Be cross conscious.

1st Cor 2:2” for I decided to know among you except christ and him crucified.”

This is what Paul was determined about,to know and to be identified with  and he plunged his life wholesomely to proclaim the gospel. Paul was determined to be cross conscious ad he reiterates this else where he says that he is not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation.(rom 1:16-17)

Paul elsewhere says that all he has known throughout his life he considers as dung for the sake of knowing Christ.philippians 3:7 

God wants you to be cross conscious. He wants you to be aware of the cross and what Christ has accomplished for you.

Christ wants you to know that though his cross you may have eternal life which is knowing God and knowing Christ. He wants you to know that by looking into the cross and seeing the glory of Christ in the face of God, you are daily transformed.

Like Paul today purpose to no nothing other than Christ and him crucified. When Christ is removed from the cross, we remain with a rudderless ,directionless christianity.

Christ crucified means a lot of things. It means you have been united with Christ, in death burial and resurrection .We are not in an uphill task of trying to be united with him.  It means that now its no longer you who lives but Christ and the life that you live you live in the faith of the son of God (Gal 2:20). This means that Christ has taken over whole of your life if you are in him. The truth is that to be cross conscious means that you are aware that you are united with Christ forever. If you have been crucified with him , you are also living with him. What a wonderful truth to know, that you and I are forever united with Christ and this is what God has chosen for us in Christ Jesus. You may know choose to know nothing other than what God has chosen for you in Christ Jesus.

The Immediacy of the gospel..

I am in awe of how the gospel of mark unfolds. The uniqueness of this gospel unfolds with the use of phrases ‘soon, immediatly, at once’. This theme to me shows haste and immediacy with which the gospel must be communicated out and its results seen.

Mark the author is not concerned with the account of Jesus’ history nor is he concerned with the circumstances of his birth and growth but he just plunges us into the deep of activity straight like a block buster movie with a scene that looks like its climax in the beginning.

The immediacy of the gospel; Jesus the man of immediate action.

Its in chapter 1 and mark has already thrown us into the thrust of Jesus; ministry. He introduces us to John Baptist who at the sight of Jesus sees a man of action and destiny. A man who needed to baptize John not the other way around.

Matt3:14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you

When you are reading the gospel of mark get ready for phrases ‘soon, immediately and at once.

Mark 1:30Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 

We see here Jesus and his disciples in the mission field going around villages and proclaiming the good news being accompanied by miracles. It made me excited to see Jesus already on the move in chapter 1. Every time I decide to go through the gospel of Mark, I conclude that Mark is one interesting author.

In their trip, they decided to pass by Simon peter mother’s home on hearing that she was ill. Jesus makes it important in his mission to pass there. This teaches us that Jesus will attend to the matters at hand that troubles us in the depths of our homes. While we serve Jesus, let us know that he will also attend to our matters with immediacy. This we don’t usually see it come to play the way we want it. The immediacy with which our lord Jesus operates does not usually agree with how soon, how immediate we want things to pan out in our lives. That’s why we must keep focusing our mental faculties on the things above where Christ is… Colossians 3:1.

The immediacy of the gospel causes a healing of the body and soul so immediate and complete. 

Mark1;31 Jesus went to her. He took hold of her hand and helped her up. The fever left her, and she served them a meal.

The healing was immediate, there was nothing to argue with the power that was in Christ. The healing so immediate and complete such that Simon Peter’s mum began serving them a meal. May God move in your house, in the matters affecting with such a great intensity and immediacy.

The outflow of a healed body and soul ought to be a heartfelt service such as we see being employed by Peter’s mum.

I see an absolute certainty, immediacy and completeness with how Jesus carried out his ministry on this earth. Remember the feeding of the five thousand for example? While the disciples were calculating how to make a trip to the market to get food supply enough to feed over 5,000 people, Jesus already had an immediate solution.

Jesus will take your hand and immediately help you up.

No matter what you are going through Jesus is always present. He is your ever-present help in time of need. This means that we can count on his immediate help instead of meandering and wallowing in the wilderness of worry. May he hold your hand and help you up today. You are very likely to get well and you will likely overflow with gratitude and service.