Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
~Matthew 16:24
In this simple verse God calls us to deny our fleshly, earthly desires and follow Him alone. Jesus Christ gave us the most important example of “taking up your cross and following” by obeying His Heavenly Father. David Nasser states it best when he says, “The passionate motive that drove Jesus to the cross was us.” Jesus loved you and me so much that He chose to literally die to His carnal self and glorify God. Daily dying to ourselves should be to bring honor and glory to God. Our lives should be so focused on God that our actions point others to Him as well. John 8:50 says, “I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”
To experience a rewarding and satisfying life we must walk through our days totally absorbed in who Jesus is and what He is doing around us. The cost of following Jesus is great, but can we afford to ignore it? The world around us is broken and seeking the Truth, but to give them Jesus we must first experience Him in our lives. We need to let Him guide and direct us. Once Jesus has total control, we can be the hands and feet that He uses for His glory.
Today choose to let your selfishness starve to death because you don’t feed it. Feast on Jesus today.
Coming Up…”Hard Words”–what is Jesus saying to me today?
