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Good Morning! Last week we looked at that all familiar passage in John 15:8 where we read "Herein". That is to say, "IN HERE" "is my Father glorified." And he listed only one thing: "that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples". The disciple that Christ is looking for bears much fruit. We learn in this passage that there will be no fruit in our lives unless we abide IN the Vine. For without Him, that Life giving Vine, we can do nothing.

This is the goal of every disciple of the Lord Jesus, then, to bear much fruit. It comes as a natural result of abiding IN Christ. But what does it take to abide in Christ? It will take strong discipline to reject the things of this world that we may choose the life that IS Christ. To be a disciple is to be a "disciplined one".

Our discipline is not to do the work, but to submit to the work that needs to be done and His grace will sufficiently do the work. We will then experience His empowerment when our energies and excitements seem to be missing. To be disciplined is to "continue in the things that [we] have learned". Consistency is the key to discipline. However, how consistent must we be in order that we may be the disciple that He is looking for? The answer of course is to do the right things the right way every single day! Daily Disciplines are the answer to remaining in Christ.

However, there are only four very easy things that God has listed that must be done with such consistency that He indicated they should be done daily. We looked at the first last Friday. God wants us to search the scriptures-daily! Today we will look at our second of only four disciplines that God has indicated should be done every single day.

Our second daily discipline is to take up our cross daily. But let us look more closely at what it really means to take up our cross that we may do so every day with consistency. I will highlight the words that express the true meaning of taking up one's cross.

Luke 9:21-23 "And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

I call the process of taking up your cross "SRSR". That means we must suffer, be rejected, be slain and be raised all for one thing. It is not for our sins. It is not for our own sakes or benefit. We are to suffer, be rejected, be slain and be raised all for the sins and the sake of another.

I know a lot of people that will gladly suffer and be rejected for their own sin. They did the crime, they are more than willing to pay the time. I know people that will gladly suffer and be rejected for their own sakes. In other words, they recognize their need to self sacrifice and it is good for them to do so.

However, in today's world of "what about me" Christianity, it is getting harder and harder to find people who will suffer and be rejected for the sins and sakes of others. But that is what Christ did! The cross was not for his sins. It was not for his sake. It was for our sins and for our sakes!

To take up one's cross is to serve others even though you will NOT be appreciated. You will not be praised. You will not be accepted. You will not be rewarded. You will not be honored. But you will be raised! And when you are raised then you will "know Him and the power of His resurrection". Why? It is because you have endured "the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto His death."

It is a privilege to bear the brunt of sacrifice for the sins and sakes of others. But it is something that Christ was asking us to do every single day. He will lead us to do so and He will lead us to do so daily. And when He leads and we follow, then we will be the disciple that He is looking for. We will bear fruit for we have chosen to abide IN Him during an especially difficult occasion.

Four things we would never forget to do every day: brush your teeth, comb your hair, bathe yourself and get dressed. They are daily disciplines taught by our father. I didn't want to do them everyday. But I learned to and once I did, it became a natural tendency that requires no real forethought.

It is and will be the same for our Father's four daily demands. You may not want to do them everyday, but once you learn to do so, it will become a supernatural tendency that will require no real forethought. Just simple submission to His leading.

Search the Scriptures-Daily and Take up your cross-Daily. Tomorrow we will learn our third. It is found and Hebrews and if we fail to follow it, we will become hard as a rock. Consider what it may be. Or, better yet. Search the Scriptures yourself and find it.

A QUESTION FOR TODAY'S MEDITATION: "Am I pessimistic?" Why?