Deny Yourself. Take Up Your Cross. Follow Jesus.
Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what will a person be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his life? Or what will a person give in-exchange-for his life?
These days so many are willing to do any and everything for fortune and fame. However, in the end none of it will matter. It saddens me to see the demise of those in search of what only the Lord can give.
In this passage what stands out to me the most is the order in which Jesus places the requirements of coming after Him. He said placed DENY YOURSELF first. I take that to mean that we must die to ourselves, everything we think we know, and life as we knew it to pursue Jesus. That's the part that we have the hardest time with... denying ourselves.
I could go on and on about these scriptures today, but I digress. Comment and let me know what you think about this passage or what part sticks out to you the most.
