Reading Verse: Deuteronomy 1:1-46
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Luke 9:23
The Word of God teaches us that whoever wants to follow Jesus, he should be able to deny himself and take up his cross. Denying self means that we need to have a commitment to follow Christ and get rid of all unpleasing things before God. We must crucify flesh desires and not follow lusts. As human beings, it is easier for us to follow the flesh desires, especially sins. But as Christ followers, let us live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We should be able to leave the acts of sin and live in the truth of the Lord. Keep in mind that all acts of sin are very unpleasing before Him.
One true example who is able to deny self is Jesus. During His lifetime on earth, He obeyed His Father’s will. He surrendered all His life to His Father. When we are in a relationship with other people, we need to have self-denial so we can become light and salt that others can see the life of Christ through us. Never let anyone to drag us into bad companions; keep in mind that we must take responsibility of all things we do before the Lord.
When we deny ourselves, it means that we need to hold our desires to be mad, to resent, and we should not retaliate what others do to us. When Jesus was betrayed and insulted, He kept quiet because Jesus was obedient and He had self-denial. It may not be easy to have self-denial, but it is necessary for us to have it. In addition, we should not become unfaithful to Jesus just because of temporary things. We need to ask for strength from God in order to have self-denial. It is never wasted to have self-denial in the Lord because He never disappoints us. He is faithful to all of us. Keep our faith to the Lord and never replace it with anything else because He is eternal forever and ever. Amen.
When we deny ourselves, it means that we need to hold our desires to be mad, to resent,
and we should not retaliate what others do to us.
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