Daily Devo

At the Cross

By: Kelly Russell

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

Before time began, the future was known by God. From life in Eden to death on Golgotha, redemption was always part of His plan. At just the right time Christ died for the ungodly, demonstrating His great love when we deserved it the least. He was punished and penalized for our iniquities. We earn wages of death for our sin and have zero resources to pay this debt. So, Jesus stepped in to settle our deficit with His blood.

The cross:

• Is the great equalizer: no success overrides our mortality. God is not after amazing skills, but ultimate surrender.

• Leads to eternal life: a once-for-all sacrifice that offers forgiveness to all who believe.

• Defeats the enemy: Jesus' blood disarmed and triumphed over the kingdom of darkness.

• Reconciles E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G; the old man is made new.

The cross is an historical event, the moment Jesus chose the nails. But the cross is also a personal invitation, when Jesus chose you. Responding to His invitation is our first step, following Him is the rest of our journey. Becoming like Jesus requires a crucifixion of our flesh and a crushing of our spirit. Then, God can use us. Then, He will be glorified.

The pulpit may be a starting place to share the Gospel, but we are called to many platforms as ambassadors of God's Truth. No man or method should ever overshadow the message. Our calling isn’t to impress others by our words but to present Jesus to the world. God led the Israelites with visible signs, a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. After the cross Jesus ascended to heaven and sent us an intangible, invisible guide. Now, The Holy Spirit leads us step-by-step.

At the cross is transformation: it heals the broken, breaks the prideful, melts the hardened, redeems the guilty, purifies the filthy, calms the troubled, lightens the burdened, and reaches the rejected.

At the cross is a choice. You either carry your own burdens or cast them to Jesus. You either see a mortal man dying or a suffering Savior whose death gives you life. It’s choosing self or denying yourself. It’s self-will or Spirit-filled. It’s a willingness to surrender earthly gain to receive heavenly treasure. The cross offers everything the world cannot, but it won’t choose for you.

The cross has only one message – Christ crucified. His death proved His love, his resurrection proved His power. Our humility proves our conversion, our obedience proves our devotion!

Read: Matthew 16:25-26, Philippians 3:14, Colossians 2:14-15, Hebrews 11:6