What to do when we carry our daily crosses! In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that He’s going to die on the Cross and rise on the third day. Peter does not like that. He does not want to see Jesus suffer. Jesus rebukes him and then makes the statement: “If you want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me.” If Jesus carried His Cross, we too, must follow in the footsteps of our Master. J.C Ryle once wrote: “A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing. A cheap Christianity without a cross, will prove in the end a useless Christianity without a crown.” Similarly, John Scott notes: “There is no Christianity without the cross. If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus Christ.” As we carry our daily crosses, may I share three ways (as I learned from Jentezen Franklin) to encourage yourself in hard moments: 1. Jesus is with me: He is with me in this moment and He has all power. 2. God is at the bottom: Deuteronomy 33 - Moses Final Farewell Sermon on the mountain. Moses speaks about how God is a God of the mountains. He names the great things that happened on the mountain: God gives the 10 commandments; He tells Abraham not to kill Isaac, but that He the Lord will provide the lamb. Right in the middle of the sermon, he shifts. He wants to remind the people that when they walk with the Lord, it won’t always be a mountain top. The eternal refuge is our God and underneath us are the everlasting arms. In Hebrew, underneath means bottom. God is at the bottom. You may go down so far; you may reach rock bottom, underneath your family, underneath your marriage, underneath your children, underneath your future, when it seems like everything is falling apart, underneath everything are the everlasting arms of God. He is not just Lord of the mountains; He is the Lord of the valley. 3. A measure of faith: God has given to every human being a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Anything you face in life; God has given you enough faith to overcome that situation. When you are going through stuff, it truly helps to remind yourself: 1. Jesus is with me. 2. God is at the bottom. 3. I have faith for this. Love you all. Happy Sunday! Your brother, Fr. Obi