Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be -Jesus in John 12:26
Does it escape our notice that the one we follow was brutally tortured, spat on, mocked and killed in the most painful way possible? Yet some people think they can follow Jesus without having to lose themselves. You cannot be a Christ-follower - you cannot be a Christian - without crucifying yourself.
Crucify your pride. Pride that is obvious is often the pride that people vilify. The pride that people won't let go of is the pride of being right; of somehow being dignified - a pride that is less obvious. People will not let go of their false beliefs when confronted with what the Bible says. They have too much pride to do so. To let go of their false beliefs would be to admit to having believed false things. So they stubbornly go on in their false beliefs, not realizing that it puts them in danger of hell.
Crucify your desires. Living for Christ means giving Him everything - every thought, action, minute, dollar and word from your mouth. If you haven't given your entire life to Christ (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength), then you have no right to call yourself a Christian. You must give up the idea of being a millionaire. You must give up the idea of having the perfect spouse with the perfect house and the perfect family. You must give up the idea of being the most popular, well known and well liked. If you are a Christian, many people will hate you.
Crucify the lusts of your flesh. Jesus tells us to cut off body parts if they cause us to sin (Mark 9:43-48). That's how serious hell is and that's how serious sin is. There is no measure taken to quit sinning that is too extreme. Whatever a person has to do to destroy the sins of the flesh, if he wants to be a disciple of Christ, he must do so.
Crucify your status. You are nothing. You were made from dust, dust is all you are, and to dust you will return. If you're in some fancy position - maybe you're a professor or manager or president - it only means you're closer to hell. These positions give people the illusion of being somebody. These positions tell the person in them that that person is something special when in fact that person is nothing. If that's you, then you must crucify your status, at least in your head if not in reality. You must accept that you are nothing and live accordingly. You must accept that you desperately need God no matter what your status on earth is.
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. -Jesus in Matthew 10:37-39
Does it escape our notice that the one we follow was brutally tortured, spat on, mocked and killed in the most painful way possible? Yet some people think they can follow Jesus without having to lose themselves. You cannot be a Christ-follower - you cannot be a Christian - without crucifying yourself.
Crucify your pride. Pride that is obvious is often the pride that people vilify. The pride that people won't let go of is the pride of being right; of somehow being dignified - a pride that is less obvious. People will not let go of their false beliefs when confronted with what the Bible says. They have too much pride to do so. To let go of their false beliefs would be to admit to having believed false things. So they stubbornly go on in their false beliefs, not realizing that it puts them in danger of hell.
Crucify your desires. Living for Christ means giving Him everything - every thought, action, minute, dollar and word from your mouth. If you haven't given your entire life to Christ (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength), then you have no right to call yourself a Christian. You must give up the idea of being a millionaire. You must give up the idea of having the perfect spouse with the perfect house and the perfect family. You must give up the idea of being the most popular, well known and well liked. If you are a Christian, many people will hate you.
Crucify the lusts of your flesh. Jesus tells us to cut off body parts if they cause us to sin (Mark 9:43-48). That's how serious hell is and that's how serious sin is. There is no measure taken to quit sinning that is too extreme. Whatever a person has to do to destroy the sins of the flesh, if he wants to be a disciple of Christ, he must do so.
Crucify your status. You are nothing. You were made from dust, dust is all you are, and to dust you will return. If you're in some fancy position - maybe you're a professor or manager or president - it only means you're closer to hell. These positions give people the illusion of being somebody. These positions tell the person in them that that person is something special when in fact that person is nothing. If that's you, then you must crucify your status, at least in your head if not in reality. You must accept that you are nothing and live accordingly. You must accept that you desperately need God no matter what your status on earth is.
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. -Jesus in Matthew 10:37-39
Awesomely stated. May the Lord bless you and keep you..... In Jesus Christ's holy Name....
ReplyDeleteThe cutting off of body parts is metaphorical. Lets not get carried away there...
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ was gay
ReplyDeleteSaid the devil.
DeleteSaid the devil.
Delete