Whoever Wants To Be My Disciple Must Deny Himself, Take Up Their Cross, And Follow Me

LUKE 9:23-25
“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. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
”‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:23-25‬ ‭NKJV‬
‬https://www.bible.com/114/luk.9.23-25.nkj

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What does it mean to deny oneself and take up his cross daily?
It means exactly that, to put Christ first in all things, serving God every day, not just assembling once a week in church.
It means living to fulfil God’s plans and purposes rather than one’s own, even if it brings suffering.
Rather than putting one’s time, money, and effort into the things of this world, one puts his focuses on serving God, even if that means giving up material things or suffering.
It means to follow His selfless way of life by the leading of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to walk in the Spirit rather than by the cravings of the flesh that leads us into all kinds of sin (see GALATIANS 5:16:26).
The Romans killed many Galatians by way of crucifixion as was Jesus Christ.
With this word picture, Jesus gave us a clear description of Christian life.
Being a disciple means, being a disciplined follower of Christ, living godly lives, putting aside selfless desires and shouldering one’s own “cross” every day.
For the original twelve, this meant suffering and even death. For us today, it means giving up one’s worldly life to serve God even if that means enduring persecution and suffering; letting go if necessary to both people and the things of this world to serve our Lord and master. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it (9:24).
If your present life is most important to you, you will do everything you can to protect it-your material things, your money, safety, health, and comfort. By contrast, if serving God is most important, you might find yourself in uncomfortable or dangerous places, giving or putting your money into godly projects or even risking death; living life not foolishly, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
That doesn’t mean we believers shouldn’t have a nice home or car, or quality of life, in deed God gives us the desires of our heart if we live right and rejoice in Him (PSALM 37:3-4). But it means to make God’s plans purposes number one whatever the cost.
Jesus died for you, are you ready to live for Him? Are you ready to take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ?
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.