Luke 9:23-26 (NASB) And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Who has crucified their own flesh daily? Who truly follows Christ? What does it mean to follow Christ? We all want to save our lives. None of us want to die. To crucify yourself you must take up your cross and follow Jesus all the way to Golgotha. When you rise in the morning, see the sinful desires of your selfish flesh. See how they would entice you to do things to appease them? Wage a violent war against the natural man who is tied to you. He is dead already if you are saved, but his corpse is always before you. We fight what he used to revel in. Put those desires to death. Crucify your worldly desires and have them supplanted by the new affections of the regenerated heart. As this occurs, you’ll praise God for the loss of your old life and the gift of your new one in Jesus. To do His loving will, to carry it out in the world that is perishing, to show grace where it is not merited, to have mercy on those in need, to give to them the words of life, the gospel message of Christ Jesus, the Lord, Master, and Author of our faith, granted to us along with repentance while we were yet sinners, enemies of God, under the condemnation of sin, freed by His grace and imputed righteousness. Proclaim salvation from sins in Him to all the world. What good is earthly pleasure on this temporal plain when such a thing as an ageless age exists, where time is not marked? Our lives are short compared to such an existence. What is discomfort or tribulation here, even much of it, compared to eternity with God? Be bold in preaching His word and the gospel of His redemptive work on the cross. Be bold in the preaching of His resurrection from the dead.
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