The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Carrying Your Cross

Episode Date: May 5, 2017

What does it mean when you wear a cross around your neck? Is it just jewelry? Is it a sign of your identity to other people? Is it a reminder to you of Christ's command to pick up your cross and follow him? Jeff shares about what it means to him when he wears his crucifix, and challenges us to wear ours with meaning, too.

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven Show, Episode 14, Carrying Your Cross. Hey, I'm Jeff Kavins. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven Show. Welcome to the show.

I'm Jeff Kavins. Glad you joined us. We are going to be talking today about something that you probably are going to see and experience today. And that is the whole question of why do we wear crosses and what do they mean? So glad that you could join us. Hey, I want to thank you for all of the response from previous shows. We're reading that response. And boy, we appreciate it.

You're giving us all kinds of good ideas and constructive thoughts. And if you'd like to contribute to future shows or tell me a little bit about what you'd like to hear, you can get a hold of me at the Jeff Kaven Show at ascensionpress.com. And as always, I know that many of you, by your own feedback, I have told us that you listen on the way to work or on the way home, and you're not able to take notes. And as you know, I have sometimes a lot of scripture and references that I use, and it's very difficult to write when you're driving. And we don't want you to do that.

But we do provide for all the shows. shows, pretty extensive show notes with links and pictures and scriptures and references and so forth. So I encourage you to go to ascensionpresents.com forward slash podcasts, and you can click on the Jeff Kaven Show and get all of the shows and all of the notes. So do you wear a crucifix? Do you wear a cross? If you are a Christian and a Uber Catholic, that's somebody who's really excited about

the faith, the chances are you've got something around your. neck at some point during the week, whether it's a scapular or it is a metal from one of the saints or a crucifix. And when you look at crucifixes, they got all kinds of crucifixes out there. In fact, one of the things that really got me interested in the show in talking about whether you wear a crucifix and what it means to you and what it should mean, which we're going to talk about on the show today is I was looking online at people who wear crucifixes and a whole page of celebrities came up and I've got I'm looking at them right now and I'll give you some of the names of the celebrities who are wearing some are wearing crosses and some are wearing crucifix

of course the crucifix is when the corpus the body of Jesus is on the cross and there are many crosses that people wear without a corpus on it but some of the people I'm looking at right now Lady Gaga has one in her hair. She's got a cross in her hair. Bruce Springsteen has a cross. Madonna, she has a lot of crosses. Get this. Ozzy Osbourne is wearing a cross.

A little bit of a disconnect there, but he's wearing a cross. A former member of Black Sabbath. And we've got, who else do we have? Oh, we got Justin Bieber is wearing a cross. Of course, J.Lo is wearing a cross here. I'm just keep going down. A lot of red. rappers are wearing crosses these days.

Oh, there's a clergy. He's wearing a cross. So we've got all of these people that are wearing crosses and a lot of celebrities. And some of them have tattooed crosses. David Bowie has a cross. I'm not sure what that's about. But as I look through this, I'm seeing a lot of celebrities that have crosses. And I'm wondering if it is a fashion statement.

It's kind of jewelry or whether it means something to them. And, of course, I can't judge. It's not for me to judge. or that means something to them. But in some of the cases, I'm making a little bit of a disconnect here, coming up with a disconnect because I know what the cross means in history and what it means to Christianity. And I also know some of their lyrics and some of the movies that they're in

and some of their personal lives. And I'm wondering if it's just jewelry. So if you're wearing a cross, I guess that's what I'd like to start off with. Is it just jewelry or does it mean something to you to wear a? One of the great quotes that I heard, and I believe it's attributed to Pope Francis, was along these lines, and that was, don't wear a cross around your neck if you can't carry it on your back. And I thought that was an interesting quote, you know, is that when we wear a cross, it's really speaking about bearing a cross or carrying a cross, not so much wearing a cross. And when we think about getting a cross today, we make decisions like, is it going to be 24-carat gold, is it going to be ceramic, is it going to be wood, or whatever. But I think that what we really need to be thinking about is what does it mean to me and how could carrying a cross around my neck add to my life in Christ?

How could it act as a reminder to me of who I am as a Christian? Well, first of all, I'd say this, that a cross or a crucifix that you would. put her on your neck, is a sacramental. Now, let me explain what a sacramental is. A sacrament, like baptism or confirmation, holy orders, marriage, so forth, these are direct encounters with Jesus. And a sacrament confers the graces that the sacrament intends to confer. Like the Eucharist, the Eucharist gives us the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. It's a direct, direct relationship with Jesus. A sacramental, not so much. A sacramental, not so much. A sacramental, like holy water or a scapular or a cross, a holy medal, a holy card, a second or third class

relic of a saint, that's a body part or hair or something like that, or part of a cope, part of a piece of clothing. These are sacramentals, and that is not a direct encounter with Christ, but it's a sign of something holy. It's a sign of Christ, a sign of the holy family, or whatever it might be a sign of. And it helps us to enter deeper into the mystery to where we can eventually encounter Christ directly. Now, this idea of sacramentals is not something that we came up with as Catholics, believe it or not.

Most of our Protestant friends will probably think we made a lot of this up. But if you look into the New Testament, you'll see instances where, for example, Paul had a piece of cloth, and if people touch that cloth, that he touched, they would be healed. There was a certain amount of power. There was something given over to this garment that had healing virtue. The shadow of the apostles even was

acted as a sacramental, if you will. But if you go back to the Old Testament, you will see in the Old Testament, particularly like in the Book of Numbers, you will see that God told Israel to make their clothing in a certain way. And he said that you shall put tassels on the four edges of your clothing, on the men's clothing. Now, if you've ever been to New York or you've gone to Israel, you've seen the men's garments. They have these tassels on the four corners that are coming out from beneath their suit. And these are called Cizziot in Hebrew, T-Z-I-T, T-Z-I-T, T-Z-I-T, T-T, and their t-T-T, and their tassels. and they were told to attach these tassels to the corners of their garment.

Or in Hebrew, for corners, you would say, Kanaf. So the idea was that when Israel would look down at these tassels on the four corners of their garment, they'd be reminded of something. And that's what a sacramental does. And what are they reminded of? Well, they're reminded of the 613 commandments of the Torah. So they would become sons of the commandments, or you know it better as bar mitzvah.

their sons of the commandments or daughters of the commandments bat mitzvah so so the even the garments of the jewish community in the old testament and even to today they employ sacramentals so this isn't something we just came up with as catholics it's something that's in the old testament it's something that's in the new testament and we live with it today and it's a blessing either either be a part of the blessing or check out i guess but i think i think these are great things that god has has given us. And sometimes we need more of them at different times of our life. If you're going through a real tough time in your life right now, maybe you need some sacramentals in your life to assist you and to boost you, help you in whatever you're going through. So we're talking about

a cross today. We're talking about a crucifix. Number one, that was the most heinous form of punishment in history. The Romans employed crucifixion to not only shame people, but to carry out a slow, agonizing, painful, embarrassing death. As a reminder to all walking by, don't cross us, pardon the pun, but don't cross us in the Roman government because this is what's going to happen to you. Well, it happened to thousands of people. And crosses were used over and over and over for multiple people until there was no more room to put nails in them. And of course, when Jesus was crucified, there was one man on the right and one on the left, these thieves, and Jesus was crucified in the middle. Well, Luke chapter 9 in verse 23, Jesus tells us something. He says, you have to carry a cross if you're going to be his followers.

So let's start with that. We're not talking about 24-carat or we're talking about ceramic or anything like that, but we're talking about a real spiritual cross that if you're a Christian and you're a disciple, you are going to have to carry. You're going to have to walk in the way of the master. He said to, Jesus said to all, quote, if any man would come after me, this is Luke 923. If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. Isn't that interesting? That's Luke 923. It'll be in the show notes waiting for you. That is really an interesting idea. So many of us are really trying to preserve our life. And Jesus said, if you lose your life for my sake, you'll save it. And you're going to have to pick up your cross on a daily basis. Now that cross, I don't think he ever had in mind, to be honest with you, this idea that you're going to go to a jewelry store and lay down $185 and pick up a cross. I don't think he had that idea.

We've got the advantage of being able to wear a beautiful cross. The cross is actually an agonizing form of death, but it is beautiful to us because of what it means and what Jesus accomplished in it. It was the wisdom of God, Paul told the Corinthians. It was the wisdom of God. But when Jesus said, pick up your cross, he's talking about the suffering that you're going to endure, the inconveniences that you're going to encounter the losses that you're going to experience, in short, the less than ideal days. Now, if you're like me, you probably have had a few of those days that were less than ideal. We all have this idea of what we want for our life, those ideal days where our needs are met,

things are on time. we are in our wheelhouse, people praise us, they say you're doing a great job, we love those days, but the fact of the matter is, most of us don't experience those days, we experience surprises in our schedule, calls from the principal's office, coming home late, finding out we got a medical bill that we weren't expecting. These are less than ideal days. These are crosses that actually mean something to us if we join them to the sufferings of Christ. That's another show we're going to be doing on suffering. I'm really looking forward to that. But that's what the cross represents to us. Let me tell you a quick little story. It's kind of interesting. The first cross

that it meant a lot to me came to me in 1977. My habit after giving my life to Christ and the beginning of this great adventure that I have been on now for about 40 years. I would typically go to a restaurant, an all-night restaurant called Perkins, and I would sit there and read the Bible all night long and drink coffee. And then I'd go back home and sleep for a few hours. I couldn't get enough of the Bible. And one night I was reading the Bible, this coffee shop, and about 4 in the morning, this young lady walks by the table, she looks down, she sees my Bible and says, oh, she said,

that's cool. You're reading the Bible. And I said, oh, yeah, I love reading the Bible. I said, go ahead. Have a seat. And I'm always looking for ways of sharing with Christ with people. And she sat down. I started to talk to her. And as I was talking to her, and I believe the Lord speaks to you. I hope you do too. As I was talking to her, all I could think about was abortion. I don't know why. I don't run around thinking about abortion. It's not on my mind all day. but when I was talking to her and looking into her eyes, I kept thinking about it. And so I stepped out of the boat and I said to her, I said her name. And I said, God knows about the abortion.

She looked at me, her eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry. And she said, nobody knows about that. Nobody, not even my parents. And I got to talk to her and we went outside the restaurant and I was able to pray for her. And that day, she gave her life to the Lord in a beautiful new way and went home. About two weeks later, I got a little box in the mail at my parents' house. I had given her my address if she ever needed help. I was going to send her literature and things.

And I got this box, a small two-by-three-inch type box in the mail, and I opened it up. And it was from her father. And her father was a jeweler. And inside that box was a beautiful. Montana agate cross with a note saying thank you for sharing with my daughter her life has changed as a result of talking with you at that restaurant we found out what happened in her life we've forgiven her and she's on a new path thank you now I received that Montana agate and I put it around my neck and not only did that Montana agate remind me of the sufferings of Jesus but it reminded me as well

of new life in this young lady. So that cross means a lot to me today. There's different kinds of crosses, too, the people wear. Have you seen that cross of St. Benedict? That is a powerful one. It's a crucifixion. It's a cross with the crucifix body of Jesus on it, and it's called the cross of St. Benedict,

and it's known for spiritual battle. There's also Irish crosses and other kinds of crosses. But it's interesting in the Old Testament, the cross, which you can see an image of this in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel prophesied about judgment coming to Jerusalem, and he said that those that were going to be protected would put a mark on their forehead. And see, that's where the enemy comes up with a counterfeit in the book of Revelation, a mark on the forehead. It actually starts with Ezekiel, and he talks about a mark on the forehead that would protect them when the enemy comes, and that was in the shape of what's today a Franciscan cross. And you can read about that in Revelation chapter 7, Revelation chapter 9. But this cross was a protection in battle, and that actually,

feeds into what it means to us today, and that is that the cross protects us in battle. It identifies us as belonging to him. And that's why we start off our days with the sign of the cross in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And just the movement of your hands making the cross on yourself is a prayer in itself. It protects us in battle. It identifies us. We belong to him. I'm reminded of several times on the airplane when I'll take off for a speaking engagement or something. I'll look over and we're getting ready to take off and I'll see someone make the sign of the cross. You probably have seen it too. Maybe baseball players and, you know, before they go up to bat or people before they run in the Olympics or something, they make a cross. There's

something about that cross that they're identifying their own life with the cross and the victory of Jesus on the cross. So we identify with his death, burial, and resurrection. We're going to take a break here. When we come back, I want to talk to you about the meaning of wearing the cross and some suggestions on what you can think about as you put that cross on and how it can literally change your day. So stay with me. We're going to get into that. And maybe just maybe wearing a cross from this day forward might take on a deeper meaning in your life and really act as a sacramental and move from jewelry to a weapon in warfare. I'm Jeff Kavens and we'll be right back. The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study program is the most popular and acclaimed Catholic Bible study out there,

and it has helped hundreds of thousands of people find new meaning in their lives. If you want to encounter the power of God's Word and better understand how your life fits into the story of salvation history, consider participating in a great adventure Bible study. To preview the first session of any TGA Bible study for free, create an online account at ascensionpress. Welcome back, my friend. We're talking about why we wear crucifixes, why we wear crosses as we go out into public. Is it jewelry or is it a statement? Is it a weapon? Well, it's all of them. You know, it's all of them. Many people in our culture wear crosses as jewelry. And it's kind of a hallmark theology. You know, it's a kind sentiment of who we are and what we believe. And then there's others that wear that cross as a weapon of warfare, like a St. Benedict Cross is very, very powerful and comes with a prayer.

And then there are those that wear the cross, hoping that others will see it and it will bring meaning and perhaps even a conversation. I'm going to talk about that in this section a little bit about how you can prepare an elevator speech if someone asks you about your cross or says, my, that's a pretty cross. Kind of an ironic, funny statement, isn't it? Can you imagine someone walking by the crosses in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago and say, my, that's a beautiful cross? Or my, that's a beautiful guillotine. My, that's a beautiful firing squad, you know. They would never say something like that, but today people do. So we have to take that into consideration and then give them the

meaning of it. So let's talk just for a few minutes about the meaning of wearing a cross. If you wear a cross or a crucifix, what does it mean? And what should it mean? Well, number one, it's an identification with his death, burial, and resurrection. When we wear a cross, we are saying, I identify with his death on the cross, and I identify with his burial, and I identify with his resurrection. It's what Paul said in Galatians 2.20, when Paul said, I have been crucified with Christ. And it's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself up for me. Do you hear that? Do you hear what he said at the beginning of that? Galatians 220. I have been crucified.

with Christ. Do you know that's part of my little elevator speech? If someone sees a cross that I'm wearing, sometimes I wear it, sometimes they don't. And they ask me about that cross. Why do you wear that cross? Or what does that cross mean? I always think of Galatians 2.20.

It reminds me of the fact that I'm dead. I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live. But Christ lives through me. Now, what are the ramifications of that? What are the ramifications of living a life, according to Galatians 220? If I have indeed been crucified with Christ, and that's what that crucifix that I'm wearing represents, if I have been crucified with Christ and it's no longer I who live,

that means that all my relationships are going to change. The way I treat my wife is going to be different. I'm dead. Dead men don't complain. dead men don't whine and act selfishly they don't dead men are not hard on their children dead men are not cynical at work dead men are not selfish on business trips with their buddies dead men aren't i have been crucified with christ that's what that cross reminds you of is that i have been crucified with christ it'll affect how you spend your money. It'll affect how you spend your time. It'll affect what you laugh at. It'll

affect what you look at at the airport, at magazine stands. It will affect every area of your life. That's something? Reminds me of a rabbinic story of a man that was talking to you earlier about the titsiote, those little tassels on the corners of the garment to remind you, you're a son of God's commandments. There was a story of the rabbi who went into a foreign city and all sudden he had a little bit maybe too much to drink and he got an idea that he was going to go visit a brothel. And he went looking for a brothel and he finally found one. As he got ready to knock on the door, he looked down and his eyes caught the Tzitiote and suddenly it reminded him of who he was and he backed away and he went to the synagogue and began to pray. My friend wearing a cross for you and I'm saying to

some of you businessmen and business women who travel a lot. That's the going outside of your home and traveling in foreign cities can be dangerous. It's like surfing the web. You might want to wear a cross. Father Benedict Groschelle told me one time, he said, when I go traveling and I'm in a foreign hotel, he says, I bring a little cross and I put it up in my room to really, you know, kind of consecrate that room or call that room holy. He says, I typically would put it on top of the TV.

It's not a bad idea, is it? Because it reminds you, I'm dead. I am dead. There's got to be ramifications for that. You cannot be theologically dead, and then in life, just do whatever you want and call yourself a Christian. So Galatians 2.20. I like what Romans 6.11 says, so you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God

in Christ Jesus. So it reminds us that we're dead. Number two, it reminds us of the meaning of suffering. When you see Jesus on the cross, it should remind you of the great love that he has for you and that you have a part to play in his suffering. If you're having a bad day and you look down at the cross that you're wearing around your neck,

you can say, this is not a surprise. Because I've been called to carry my cross. And as Paul says in Colossians 1-24, I love this. It's one of my favorites. It's one way. My five all-time favorite scriptures. I'm going to do a show on that sometime. I'm going to give you my five all-time favorite scriptures. This is one of them. Galatians 2.20 was one of them. Colossians 1-24. I rejoice in my suffering for your sake. And I fill up that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. I love that. He says, I rejoice in my suffering for your sake. And in my flesh, I fill up that which is lacking.

in the sufferings of Christ. What could possibly be lacking in the sufferings of Christ? St. Augustine asked that question. St. John Paul II asked that question. St. Augustine said, what's lacking is the sufferings of the mystical body of Christ. Us, we have a part to play. St. John Paul II said, there's really nothing lacking in his suffering, but he's made room in his suffering for you to participate so that you can come to know

what the love of God is all about. See, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. God's love was expressed in suffering. And if you suffer, that's related to the cross. Pick up your cross and follow me. And so if you're suffering in your life, wear a crucifix. It'll remind you of what this is all about. In the times when you feel like giving up, you feel like blaming others, you feel like running,

you feel like self-medicating, you feel like burying yourself on the web, hiding in pornography fear, whatever you're doing? No, look at the cross. This should not be a surprise. You're a Christian. Pick it up. Offer it up in union with Jesus Christ. And so that's very, very important. And number three, it should remind you about what true love is. It's dying for a friend. And that's what Jesus said, didn't he? He said, this is love that we would lay down our lives for a friend. And so everybody that you meet throughout the day and you're reminded by looking at your cross that you're wearing around your neck, that you are really called to lay your life down for others and to prefer others and to encourage others. So those are three things you can apply

as far as meaning, very simple three things. You know, it reminds you that you're dead. It reminds you about suffering and it reminds you what true love really is. Now that's not all in the little letter that came from that jewelry store, accompanied with that 124-karrot cross that you bought, they didn't give you instructions and tell you what it meant. Culture is kind of throwing it out there, like some of the stars and celebrities that I mentioned before, they don't have any particular meaning that I see, at least, but we as Christians know. What about the material of the cross that you buy? Some is gold.

Is there anything wrong with that? knew. There's nothing wrong with it. But I would say attach meaning to it. If you're going to get a really beautiful cross and an expensive cross, then think of the value of Jesus' suffering. Think of the value of Jesus suffering. Some people would say, I don't want an expensive cross. I want a simple wooden cross like a Franciscan cross. And it might remind him of simplicity. I have a wooden cross, a Franciscan cross. And for me, it reminds me of simplicity. Simplicity. and it reminds me of poverty and it reminds me of

giving up everything to follow Jesus. And then I would also say this. Many people after buying a cross, they bring it to a priest and have it blessed. What does it mean to have your cross blessed? Does it mean that there's a magical power on it now? Does it mean that somehow this thing has magic to do things that it didn't do before?

No, not at all. When I take pilgrimages to Israel, almost every January, we bring people all over Israel, and I'll see they'll take out crucifixes, they'll take out rosaries, and they will touch the Holy Sepulchre, they will touch the Sea of Galilee, they will touch the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem. And that is great, because the Catholic faith, Christianity, is incarnational. Jesus came and he became one of us. Matter matters now. and when we bring our holy objects in contact with those special places, it confers a certain blessing. And when a priest blesses an object, that object then is set aside, sanctified, for service. It's kind of like a chalice that a priest uses at mass. It's blessed. It's sanctified. It's not for common purposes. So if I went into a priest and said, Father, I'm going out for lunch, can I use your chalice to get something to drink? He'd say, absolutely not. But, Father, it's just a chalice.

I mean, it's made to drink out of. Get over it. Let me use it. He'd say no. Why would he say no? Because it's blessed. It's consecrated, in a sense, sanctified, set apart for holy service for God. And it reminds us of Jesus Christ in the blood of Christ.

It's a service tool, if you will. That's the same with the cross. Once we have a cross blessed, once we have a cross blessed, we don't use it for anything else. It is for the service of following the king. And we believe that there is an absolute blessing upon it. It is different than any other piece of steel or any other piece of gold or any other piece of agate from Montana. so that's that's an important thing so let me let me get ready to wind down with this and and just talk to you a little bit about about your elevator speech if someone comes up to you and says oh i love that crucifix that you're wearing that's beautiful now you know what they

mean they're not saying that that instrument of death is beautiful they're saying that that portrayal of jesus on the cross and the fine workmanship is beautiful what are you going to say. Just thank you? Or can you use it as a means of evangelization? Can you use it as a launching point to tell them about the most important thing in your life? I think you can. But you got to be prepared for that. And here's what I tell people when they say, I love that cross that you are wearing. I tell them thank you. And that that cross, and I actually gave you earlier three things, that cross reminds me of the great love that God has for me in sacrificing himself. And it reminds me that I'm alive in Christ and that all of my suffering now has meaning.

Yes, it means a lot to me. Thank you. But you might want to come up with your own little elevator pitch. When someone compliments you and the cross that you are wearing, that you'd be able to at least say something about the deeper meaning of that cross and then pause and see if maybe there's a conversation that can be held here. Maybe after I say that that cross reminds me that I'm dead in my trespasses and sins, I'm alive in Christ, and that all my suffering today has meaning now.

And if they give you that look of, yeah, I could use that, you got a conversation, my friend. Jump in, and you begin to share with them about Jesus and how he brings meaning to all the suffering in our life. So I encourage you to come up with your elevator pitch. In fact, if you can send me your elevator pitch, I'm going to share that on some future shows. The Jeff Kaven Show, The Jeff Kaven Show, that's the email that you can use. The Jeff Kaven Show at ascensionpress.com. I'd like to know what your elevator pitch is. I'd also like you, if you want to send me a picture, send me a picture of your cross that you wear

and maybe a little bit of what it means to you. Not too long ago, Pope Francis actually spoke about carrying the cross and the symbol of it, and he said that the cross is a symbol of the power of God who made himself sin to heal us. That's an elevator pitch right there. Pope Francis said, and we must ask, he says, we must ask ourselves if they are aware of the importance of the cross or if they carry it like a trinket adorned with many precious stones and gold. He said, for some people, it is a membership badge. Yes, I carry the cross to show that I'm a Christian.

That's good, he said. But it isn't just a badge as if you are part of a team, a team logo, but a reminder of the one who made himself sin for us. In April 4th of 2017, he was inviting all faithful to think about how they wear the cross and how aware they were when making the sign of the cross. And the Pope concluded asking each of us to look to this God. God, who became sin, so that we do not die in our sins, and to reflect on the question suggested. Let me conclude with this. The first pope had a lot of meaning in the cross. It meant an awful lot to him because he witnessed the crucifixion of the king of kings and the Lord of Lords.

And when St. Peter later had the opportunity to be martyred for the faith. faith, he felt he wasn't worthy of that cross. And he asked to be crucified upside down. My friends, let's wear the cross in a way that would say it means something to us in a worthy manner. Let's wear it. And let's be prepared to tell people about Jesus Christ. Well, I hope this has meant something to you today as we've talked a little bit about something that maybe we see every day, but we don't think about so much. But every time you see a cross going forward and even today, if you're going to work, watch, see how many of them you see and think about how ubiquitous this cross is in society today

and how there's such a great lack of meaning in so many lives. Let's turn that around. Let's turn that around. I want to pray with you before I do, I want to remind you all of the information. that I'm giving you here today is in the show notes, the scriptures and some of the quotes. And you can get those by going to ascensionpresents.com forward slash podcasts and click on the Jeff Gaven show. Pick out the show and all the notes will be there. Hey, do me a favor. Will you share this with a friend? Will you think of two or three people today that you can share the link with?

That maybe you know of four or five people that do wear a crucifix. Might be a nice gesture. just to send it and say, hey, this might help you with more meaning in carrying that cross around your neck. You found it helpful yourself. Your help in sharing this show will help us get the message around the world. And if everyone does that every week, you just think what could happen. So I appreciate you and I'm praying for you and ask you to continue to pray for me. Let's close in prayer, shall we? In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. By the way, that was a cross right there. Lord, we thank you for dying for us and allowing us to experience your love and your eternal life. And you said to us,

Lord, if we're going to be disciples that we should pick up our cross and follow you, we thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. Help us, Lord, to be cognizant, aware throughout the day that we are Christians who are carrying our cross and that every time we look down, we're reminded of it. Give us opportunity to share, Lord. Give us a quickening in our spirit, in our mind, to share with others when they ask us or they give a compliment to us concerning the cross that we bear. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. You have a great day, my friend. We'll talk to you later.