He Is The Christ Of Power

2 Peter 1:3

"According as his divine power hath given unto

us all things that pertain unto life and godliness

through the knowledge of him that hath

called us to glory and virtue:" 

        In Him there is the divine power which cannot be ultimately defeated or frustrated. In this world one of the tragedies of life is that love is so often frustrated because it cannot give what it wants to give, cannot do what it wants to do, and must so often stand helpless while the loved one meets disaster. But always Christ's love is backed by his power, and is therefore, a victorious love.
        He is the Christ of generosity. He bestows on us all things necessary for true life and true religion. He is the Christ of the precious and great promises. Paul put the same thing in a different way, when he said that all the promises of God are Yes, and Amen in Christ (2 Co1:20). That is to say Christ says, "Yes; So let it be," to these promises; he confirms and guarantees them. Let's put it this way. Once we know Jesus Christ, every time we meet a promise in Scripture which begins with the word "Whosoever," we can immediately say to ourselves, "That means me."
        Amen!!

Reading: (2 Peter 1:2-11)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Protected In Time And Safe In Eternity

1 Peter 1:5

"Who are kept by the power of God through

faith unto salvation ready to be

revealed in the last time."

         The inheritance of the Christian, the full joy of God, is waiting for believers in heaven!
 On our journey through this world to eternity we are protected by the power of God through faith. The Greek word which Peter uses for protect (phrourein) is a military word. It means that our life is garrisoned by God and that he stands sentinel over us all our days. The man who has faith never doubts, even when he cannot see God, for he knows that God is standing within the shadows keeping watch upon his own. It is not that God saves us from the troubles and the sorrows and the problems of life; but he enables us to conquer them and march on. My Friend that march will be toward "The final salvation, which will be revealed at the end time."  

        Amen!!

Reading: ( 1 Peter 1:1-12) 

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

"IF" The Lord Will

James 4:14-15

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is

   your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time,

 and then vanisheth away. For that you ought to say, if

 the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that."

        This uncertainty of life is not a cause either for fear or for inaction. it is a reason for realizing our complete dependence on God. It has always been the mark of a serious minded man that he makes his plans in dependence, on God!
        The true Christian way is not to be terrorized into fear and not to be afraid to proceed into action by the uncertainty of the future; but to commit the future and all our plans into the hands of God, always remembering that these plans may not be within God's purpose.  Therefore remembering, "If The Lord Will."

        Amen!

Reading: (James 4:13-17) 

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

A Never Changing Lord

Hebrews 13:8

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and

today, and forever"

        If there is one thing more than another that the world and the Church need in every generation, "it is leadership like Jesus Christ"
        It is in the nature of things, that all earthly leaders must come and go. They have their part in the drama of life and then the curtain comes down. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. His preeminence is permanent; his leadership is forever. Here lies the secret of earthly leadership; the real leader is the man who is led by Jesus Christ. He who walked the ways of Galilee is as powerful as ever to smite evil and to love the sinner; and, as then he chose twelve to be with him and sent them out to do his work, so now he is still seeking those who will bring men to him and him to men.  Christians! We Have a Leader in Jesus Christ.

        He Defeated death and hell and holds the key to hell in His hand. My friend, Jesus Christ is still in charge; He is standing at the door of Salvation, waiting for another sinner to cross over that threshold in through the door of Salvation, where the gift of eternal life awaits all who believe in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

        Amen!!

Reading: (Heb. 13:8-18)

May God Bless You 

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross life Ministry

Discipline Of God

Hebrews 12:6

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and

 scourgeth every son who he receiveth."

         Christians are urged to "bear it" because anything we may "have to bear is a little thing compared with what Jesus Christ had to bear." We must bear hardship because it is sent as a discipline from God and no life can have any value apart from discipline.
         A father always disciplines his child. It would not be a mark of love to let a son do what he likes and have nothing but an easy way; it would show that the father regarded the son as no better than an illegitimate child to whom he felt neither love nor responsibility.
        We submit to an earthly father's discipline which is imposed only for a short time, until we reach years of maturity, and which at best always contains an element of discipline. The earthly father is to whom we owe our bodily life; how much more should we submit to the discipline of God to whom we owe our immortal spirits and who, in His wisdom, seeks for nothing but our highest good.
         Amen!!

Reading: (Heb.12:5-11)

May God Bless You 

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Christian Hope

Hebrews 11:3

"Through faith we understand that the worlds

were framed by the word of God, so that

things which are seen were not made

of things which do appear." 

        It is belief in God against the world. If we follow the world's standards we may well have ease and comfort and prosperity; if we follow God's standards we may well have pain and loss and unpopularity. It is the conviction of the Christian that it is better to suffer with God than to prosper with the world. In the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego are confronted with the choice of obeying Nebuchadnezzar and worshiping the king's image or obeying God and entering the fiery furnace. Without hesitation they choose God (Dan 3:1-30)
        The Christian hope is belief in the spirit against the senses. The senses say to a man: "Take what you can ,and taste, and handle, and enjoy." It is faith to believe that God made this world and  that the things which are seen appear from the things which are not seen. God did not work with existing material but created the world from nothing. We need not argue or ever be interested in the scientific side of the matter; we know and teach that in fact this is God's world.
        We know that even when it may not look like it, somehow God is in control. If we believe that this is God's world then our lives have a new sense of responsibility and a new power of acceptance, for everything belongs to God, and all is in his hands. 
        Amen!!

Reading: (Heb. 11:1-33)

 May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

 

The Threat At The Heart

Hebrews 10: 26

"For if we sin willfully after that we have received

 the knowledge of the truth there remaineth

 no more sacrifice for sins," 

        We live in a day when the Church is under attack and will be under attack again. But the greatest peril is from the possible evil living and apostasy of its members. A Church in such circumstances can not afford to have members who are a bad advertisement for the Christian faith. Its members must be loyal or nothing. The greatest handicap the Church has is the unsatisfactory lives of professing Christians.

         The greater the knowledge, the greater the sin. My Friend, the sin that Paul is speaking of here is this. After receiving the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and the way of Salvation, and then renounce the gospel, and the way of salvation, and the words of eternal life, after they have professed the Christian religion; The sin is a total and final apostasy!

        Sin is the insult to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks within us, telling us what is right and wrong, seeking to check us when we are on the way to sin and to spur us on when we are drifting into a state of inactivity, and apathy. To disregard these voices is to insult the Spirit and to grieve the heart of God.
        All through this, one thing stands out. Sin is not disobedience to an impersonal law; it is the wrecking of a personal relationship and the wounding of the heart of the God whose name is Father!

        Amen!!

Reading: (Heb. 10:26-31) 
               (Mark 3:28-29)

               (Heb. 6:1-6)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Perfect Purification

Hebrews 9:23

"It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things

in the heavens should be purified with these; but

the heavenly things themselves with 

better sacrifices than these."

        Christ entered into a "no man made Holy Place;" he entered into the presence of God. We are to think of Christianity not in terms of Church membership but in terms of intimate fellowship with God. Christ entered into the presence of God not only for his own sake but for ours. It was to open the way for us and plead our cause. In Christ there is the greatest paradox in the world, the paradox of the greatest glory and the greatest service, the paradox of one for whom the world exists and who exists for the world, the paradox of the eternal King and the eternal Servant. 

        The sacrifice of Christ never needs to be made again. Year after year the ritual of the Day of Atonement had to go on and the things that blocked the road to God had to be atoned for; but through Christ's sacrifice the road to God is for ever open. Men were always sinners and always will be but that does not mean that Christ must go on offering himself again and again.

        The road is open once and for all. There are operations being made possible for parents to choose the gender of their child, and the color of hair; But no one can recreate salvation! God is still our creator, and Christ is the only way to Heaven! Nothing needs to be added to what Jesus Christ has done to keep open the way to God's love for sinning men. 

        Amen!!

Reading: (Heb. 9:23-28)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

His Tears, His Cry, His Pain

Hebrews 5:8

"Though he were a Son, yet learned 

he obedience by the things

 which he suffered;"

        Jesus has gone through the bitterest experiences of man and understands manhood in all its strength and weakness. Think of Jesus in Gethsemane. Think of His prayers, His tears and His cry. It is a cry which a man does not choose to utter, but is exited from him in the stress of some tremendous tension and pain. So then; there is no agony of the human spirit through which Jesus has not come.

         There are three kinds of prayers, each loftier than the preceding prayer, with crying and tears. Prayer is made in silence; crying with raised voice; but tears overcome all things. Jesus knew even the desperate prayer of tears. Jesus learned from all his experiences because He met them all with reverence.

        God speaks to men in many experiences of life, and not just in those which try their hearts and souls. However; we can hear His voice only when we accept in reverence what comes to us. If we accept it with resentment, the rebellious cries of our own heart; "make us deaf to the voice of God."  In closing let me share this with you. My Friend; with suffering comes tension, tears, and sometimes pain. Jesus Christ suffered for me on The Cross, so I will suffer for Him as well!!

        Amen!!

Reading: Heb. 5:1-9

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

A Name Chose By God

Matthew 1:21

"And she shall bring forth a son, and  thou

shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall

save his people from their sins."

        It seems like today that more, and more people are bashing on anyone or anything that has ties to the name of Jesus Christ. It used to be just people like Ted Turner, or Jesse Ventura. However; we should not be shocked about all this bashing, because; bashing against Jesus has been going on for over twenty centuries. What their problem is; "They don't know who or why they are bashing people that say's I'm Christian!"

        Before Jesus was born God gave Him The name "Jesus." Only His earthly parents knew that name until his birth (Matt. 1:25). So, even from Christ's birth His name has been sought after. For example; Still today there is a Holy war going on in the Middle East, and spreading to the West. Ancient Christian Monuments are being destroyed every day, Christians are being killed. What we see going on in the Middle East has already started here in the United States.

        My Friends; Listen, Jesus Christ came to conquer; Satan and Hell, and I know He did, because  through His Death and Resurrection; I am set free from my sins forever!!  But you know what makes these people so stupid? Is the fact that everyone that is being bashed has a name? They don't even know who you are or why they don't like you, except that you're a Christian. The only thing they know is the name "Jesus Christ" and with Him came another name "Christians. All I can say; "Bash On, Because You Wont Bash Long." "Your Bashing The Name I Stand With; Jesus Christ!"  A Name Chose By God 

        Amen!!

Reading: (Matt. 1:21-25; 2:1-15)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Better Rest

Hebrews 4:1

"Let us therefore, fear lest, a promise being

 left us of entering into his rest, any of

 you should seem to come short of it" 

         But no, the promise is not fulfilled, because in Ps. 95:7-11 David hears God's voice saying to the people that if they do not harden their hearts they can enter into his rest. That is to say, hundreds of years after Joshua had led the people into the rest of the Promised Land God is still appealing to them to enter into his rest. There is more to this rest than merely entry into the Promised Land.
        So the final appeal comes. God still appeals to men not to harden their hearts but to enter into his rest. God's "today" still exists and the promise is still open; but "today" does not last for ever; life comes to an end; the promise can be missed; therefore,  "Here and now through faith enter into the very rest of God." For Today is the Day of Salvation!!
        Amen!

Reading: (Heb. 4:1-8)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Salvation We Dare Not Neglect

Hebrews 2:6

"But one in a certain place testified,

saying, what is man, that thou art

mindful of him? Or the son of

   man, that thou visitest him?"   

         In this passage there are three basic ideas. God created man, only a little less than himself, to have the mastery over all things. Man through his sin entered into defeat instead of mastery. Into this state of defeat came Jesus Christ in order that by his life and death and glory he might make man what he was meant to be.
        Let me put it another way. The Author of Book of Hebrews shows us, the ideal of what man should be (ie) kin to God and master of the universe. He shows us the actual state of man (ie) the frustration instead of the mastery, the failure instead of the glory. He shows us how the actual can be changed into the ideal through Christ. The Writer also sees in Christ the One, who by his sufferings and his glory can make, man what he was meant to be and what, without him, he could never be.
        This my friend this is what "Grace and Salvation" is about. The situation with which we are in is this. We were meant to have dominion over everything but we do not. We are frustrated by our circumstances, defeated by our temptations, surrounded about with our own weakness. Mankind, who should be free is bound; he who should be a king is a slave. For whatever else is or is not true, this one thing is certain. Man is not what he was meant to be, and never will be unless he has Jesus Christ in His heart as his personnel Saviour.
        Amen!!

Reading: (Heb. 2:5-18)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

.
 

The Gospel Revelation Is To Teach

Titus 2:12

"Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly

lusts, we should live soberly, righteously,

and godly in this present age"

        We all know the "Titles;" Sunday School Teachers, Preachers, Youth Ministers, and Ministers, as being teachers of God's Word, as they are called to do so. However; God does not mean that, just because they have an office and title or room to teach in, they are not the only one's He expects to teach the The Gospel Of Jesus Christ.
        Grace and Salvation appeared to mankind. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Ti. 2:11). This gospel revelation is to teach. Christ Himself taught man what  to shun from and what to follow, what to avoid and what to do. The gospel is not for speculation only, but for the practice of the right way of life.
        My friend, any and all Christians, that live the Gospel and practice the right way of life daily, are the best teachers of the Gospel. Why? Because they know their Lord and Saviour. When you share the Gospel, you are teaching God's Word. My friend never let anyone stop you from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But Remember teach what Christ taught and what The Holy Spirit inspired others to write in God's Word! "Go Teach To The World"!! 
        Amen!!

Reading: (Ti. 2:1-15)

May God Bless You 

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

    

Serving God Is A Vessel Of Honor

2 Timothy 2:21

"If a man, therefore, purge himself from these, he

shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and

fit for the masters use, and prepared

unto every good work." 

        Those who criticize the Church because there are imperfect people in, are criticizing it because it is composed of men and women. It is not given to us to judge; judgment belongs to God. But it is the duty of a Christian to keep himself free from polluting influences. And if he does, his reward is not special honor and special privilege but special service.
        Here is the very essence of the Christian faith. A really good man does not regard his goodness as entitling him to special honor; his one desire will be to have more and more work to do, for his work will be his greatest privilege. If he is good, the last thing he will do, will be to seek to stand above  his fellow men. He will rather seek to be among them, even at their worst, serving God by serving them. His glory will not be in exemption from service; it will be in still more demanding service. No Christian should ever think of fitting himself for honor, but always as fitting himself for service.  

        Amen!!

Reading: (2 Tim. 2:19-26)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Christ Is The Mystery

1 Timothy 3:16

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

 God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit,

 seen by angels, preached unto the nations, believed 

on in the world, received up into glory."

        Christianity is a mystery  that could not be found by reason or by the light of nature. Because it is above reason. Why? Because it is a mystery of godliness, and exceeds all mysteries of this world. However, we know the mystery, and the mystery is Christ. Thousands of years ago, and still today some think Christ was just a man, and not a God. But of course the world would have you to believe that Jesus Christ is a myth, and that myth is being spread by Satan's followers.

        The World has forever tried to dismantle the "Truth," and this my friend, has been going on for century's. However; My friend, the most important task we have in this life, is to minister the "Truth"  and that "Truth" is Christ, and that Christianity is not just a written mystery; but a mystery of godliness. 
        My Friend, the mystery is wrap up in 1 Tim. 3:16. It is Christ. Manifest in the flesh. He  is justified in the spirit. He was reproached as a sinner, and put to death as a man, being raised again, He was justified in the spirit. He was seen by angels. Angels ministered to Him, for He is the Lord of angels. The great part of the mystery of godliness, is that Christ was offered to the Gentiles a Redeemer and Saviour. 
        My Friend, He was and still is believed on in the world. Who would have thought that the world, which lay in wickedness, would believe in the Son of God, and take Him to be their Saviour, who was crucified? Christ was received up into glory, and is now on sitting at the right hand of God, where He will forever live. So My friend,  He who was manifest in the flesh was God, really and truly God. This makes it to be a mystery. Godliness is a mystery, it being at great mystery, we should  be humble, believe, and love our God. Besides, no one can dismantle the "Truth."  
        Amen!!

Reading: ( Matt 13:11-32)
               ( 1 Peter 1:1-10) 
               ( Col. 1:26-27)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

Remembering Sin To Rejoice In The Wonder Of Grace

I Timothy 1:13

"Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor,

and a injurious; but I obtained mercy, because

I did it ignorantly in unbelief."

 
        The thing which stands out in this passage is Paul's insistence upon remembering his own sin. He sets up a very climax of words to show what he did to Christ and the Church. He was an insulter of the Church; he had flung hot and angry words at the Christians, accusing them of crimes against God. He was a persecutor; he had taken every means open to him under the Jewish law to annihilate the Christian Church.
         Paul uses a vivid picture. He says that what happened to him was a kind of outline sketch of what was going to happen to those who would accept Christ in the days to come. Like Paul our sin should be something which we refused to forget, for every time we remember the greatness of our sin, we remember the still greater greatness of Jesus Christ. We remember it to rejoice in the wonder of the grace of Jesus Christ. "God's peace be upon all His Church this day."
        Amen!!

Reading: (1 Tim. 1:12-20)

May God Bless You

And your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross life Ministry

Labor Prompted By Love

1 Thessalonians 1:3

"Remembering without ceasing your work of

faith, and labor of love, and patience of 

hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the

sight of God and our Father;" 

        There is work which is inspired by faith. Nothing tells us more about a man than the way in which he works. He may work in fear of being chastised; he may work for hope of gain; he may work from a grim sense of duty; or he may work inspired by faith. His faith is that "this is his task given him by God and that he is working to please God in that task and not for men."
        There is the labor which is prompted by love. Have you've ever been asked this question? "Don't you ever get tired of that eternal sewing on this side of life?"  If you do, I pray your answer is NO! Because the eternal sewing during this life is this. "Work done for love always has a glory."
       There is the endurance which is founded on hope. A man must keep his hopes. A man can endure anything so long as he has hope, for then he is not walking into the night, but into the dawn.

        Amen!!

Reading: (1 Thess. 1:3-10

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross life Ministry

 

There Is No Length To God's Love

Colossians 1:19

"For it pleased the Father that in

him should all fullness dwell:"

        The purpose of his coming was reconciliation. Christ came to heal and to build a bridge between God and man. We must note one thing quite clearly and always retain it in our memories. The initiative in reconciliation was with God. It was God who began the whole process of salvation. It was because God so loved the world that he sent his Son. His one object in sending his Son into this world was to woo men back to himself and, as Paul puts it, to reconcile all things to himself.
        The agency of reconciliation was the blood of the Cross. The dynamic of reconciliation was the death of Jesus Christ. What does Paul mean? He means exactly what he said in Rom 8:32 : "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?" In the death of Jesus, God is saying to us, "I love you like that. I love you enough to see my Son suffer and die for you." The Cross is the proof that there is no length to which the love of God will refuse to go in order to win men's hearts; and a love like that demands an answering love. If the Cross will not waken love in men's hearts, nothing will. 

        Amen!!

Reading: (Col. 1:1-23)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Pressing Forward

Philippians 3:16

"Nevertheless, whereto we have already

attained, let us walk by the same rule,

let us mind the same thing."

        Anyone who has come to be mature in the faith and knows what Christianity is must recognize the discipline, and the effort, and the agony of the Christian life. He may perhaps think differently, but, if he is an honest man, God will make it plain to him that he must never relax his effort or lower his standards but must press towards the goal, until the end. My friend that goal is "the high calling of God in Jesus Christ."

        Amen! 

Reading: (Phil. 3:12-21)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr. 

The Cross Life Ministry

The Essence Of Christian Life

Philippians 2:3

"Let nothing be done through strife or

vainglory; but in lowliness of mind

let each esteem other better 

than themselves." 

        The power of Christian love should keep us in unity. Christian love is that unconquered good will which never knows bitterness and never seeks anything but the good of others. It is not a mere reaction of the heart, as human love is; it is a victory of the will, achieved by the help of Jesus Christ. It does not mean loving only those who love us; or those whom we like; or those who are lovable. It means an unconquerable good will even to those who hate us, to those whom we do not like, to those who are unlovely.

        This is the very essence of the Christian life; and it affects us in time and in eternity. "Hell is the eternal condition for those who do not made a relationship with God, and through their decision they destroyed the possibility of God's love and eternal life.  Heaven, on the other hand, is the eternal condition of those who have found real life in relationships through love with God, and Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

        Amen!!

Reading: (Phil. 2:1-11)

May God Bless You

And Your Families

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry