Luke 9:23: "If any [wo]man would come after me, let [her] deny [herself], take up [her] cross and follow me daily.
There are three facets to this scripture to which I must pay attention each and every day if I want to stay Christ-centered and God-focused.
1. The Cost - Deny Myself
I eventually realized that the psyche, the total self, has to be involved in this process of; all of me, the mind/will/emotions, have to let go of the controls.
The Mind (seat of reasoning & intellect) must say "I surrender."
The Emotions (my visceral reactions/responses) must say "I will not interfere."
The Will (conscious decisions/choices) must say "Let's do it!"
The declaration Jesus made was not an invitation to First Ladyship but rather an invitation to discipleship. Wherever we are, we are expected to be His disciples. This is an internal discipline that manifests itself in an external behavior. The internal state is one of being totally submissive to the will of God which is reflected in my every day behavior.
The Cost is all about Self-denial which is the same as self-sacrifice. Sacrifice is never about giving up that which I do not like. Sacrifice and Denial requires that I turn away from doing those things I want to do, the things I like to do, to relinquish control of me to Jesus. I will not lead anyone to believe that to do this is easy; it is not; in fact, it is a real challenge to let go of those things and all that stuff that makes me feel sooooooo good, but I cannot and will not consistently follow Jesus when I'm weighed down by all those wants and desires. I have to let all of it go and trust Jesus to supply my every need. Besides haven't I read somewhere that if I delight myself in Him, He will give me the desires of my heart?
Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Romans 12:1,2 - I beseech ye, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed (molded/shaped) to this world; but be ye transformed (changed) by the renewing of your mind (John 17:17), that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God.
Can you hear the old hymn: "What shall I render for all His mercies? What shall I render, tell me what shall I give?" What, indeed?
Just a thought: If Jesus died for me, why can't I live for Him?
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