Deny Self, Take Up Cross, Follow Me
Every morning at U-Turn For Christ Texas, a chapter in Preverbs and Psalms, the Whole Armor of God in Ephesians 6, and we recently started reading and chapter from the Gospels. What a blessing it is to fix our focus on the Word of God when we wake up every morning.
The other day, we read Matthew 16, at the end of which Jesus taught His disciples the cost of discipleship.
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Matthew 16:24
Jesus’ first command is to utterly disown oneself once and for all. This means that we no longer live life seeking to please ourselves, chasing after our own desires and passions. Instead, we live for another. Our primary focus and goal in life becomes honoring Jesus.
The cross of the first century was an instrument of torture and death. Being sentenced to crucifixion was not just uncomfortable or an inconvenience. It did not set someone back a few minutes or even several hours. The only time a body came off of a cross was after it had died. Jesus is now commanding us to die! Followers of Christ must die to their flesh, die to their sin, and die to their own desires.
Finally, Jesus tells us to follow Him. When we become nothing, when we realize who we really are as sinful human beings, then we can follow Jesus. We see and know our utter desperation and need for the Savior and can fully trust Him to run our lives. Thank you Jesus for calling us to come after You!
Construction On The Ranch
Construction is in full swing on the ranch! We took out a wall in our chapel building to give us an open kitchen/dining hall alongside our sanctuary. As we were preparing to run a new water line, we discovered that there was already a working line underground close to where we need it. We are currently working on the electrical, and then the plumbing. It should be completed by the end of April.
We are also remodeling the bathroom in the office/director’s trailer. This is a much needed repair as the old shower was showing signs of severe water damage. Praise the Lord that nothing catastrophic happened before we were able to tear it out.
Our next project will be to remodel the bath house the men in the program use. The goal will be to add insulation and weather-proofing, rearrange the layout to allow for 2 showers, 2 sinks, 2 toilets, and maybe a laundry area.
Hope En El Barrio
On the last Sunday in March, we partnered with the Republican National Hispanic Assembly at there Hope En El Barrio event. They had several local candidates speak, all of who hold conservative Christian values. We were also able to meet the mayor and the city manager of San Angelo, both of whom we plan to follow up with in the coming weeks.
More importantly, the Gospel was shared at this event. Pastor JJ Lopez of N Faith Ministries in San Angelo shared an awesome message from 1 Chronicles calling the Church, the Body of Christ to repent. Judgement and repentance always start with the people of God. Therefore, if we want this nation to turn back to Christ, we, the Church, need to first turn back to God and then be intentional about sharing the Gospel with those around us. We also heard some worship music from Javier Galvan.