SCRIPTURE: Luke (NIV) 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
OBSERVATION: The successful Christian life is lived on a daily basis. The daily life is so easy to put off, to skip a day or two, and before one realizes it, a week, then two are gone without Bible reading and prayer. There is time every day, no matter how busy, to read God’s word and pray—that is if I am willing to deny myself and put Him first.
APPLICATION: Jesus said we must “take up our cross daily and follow Him.” Much of the time it is not difficult to follow Jesus. His will and our will often run quite closely together. We love Him and it is our pleasure to please Him.
But the phrase before “take up his cross daily…” can give us trouble. “He must deny himself…” The daily cross in our lives is the place where His will crosses our will. We really want to do something, but the Lord gives us a strong indication not to do it! We really want to say something, but the Lord tells us to be quiet! It is then we demonstrate who is really LORD in our lives.
PRAYER: Lord, You call me to deny myself and take up my cross daily. It is not about me! Every day is all about You! Today is all about You! Amen.
Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!
On Facebook: Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon
SOAPs by Pastor Leon 