Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
As we continue our study of this most POWERFUL teaching of Jesus, we come to the phrase, and take up his cross daily,
To this point, we have learned that to be a Disciple of Christ, we must first DESIRE to be such and then CHOOSE TO DENY our own ability to do anything. On our own, we are nothing; not capable of accomplishing anything. Only through the indwelling of Jesus Christ in us, are we able to be what God has called us to be. The goal is to stay continually attached to Him and allow Him to lead us; thought, word and action.
It was at the Cross of Calvary that Jesus accomplished all this for us. We can never be a Disciple of Christ until we fully understand what He did on that fateful day that changed history for all time.
The phrase, and take up his cross daily, does NOT mean we must suffer through life every day. On the contrary, it means Jesus endured all the suffering for us. He was beaten beyond recognition, bore the weight of the Cross, and was nailed to the Cross where He died. He did all that so we can live in Victory over sin, the flesh, infirmity, and ANYTHING the enemy attacks us with. Because of what Jesus did, we have the Power to overcome the enemy! That’s VICTORY!
It takes a daily commitment to follow Jesus. Every day, we must rededicate our lives to Him. He never stops loving us, and it is because of His Great Love for us that we love Him in return. We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
The enemy was defeated two thousand years ago, but he won’t give in. Satan will not stop trying to destroy God's people. Not until Jesus returns will this spiritual warfare cease. Therefore, in the meantime, our mission is to be Disciples of Christ.
To do that, we must never lose our DESIRE nor stop DENYING our own abilities. Also, we must take life one day at a time and know we have been given the Power to overcome ANYTHING that comes our way today. Don’t worry about tomorrow, live in Victory TODAY!
This is the Victory that will........turn the tide
One day at a time! Doreen
