    • Time with God: Do you cut prayer short to scroll on your phone? Skip reading the Bible for more sleep? Listen to a quick podcast instead of really studying a sermon? Convenience can make us take spiritual shortcuts, choosing easy over deep.
    • Serving Others: Serving God and others often means stepping out of our comfort zone. It might mean waking up early for an event, staying late for ministry, or going out of your way to help someone. If convenience is your main goal, you might avoid volunteering or only pick easy tasks. True service often requires giving your time and energy.
    • Commitment to God: Being deeply committed to God means sticking with it, even when things are hard. Convenience teaches us to quit when challenges appear. When life gets busy, is it easy to go to church? To join a small group? To give generously? If convenience guides you, your commitment can weaken, making your faith journey inconsistent.

    Pray and Think Today:

    Red paint

    As you pray and fast today (from food, technology, or other distractions), think about how convenience might be affecting your walk with Christ.

    Ask yourself:

    1. Daily Life: Where do you choose ease and comfort over intentional time with God?
    2. Serving: Is God calling you to serve in ways you’ve avoided because it’s inconvenient? What might you need to give up?
    3. Commitment: When life gets tough, do your spiritual habits slide because it’s easier to let them go? How can you recommit to staying strong?

    Let today be a chance to let go of convenience and find joy in serving God and growing closer to Him. May your time of prayer and fasting clear your mind and heart, helping you see and remove this hidden trap, so that God can truly be first in everything.

  • Living in the Shadow of the Cross

    Living in the Shadow of the Cross

    The life that brings true fulfillment is a cross-shaped life, a life of letting go, giving up our own way, and looking out for others, for those who are hurting and in need.

    The cry of Jesus, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” reveals a depth of abandonment we can scarcely fathom. This perfect unity of the Trinity fractured as He bore the weight of our sin. Utterly alone.

    Consider the journey to the cross: rejected by the crowds who once hailed Him, denied by Peter in a moment of fear, abandoned by His closest friends in Gethsemane, betrayed by Judas, one of His own. 

    Yet, in the midst of this, Jesus, knowing what lay ahead for each of them, knelt and washed their feet – an act of profound humility and service. “I have given you an example,” He said, “Do as I have done to you.”

    His suffering mirrors our own experiences of pain and brokenness. He understands our weaknesses. But His response was not one of retaliation or self-preservation. Instead, He offered a different way: the way of the towel, not the sword.

    We live in a fractured world, prone to conflict, selfishness, and fear. But in Christ, we are called to a different way of being, a “cross shaped life.” Our relationships become the proving ground of this transformation. Do we build walls with accusations and defensiveness, or do we kneel in humility, seeking to serve and understand?

    Jesus, though divine, embraced the lowest place, reversing the world’s power structures. We are called to the same attitude: humility, considering others before ourselves. This counter-intuitive path, the way of losing our life to find it, leads to true life and flourishing, both for ourselves and for those around us.

    A cross-shaped life is one where we are “there” for one another, attuned to the needs of those around us. It begins in our closest relationships, where we choose empathy over blame, appreciation over criticism, and vulnerability over defensiveness.

    The character of God, revealed in Christ, is cruciform. As we approach communion, let us examine what we hold in our hands: a sword of self-interest, or a towel of service? Let us lay down the former and take up the latter, allowing Jesus to guide us into a life shaped by the cross.

    Reflect:

    1. In what areas of your life do you find yourself more prone to picking up the “sword” rather than the “towel” in your interactions with others?
    2. Think of a recent situation where you felt rejected, abandoned, or betrayed. How might reflecting on Jesus’s experience in those moments offer you comfort or a new perspective?
    3. What is one practical way you can “take up the towel” in one of your relationships this week, demonstrating humility and service?
    4. Consider the “You never/You always” statements or defensiveness you might fall into. How can you replace these with more empathetic and understanding communication?
    5. What does living a “cross-shaped life” truly mean to you in your daily actions and choices?

    Closing Prayer:

    Heavenly Father, we thank you for the profound example of your Son, Jesus Christ. We are humbled as we reflect on His suffering, His love, and His radical act of service. Forgive us, Lord, for the times we have chosen the way of the sword, causing hurt and division. Grant us the grace and courage to lay down our pride and defensiveness, and to take up the towel of humility and service. Teach us what it means to truly live in the shadow of the cross, shaping our lives after the pattern of Christ’s selfless love. May we be instruments of reconciliation and grace in our homes, our communities, and the world. Amen.

    Watch he sermon on YouTube