Daily – Part 1
“And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
To see a man carrying a cross in Bible times was to recognize that the person was under the sentence of death. To truly and wholeheartedly follow the Lord Jesus we must set aside our own will…in other words, die to self and live for Christ. The Lord said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35). We may never be called on to lay down our lives as martyrs in a physical sense, but each of us are called upon to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31).
Are we willing to give up the world and self and take up our cross? In the measure in which we do this, we will be despised by the world, just as it hated the Lord. It takes constant, daily spiritual exercise to practically deny ourselves and take up our cross, and follow our blessed Master.
Continued…
