---Joy-Filled Cross Bearing ~~

--"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations."
---(James 1:2)
-[Please Read/ Hebrews 12] -

---SOME TIME ago we had the privilege of attending a church service where several young people were baptized. Before the ceremony, the applicants were asked to give a short testimony and share a favorite Bible verse. There was only one boy in the group. When he got up to speak, I could see that he had a handicap of some kind. His speech was slurred, and he had a hard time holding his head straight.

I assumed that he had been born with his malady, and I found it noteworthy that he chose to quote today's key verse. Afterward I learned that he had been completely healthy until a year or two earlier. It was both inspiring and convicting to consider that here was a teenage boy who was losing his muscle control for seemingly no reason at all--yet he was able to count it all joy.

Today's Bible reading tells how Jesus was able to endure the cross because of the joy set before him. How do we face the trials in our life? The pursuit of happiness is considered a personal right in America. But as followers of Christ we have a much higher calling than "living for the moment."

We all face trials, struggles, disappointments, and temptations that sometimes seem overwhelming. At such times it's important to reflect on the suffering Jesus endured and to remember that the troubles we experience are only temporal.
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).

--BSW/MY~

--"It's Always Been You" // Phil Wickham (lyric video) //<https://youtu.be/UktgUxHt6l4>
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