Rugged Cross

Rugged Cross reminds us that just as Jesus was willing to fully surrender and yield and His life bore abundant fruit, likewise should we be willing to fully surrender and yield so our lives might bear abundant fruit.

• John 15:12-13 (NLT) This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
• John 15:5 (AMP) I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

A Gemstone Reflection entitled “Fruit of the Vine” by Naudia Willbroad is connected to this. 

Recently the Holy Spirit prompted me to read the lyrics of the song “Old Rugged Cross” by George Bennard, a traveling minister. As I was asking God why He highlighted this song the Holy Spirit prompted me to look into the history of the song. George Bennard wrote the song after being ridiculed by several youth at a revival meeting. It bothered him that there would be such indifference and disrespect for the gospel and that caused him to turn to God and read the Word seeking out the fullness of the Gospel. He wrote this song expressing the truths he had learned.

As I sat with God asking for His revelation about this song and it’s history He led me on a journey. This journey required me to study the actions of George Bennard and his reactions. I asked God many questions and throughout the few days of studying this song and its history God brought several things to my attention. He showed me how George Bennard went to the Word to find his answers and that he took his time with God. It took several months for the song to be completed and it was truly an outpouring of the truth he found. 

During my time of study God kept bringing to my attention the John 15:5 (AMP) I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. I realized that George Bennard made the choice to remain in God instead of walking away after running into opposition of his sharing the gospel. He pressed in to the truth of the Word and ended up pouring out amazing fruit through this song and his ministry. 

As I continued to mediate on what God was showing me the words fruit and pressing were highlighted and I was inspired to look up what it takes to make wine. Good wine comes from good fruit. This good fruit starts with fertile ground and the right balance of sunshine and water. The vine that this fruit comes from has been trained up and supported through a trellising process. Once the fruit is ripe it is harvested. After harvesting this fruit it gets processed through many steps to make beautifully tasting wine. 

One of the many steps to making wine is the pressing. The pressing process releases the last of the juice from the skins and separates the seeds and skin from the juice. Then the wine goes through the fermenting process.

This study of making wine was really enlightening. For me, it brought revelation of why God uses the illustration of the vine because it shows us what God wants to do with our hearts and lives. As children of God we are a part of the Vine, Jesus. If we choose to be trained up and supported and receive all that God has for us we become delicious fruit that delights our Father’s heart. When we allow God to press us and separate out the things in our life that separate us from Him and cause a bitter taste we become like honey to His lips. As we live our lives abiding in Him we become the truly beautiful overflowing cup of love and blessing that God created us to be. 

God’s ultimate goal is that we not only make the choice to become His children and be grafted into His vine, His family, but that we also have abundant, fruit bearing life through Him. He desires to pour out His love, His passion, His abundance and good gifts on to us and to receive this we must choose to abide in Him and remain in Him. He can only pour into us if we are connected to Him. A visual demonstration would be how our physical bodies are created. Life giving blood flows through our veins. If that life giving blood is cut off from a certain area like a leg that body part will die. God has given us the choice to remain in Him and if we choose to be disconnected from our life source in Christ we will eventually stop bearing good fruit and wither and die. 

Christ’s ultimate sacrifice was made to give us the ability to choose between life and death. He died on that cross so that we may be grafted into Him, the Vine, and live an abundant life bearing amazing fruit. This fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23) can influence and bring freedom to every part of our lives and the lives we intersect with. 

Through this journey I am discovering choices that I am being challenged to make. Am I willing to be trained and disciplined? Am I willing to be pressed until all the ugly is separated from the good? Am I willing to go through the process of refinement to produce beautiful fruit that can be shared?  Ultimately, is it worth the cost to live out the gospel for all to see and taste? I pray that answer is yes and I pray that answer is yes for anyone who answers the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Galatians 5:22-23 (TPT) But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.

The lyrics from Alan Jackson‘s “The Old Rugged Cross” are connected to this.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross (rugged cross)
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
It’s shame and reproach gladly bear
Then he’ll call me some day to my home far away
Where his glory forever I’ll share
And I’ll cherish the old rugged cross (rugged cross)
Till my trophies at last I lay down
And I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown

A prophetic download from Miryam with Sacred Sounds is connected to this. It’s called “Squeezed, Pressed, and Crushed.”

If you find yourself feeling squeezed and trampled on, it probably means that God is making grape juice, and He is about to give you a new wineskin that can hold that new wine. However, this is not the time to whine.

If you are feeling pressed and crushed, God is probably pressing out new oil for your lamp. Submit to the process. It’s OK to say “Ouch!” a lot in between the shouts of “Praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus!”

If you are in a season of letting go of things that may be hindering you from moving into a new season, don’t look at it as a loss. Instead, sow the things you must part with as seeds that can be multiplied back to you in eternal blessings.

Resist the urge to assume that what you are suffering at any given moment is the consequence of sin. While it might be the case, we have an enemy that comes to steal, kill, and destroy. We have a heavenly Father that prunes our lives so that we can bear much fruit that carries an eternal reward.

The only way you can know what is going on is to spend a lot of time talking to God. He can handle your frustration, confusion, and anger. And like any good parent, He has answers ready for all your questions. Yet most of those answers will be found in your Bible, so be sure you have one and something to write on. 

Don’t be surprised when you get answers; however, you may be surprised by the answers themselves. God’s ways and God’s wisdom rarely match up with our natural ways or thinking.

A Prophetic Nugget from “Daily Downloads from Heaven” by Meghan Williams is connected to this. It’s called “Bear Fruit.”

Galatians 5:22-23 (AMP) But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us]…

Beloved, dwell with Me. Let My Spirit do its work in you. A plant without water will not flourish, it will die. Allow the water of My Spirit to refresh and bring forth life in and through you. If you abide with Me, you cannot help but bear fruit. And that fruit will be abundant and visible to all, it will be sweet, and it will teach others of Me without you saying a word. You will simply reflect Me and My character.

Stay in My presence. Choose to hover there. In these periods of gestation, I AM growing beautiful things in you. Let them come to full term, let them mature. Take your time with Me. There are blessings that only come in My presence and I desire those for you greatly. Come be with Me and see what comes forth as a result.

John 15:4 (AMP) Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me.

A crystalline download from Meghan Williams is connected to this. It’s called “Love Poured Out.”

Grasp a deeper understanding that the One who made you has never and will never desert you. You are worth taking care of. Worth providing for. And whether that occurs supernaturally or as a result of the fruit of your own passions, you need not worry. Simply operate in love – reflecting the love poured out on you by Love Divine, and trust your every need is and will be met.

Another Prophetic Nugget from “Daily Downloads from Heaven” by Meghan Williams is connected to this. It’s called “Be Whole.”

3 John 1:2 (AMP) Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].

Beloved, be whole – in mind, in body, and in spirit. Seek Me and press in. Trust Me to be your all in all, for I AM the everlasting God – El Olam. I AM all you need – yesterday, today, forever. I AM ever with you. I walk beside you – in good times and bad, I never leave you or forsake you. For eternity, I AM. 

There is no part of you too broken for Me to restore. I have been with you, and have seen the wounds you were dealt. Surrender the care of them to Me, beloved, and I will bring new life. Nothing is beyond My reach. I delight to prosper you. I AM Olam Zerowa, the Everlasting Arms. Let Me hold you close and lavish you with My life-giving love. 

A Word called “I Am With You” from Elisa Eaton of Waiting in the Wings is connected to this.

Be watchful, beloved. Take a look at what’s around you. Notice the things that I have placed within your gaze. For they are as road signs and as a map to you. You may think it strange that I can speak through your environment or circumstances as much as I speak through My Word. However, I desire that you would come to a greater awareness of Who I Am and come to see My continual presence and power in your life. I would have you see what it means to abide in Me and I in you. For through My Spirit, which is in you, I am able to quicken your attention to the mundane and give you wisdom and insight moment by moment.

Is it not written that I will be with you and teach you the way you should go? I will be with you in trial and in rest, in misery and in joy, in lowliness and in greatness. I am with as you come and go. I am with you on your job and at home. I am with you enjoying your laughter and I am with you to hold you when you cry. I am with you when you are awake and I am with you when you are asleep. I am with you always for I am everywhere. There is no situation I am not in.

If you will seek Me in every moment, you will not only come to feel My presence with you, but you will become aware of My thoughts and intentions for each moment of your life. From this place of learning to abide in My Presence, you will come to see how My perfect, life-giving will in heaven can be released into the earth.

John 15:4 (NKJV) Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

Psalm 32:8 (NKJV) I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

Another Prophetic Nugget from “Daily Downloads from Heaven” by Meghan Williams is connected to this. It’s called “YHVH Shammah (the Lord is Present).”

Psalm 18:11 (TPT) Wrapped and hidden in the thick-cloud darkness, his thunder-tabernacle surrounded him. He hid himself in mystery-darkness; the dense rain clouds were his garments. 

Beloved, wherever you are, I AM there. I AM ever present, always with you – your constant companion. I wrap you in My love. As you celebrate your greatest joys, I AM with you rejoicing along side you; and when you are in your lowest lows, I AM there too – to comfort you. I AM always there.

No darkness is too deep for the light of My love to penetrate, for I AM always with you. So press in to that stillness within your heart and feel My presence right there. Abide with Me, beloved, as I abide with you.

A final Prophetic Nugget from “Daily Downloads from Heaven” by Meghan Williams is connected to this. It’s called “Cultivate Relationship with Me.”

Luke 10:41-42 (GW) The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. There’s only one thing you need. Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”

Beloved, don’t allow yourself to get distracted by busyness. There will always be many good, worthwhile activities, but I have not called you to them all. Relationship with Me is more important than anything you could be doing, so make the time to cultivate it. Choose the better part – time with Me – and it will not be taken from you.

Remember that I AM the vine and you are a branch.  I AM your source of life. Draw from Me that you might bear fruit and bear it abundantly. Abide in Me. Dwell and rest in My presence that you might know Me and hear My voice clearly. Then you will know that you know your time is not wasted on fruitless activities because I will direct you. Rest in Me and bear fruit.

John 15:5 (AMP) I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

{Artist note} This piece, created as a commissioned piece of art, originated with the vision and spiritual stirrings Naudia (a member of the Dyed4you Team) had that was shared in the first prophetic download. As she shared what she’d received with me, she released me to create the artistic rendition as Papa led. Creating someone else’s vision is always an interesting challenge, and not one I always will take on – it depends if I feel a stirring for it as well, which obviously in this case I did. 

It was beautiful as the components for this came together. From the moment God highlighted the image to use as the backdrop, I knew He was making this one beautiful. Since blood and cross images can easily become macabre, it was fascinating to see how poignantly lovely this one came out – with the blood visually becoming wine and the crown triumphantly encircling the cross with the rainbows reminding us of God’s promises. My hope is that others are also richly encouraged by this piece.

Father, thank You for giving Your Son for us. And thank You, Jesus, for being willing. May we bear fruit worthy of such a sacrifice and bring glory and honor unto You.