The Royal Way of the Cross

Matthew 16:24 " if anyone would come after me they must first deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

Inspiration for  "The Royal Way of the Cross"  began with a few chapters from Thomas A Kempis 13th century book titled "The Imitation of Christ". The first time through it, I thought to myself, "this guys nuts." A week or two later I read it again, in particular the chapter: "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross". This time it intrigued me. A few weeks later, during Passover week, I watched The Passion of the Christ. Needless to say I wept during the entire movie. The portrayal of the suffering and punishment our Lord endured for our sake overwhelmed my spirit. That night, I read the Royal Road of the Holy Cross again. As I read, with the eyes of my heart opened, the tears began to flow. I was humbled and broken. The message pierced my heart with crystal clarity. It was a moment of divine inspiration that I will never...ever... forget.

With the assistance of Dr. William Stone MD, what has been produced is a spiritual journey of seven chapters leading up to Easter, titled: Take Up Your Cross.

Suffering is part of the Christian experience. God uses our cross to deepen our trust in Him and mature our faith.

As believers we forget that in this world we will suffer. Mistakenly we dream of the day when we will have no more problems or sorrow. That day is Heaven...and we aren't there yet.

We are called to take up our cross and follow Him. The cross is His way to the kingdom; His way to thy will be done on earth...as it is in heaven.

Sin is defeated by the cross. In heaven and on earth.
Through His cross the heavens are opened;
Through our cross the earth is laid bare.

Too many give up and quit. Some allow the sorrows of life to destroy them physically and spiritually.

These seven chapters will strengthen your resolve to accept suffering as your cross; to increase your faith; to transform beauty from ashes; restore joy to those who mourn.

I firmly believe that God will use this timely message for today. Pray that God will open the eyes of your heart to "The Royal Road of the Holy Cross".

John M. Thomas Pastor/Chaplain
William J. Stone M.D.

Most Excellent Way I

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.


Their is no brightness or cheer in taking up your cross and following Christ. The cross is or was an instrument of punishment and death. It is not likely that any would happily reach a hand to bear it; but our Savior did; and so should we. Why?

Following Him is the way of discipleship. We are called to imitate Christ as He leads us in "the way everlasting". This royal life is marked with passion, testing, and surrender. Even Christ our redeemer learned obedience, through suffering, as He...for our joy...endured the cross

Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered.

The suffering that is borne in bearing ones cross serves as a check to the impulses and temptations of our flesh. The cross bleeds our carnal nature and yields us to faith in Him.
Consider it pure joy when the cross of suffering is upon you; knowing that the trying of your faith will teach you the all sufficiency of Christ; adding perseverance.

Bear your cross gladly for Him. Ask for the same strength that came to our Lord in the garden. Seek not your will but Thine be done. Join Him in the fellowship of sharing in His suffering.

The royal road of the holy cross is the way of glory unimaginable; to humble yourself before God; bearing His shame; to know Christ; to be exalted in His presence.
The Father sees and knows those upon whom the cross rest. May His strength and grace uphold you and may He supply all your needs with His riches as you daily trust in Him.

Thomas & Stone

Take Up Your Cross II

No one understands the passion of Christ so thoroughly or heartily as the man whose lot it is to suffer the like himself.

The cross, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will—above, below, without, or within—you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere. You must have patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown.                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                      - Thomas a Kempis
                                                                                  (The Imitation Of Christ)

You may ask what has brought you here, but the most important fact, for now, is Who has brought you here. You have heard that God’s love for you is indescribable. The cross that you bear is an act of His love. It sounds strange and you may think opposite, but His love for you has led you here.

You thought that you were trapped in sin, assured of misfortune, and convinced of something sinister. None of these are true. The love of God has designed the road marked before you.

Resist the temptation of unbelief and self pity (a slow death). Follow Him...follow Him toward the hill Golgotha. After some distance the road of suffering will rise, giving you a view of your point of origin.

Look...look again. The horror of your own iniquity. You have journeyed only a stone’s throw from the moment you embraced your cross, outside the camp. Yet even now, you see yourself and your sin which you loathe, the mire from which the cross has lifted you. To break free...yields brokenness with tears and moans which cannot be uttered. Oswald Chambers wrote “the only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow”.

The cross of Christ frees us from the shackles that enslave us to our sinful nature. When the penitent and the cross meet, they become one and embrace the way of suffering for His sake. Only then does the royal way of the holy cross break through the darkness, revealing glory like you have never, never known before.

You must walk where He walked, bearing the cross, and despising the shame. Where does it end? To sit down at the right hand of the throne of God for all eternity.

Thomas & Stone

Joy of the Cross III

Have you taken up your cross? Tell me about it. Describe it to me.

Where did you find it? In physical pain, through loss of family or relationship, in occupation; by impediment, ruin of security, poverty, weakness of your flesh, or persecution?

How big is God...to you? Multiply that by an infinite number and you describe Him closer than you originally thought. His love for you is equally infinite and matchless. My understanding of the manifold mysteries of God limit me from adequately describing how He works, but I can tell you why: His incomparable love for you!

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

His charity is unceasing toward you. The cross is His way to infinite love, to paradise, to glory, to joy. It hurts, but it hurts like heaven.

The cross leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Only the beloved of God, in harmony with their cross, realize and embrace this principle: we carry in our body the death of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be revealed.

The cross knows...that weeping endureth for a night, but joy comes in the morning. In the cross we discover that in dying we live; that the pains of suffering release the fragrance of His divine nature.

"Realize that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live unto God."
                                      - Thomas a Kempis (The Imitation Of Christ)

In transgression we see and see not, hear and hear not, but sin has met its match in the cross. They cannot co-exist. Like fetters the transgressions of our nature fall beneath the blood.

Your cross will lead you to joy unspeakable, holiness, peace beyond understanding, and boundless love.

The cross He has chosen for you and the love He bestows are uniquely, intricately woven.

Blessed are those that mourn;
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for comfort and the kingdom will be theirs.

Isaiah 38:17 Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered.
In Your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction.
You have put all my sins
behind Your back.

Oh how He loves.

Thomas & Stone


iPhone

Why Suffer...Why the Cross V

Do you know that you belong to Him? Do you know that you know? Then there will be a cross. To not have a cross means you are none of His.

What does it say? "to be my disciple...take up your cross and follow me?"
The cross is there for every follower of Him.

Why must I suffer?
Most avoid an answer or offer a pious pass to the question; but the cross will answer it !
Why not suffer? He suffered for you; nailing our sin to the cross. Compared to the cross He bore for us...our burden is light and momentary; achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
You have endured the pains of the cross already but in ignorance. Without the knowledge of your cross and the summons to carry it you laden your load all the more. Laboring in circles you blindly; angrily; pitifully suffer.

What did He first say the disciple must do? Take up your cross?
No...first you must deny yourself. Self is an enemy of the cross; deceiving; denying. It must be dealt with. Only the cross of victory can deliver us from the body of death. The sweet cross is where His glory rest. He will not share His glory with...your self.

What is FAITH?
F-forsaking
A-all
I
T-trust
H-him

The Apostles forsook their nets and followed.
Are you still holding on to the world; then self is still in the way. It's difficult to carry your cross with one hand on the beam and the other hauling the net.

Forsake it all...it is but rubbish compared to the prize on the royal road.

When following Him; cross for cross; we join a heavenly host; urging us on; to lay aside the weights that beset us; to press on; looking unto Him. You cannot carry both and please Him.

You have asked; "why is this happening to me?" What does it matter. If you acknowledge your holy cross, you know it will lead to good. In faith we know that all things work together for good when we are assured of His perfecting love. Fear is vanquished when our eyes are fixed on Him.

Some want to turn back.
Then they started wrong.

If I say I want to know Him but without the cross then do I really desire to know Him at all.
Calvary is where the curse and judgment of sin was meted out. His Spirit reproves of sin, righteousness and judgement. Your crucible is a sanctifying process of flesh versus holiness; that your body of sin might be destroyed; no longer a slave to it.

Are you crucified with Christ? Then the life you live in the flesh must be in faith; of Christ in you.
To know without the cross...? See how utterly ridiculous it sounds.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faithfully we deny self; take up our cross; and follow Him.

Hasten to Him. To embrace your cross is to be one with Him and the Father; to know Him...and make Him known.

Thomas & Stone

Passion of the Cross IV

Seek no relief from the cross. Are you bound to it? Seek not to be loosed, for the Cyrene has already been assigned to you. In the hour of need God will provide him. Desire only to set your heart like a flint toward His righteousness.

Reprieve is in the shadow of His wings. Succumb not to the temptation of resentment for the cross. God is faithful. He will, with the temptation, also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it. His right hand will uphold you.

Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall.

Look not upon thyself; it has been sacrificed; look outward.
Behold...He makes all things new. Can you see it, the world around you? Look how different they all appear?

Like water from Siloam, the cross has restored your sight. Love for them cries out...in newness of your heart, compassionate, weeping. The scales of sin and self had blinded your eyes. You see them now, the masses, huddled, harassed, sheep without a shepherd.

You see them...? They see you too; crucified with Christ, faithful, a city on a hill, shining like a star, piercing the darkness. For it is God...at work...in you...to do His pleasure.

Through His cross...the heavens are opened.
Through your cross...the earth is laid bare.

Courtesy of...THE CROSS

Alas…to see with His eyes, to know, to feel, to share His cup, to taste the bitter herb.

Come after Him
Bow before Him

Lay... SELF
          ...at his feet!
                 Take up your cross
                                 and follow Him.

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness... Colossians 1:13.

Thomas & Stone

Worthiness of the Cross VI

If it is the cross you bear and are crucified; any other earthly condition will be contentment. Your hope is not in any other; any thing; any praise; any gift; any comfort; other than the cross upon which He died and your cross which He found you worthy to bear. Once content with your cross, the temporal fades.

A worthiness of the cross is an invitation to know Him; the power of His resurrection; the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and attain to His resurrection.

Their is no nobler way; none more excellent. Even our Lord said, "he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."

If by the cross we know Him; learn of Him; grow in Him, and at long last rest, then hurry to your cross and gladly bear it.

The burdens in this present world are grievous but have you heard of the suffering in ages past? Hebrews 11 tells of those who endured the pains of epic trials. They were considered champions of the cross...for our sake.

37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Whatever the cross; bear it. It honors Him; them; and you; and...helps others bear it. This is the command of our Lord.

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

When the world around you says, throw off His yoke from your neck; it is too burdensome...we will say...Never, for my God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are— yet was without sin.

So...boldly we go to Him for strength and grace; to be found worthy of the cross we bear for His sake; for we know and are assured that He is coming and His rewards are with Him.

Knowing You

All I once held dear built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this

(Chorus:)
Knowing you, Jesus knowing you
There is no greater thing
You're my all you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you ,lord

 Oh to know the power of your risen life
And to know you in your suffering
To become like you in your death my Lord
So with You to live
And never die

(Chorus) 

Words and music by: Graham Kendrick

Thomas & Stone

The Way of the Cross VII

The gospel that saves; the gospel we believe and profess is inconceivable without the cross. The cross of our redeemer, the crucifix of the apostles; the patriarchs; the early church; missionaries; translators; all rest beneath our feet as a sure foundation with our overseer as the chief cornerstone.

The cross road marked before you is rich with the blood stains of holy men and women of God who through the ages counted the cost and chose to give up what they could not keep to gain what they could not lose.

May the same God who gave them endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,

As citizens of heaven; one day; at long last we will see the worthy lamb that was slain. Until then, for His sake we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

When you bear you cross gladly; joyously; faithfully; be reminded that you are in the company of the saints.

Be assured of this, that you must live a dying life. And the more completely a man dies to self, the more he begins to live to God. (Rom. 6:9 ) No man is fit to understand heavenly things, unless he is resigned to bear hardships for Christ's sake.Had there been a better way, more profitable to the salvation of mankind than suffering, then Christ would have revealed it in His word and life. But He clearly urges both His own disciples and all who wish to follow Him to carry the cross, saying, `If any will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.'(Mark 8:34) Therefore, when we have read and studied all things, let thus be our final resolve: 'that through much tribulation we must enter the Kingdom of God.'(Acts 14:22)
                                       Thomas A Kempis Circa 1250 a.d.
                                             (The Imitation of Christ)

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Thomas & Stone