Lenten Reader | Day 19

March 11th, 2026

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

Mark 8:27-9:1

Take Up Your Cross

At this time in Jesus Christ’s life, he had traveled to many villages and performed many miracles causing a lot of people to question who he really was. Stop for a minute. Ask yourself what you would think or how you would react if Jesus was walking around today. He was bringing the dead back to life, opening the eyes of the blind, and feeding thousands with just a small basket of food.
 
In Mark 8:34, Jesus said anyone who would come after him must deny himself and take up his cross and follow him.

To me that is faith. Of all the challenges that I have faced and all the challenges we all face, I feel that picking up your cross is putting faith in God is the biggest. Jesus said drop everything and pick up your cross and follow me. We must have faith in Jesus that he will get us through whatever circumstance we are facing. Faith is carrying your cross. Faith is following him. Faith is giving him control in your most dire times. God has been my strength for years. He has guided me through some of the most difficult times. He has been with me in my greatest times, and I've had that cross in my pocket.
 
Lastly, be able to share your cross in your faith – your reason for peace. We live in times when more people need to know that Jesus invites us to pick up the cross and is right there for them. The peace and the faith of carrying that cross is something we all need. I am far from the model Christian, but I walk without fear knowing I'm not alone. I have that cross and will never let go of it.

Jim Belcher