Carry Your Cross
Stratton shared some of his testimony on the Fit To Fight Fire Podcast:
The Story Behind the Design
Carrying your cross means denying yourself and following Christ. It means letting go of your past sinful self and becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus. To carry your cross means to fully put your trust in God amid the storms and battles in your life. He doesn’t say He will take them away, only that He will help you carry them and He will give you strength to get though whatever you are dealing with.
My brother Stratton has been an incredible example to me of what that looks like. He has faced many trials and tragedies in his life. Our brother Andrew was killed in 2017 and Stratton lost his youngest daughter Kingsley December 14, 2023. Through all of this I have watched him grow stronger in his faith and lean more on the Lord. He knows that God is always with him and will never leave him or forsake him. He knows that the Lord will get him through whatever he is going through. We can have confidence that no matter what we are dealing with, no matter our struggles, Jesus Christ is with us. He has given all who believe, the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us. He gives us our faith. And when our faith is weak, when we fall short, He will be there to lift us up. Many who have come before us understand what trials and persecutions are all about. Jesus had them. He understands and is faithful to help us get through them.
Scripture References
For When I Am Weak Then I Am Strong
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Die To Self Live For Christ
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
Stay Standing
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18
