Deny Yourself, Pick Up Your Cross & Follow after Christ
Matthew 16:24 (NKJV)
Then Jesus said to His disciples If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow after Me."
In order to follow after Jesus, to be Christ-like, to be a representation and imitator of God, and to be who Jesus was and is as He walked on this earth will require a sacrifice of oneself. There is a need to discipline spiritually and mentally to set yourself apart to do what God has called you to do. All that your fleshly desires, worldly idols, false gods, selfish intentions, and ambitions are to be denied, or in other words, are to be removed and refused. Becasue if not, it can and will corrupt the will of God over your life and who He has truly created you to be.
Now let's look at the definition of deny (according to google);
Deny: refuses to give or grant (something requested or desired) to (someone).
Now that is not to say our basic needs are nonexistent becasue we need food, water, clothes, and shelter to survive. As human beings, those are the necessities to feel safe. Christ is showing us to deny that evil, filthy, sinful part of us in our humanity becasue, think about it, as humans, "we're not good, righteous, holy, sanctified, nor justified" We are only the following becasue of Jesus Christ Himself and what He has done on the cross. As Christians, we must understand that desire to commit sin, do wrong, or not follow after righteousness is a part of our humanity; that is the part we deny, are to refuse, and turn away from every moment. That desire to smoke, become drunk, have sex outside of marriage, lie, cheat, steal, watch pornography, whatever it may be that God has shown you that can pull you away from Him. We are to refuse, flee, and turn away from it all. I've sinned many times and still have times falling short, so this does not exclude me, either. But once we ask God to forgive us, we must be willing to do what is right by accepting God to show and indwell in us His Pure Desires, recognizing the Holy Spirit wants to lead us on what to read, watch, listen to, and fast from.
For me, one of the things that I had struggled with was lustful thoughts, but when I have them, I immediately put my mind in check by speaking the word of God or reminding myself that I am a new creation. Why becasue if I allow my mind/flesh to ponder and wonder about a thought, that can quickly turn into curiosity, possibly leading to sin if I don't get a handle on it. This is where I have to deny myself daily, pick up my cross (reading the word, seeking God, dwelling in His presence, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me) and follow after Christ—choosing God every day.
You see, we can't ignore that we are human. It's apparent and normal to have thoughts, feelings, and evil desires that are not of God, but we need to admit that to Him openly so He can guide us on how to walk with Christ continuously.
Lately, this has been the scripture of my life (Matthew 16: 24) becasue I can't help but realize there is a particular call on my life, and I know there is one for you as well. Whether you're a spouse, parent, employee, student, or whoever you are, as a child of God, we are on an assignment daily as we walk into the world, meaning we have to reapply ourselves every morning to choose God becasue every day is going to be different; whether it's based on personality, routine, emotion, etc., we must agree to the Holy Spirit into our minds, hearts, and spirits daily becasue in the end, all that we have persevered and endured for so long would reach meaning. It's all to bring Glory to God.
2023 is the year to prepare; if you still need to start, Now is the time to get it done. God has already moved on our behalf, even though we might not yet see it; it's time to discipline ourselves for whatever comes.
If you haven't already, look at my latest Blog Post, "Happy New Year," below for what is required for this year's challenge for yourself, and let's be who God has created us to be.
