Discipleship Life

(Galatians 2:19-21)
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

(2nd Corinthians 5:14-15)
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

Good friday events.
1.Jesus goes to the garden to be obedient to the father,undoing Adam and Eve’s disobedience.
2.Adam and Eve hides behind a tree,naked,covered in shame.Jesus hangs on a tree,naked and conquers shame.
3.Adam and Eve begin in paradise but are forced outside the gates due to the curse.Jesus dies outside the gates but ends up in paradise due to the cross.
4.Adam and Eve’s sin ushered a curse of thorns.Jesus wears a crown of thorns as he ushered in salvation from the curse.
Click https://www.discipleshiplife.org/2021/04/03/silent-saturday/ for the significance of the saturday between and

(Psalm 14:1-7)
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon the LORD?
There they are in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
You would shame the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is his refuge.
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.”

“The fool says,there is no God.”
This is a community lament.Humans in general tend not to seek after God for who he is but rather for what he can provide.Therefore,out of selfish ambition and conceit,they treat others cruelly.
A fool is someone who continually rejects wisdom.Godless fools believe that God takes no interest in human affairs and will not judge people for their deeds (secular worldview.) The Bible however tells us that God created the body as well and is concerned about how we live and what we do with it because it’s his dwelling place (2nd Corinthians 6:16) and all peoples both believers and nonbelievers will come under judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
Rejection of this truth bring about oppression of the poor by the rich,of the weak by the strong;trampling upon their freedom(s),consuming their wealth,even possibly their lives for personal gain.However,in the face of such threats,the faithful must remember that the God of the covenant (Lord) is their refuge.He will protect them and defeat the evil doers.Hallelujah!
Prayer:Father we pray and ask that you rescue us and promote our wellbeing and confirm our hope in Jesus’ name,amen!

(luke 14:25)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Those who would be Christ’s disciples must (1) love their family or acquaintances less than they love Christ (2) bear his own cross and follow Christ and (3) “renounce the love of everything else”