Good morning, beloved,
Mark 8: 34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his [t]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [u]life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. There is just something about that name. I’m not going to speak for anyone else. I’m not going to say this for anyone else. This is for me. I read these words and I think, Lord, what does that look like for me?
deny myself? “to deny oneself,” either in a good sense, by disregarding one’s own interests..blb.org I don’t live in a culture supports this view. I am a wife, a mother. I home school. Somehow, I still am able to vie for my own interests. Speak up for my needs. That isn’t a bad thing. I know that. I need people in my life to know my needs. I am not suggesting that. What is Jesus saying?
“Denying self is not the same as self-denial. We practice self-denial when, for a good purpose, we occasionally give up things or activities. But we deny self when we surrender ourselves to Christ and determine to obey His will.” (Wiersbe)
We deny ourselves when we surrender ourselves to Christ and decide to obey His will. Beginning my day, oh, I haven’t even thought about this prayer in so long… I just pulled out my hymnal. Sometimes, the rhythms of habit are so good for my soul.
Awake, my soul,and with the sun thy daily stage of duty run;
shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise to pay thy morning sacrifice.
By influence of the light divine let thy own light in good works shine;
reflect all heaven’s gracious ways in ardent love and cheerful praise.
Lord, I my vows to thee renew; disperse my sins as morning dew;
guard my first springs of thought and will and with thyself my spirit fill.
Direct, control, suggest this day all I design or do or say,
that all my powers, with all their might, in thy sole glory may unite.
Praise God, from whom all blessing flow; praise Him, all creatures here below;
praise Him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Thomas Ken
Direct, control, suggest this day…
According to Brother Lawrence (the practice of the presence OF GOD, p. 25), trust in God and surrender completely to Him…in order to be sure we are doing God’s will, we should simply develop an attitude of faith, hope, and love. We need not be concerned about anything else.
take up your cross…
Brother Lawrence again…
when we begin our Christian walk, we must remember that we have been living in the world, subject to all sorts of miseries, accidents, and poor dispositions from within. The Lord will cleanse and humble us in order to make us more like Christ. As we go through this cleansing process, we will grow closer to God. Therefore, we should rejoice in our difficulties, bearing them as long as the Lord wills, because only through such trials will our faith become purified, more precious than gold. (p.25)
It sounds like a horrible trial to take up our cross. And yes, it is..we do go through sad, trying, distressing times. Through it all, we have this precious gift. We have Jesus. We have the Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf. We are not alone. We may lose in the world’s eyes. But in Jesus’ eyes, we are saved for eternity.
We are saved.
We have a future and a hope.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
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