“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.†- Jesus, Matthew 16:24
What do you understand about this verse? How do you see it in action in your life? Post your comments by signing up (you need to register if you haven’t already).
March 26th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
If I want to know and answer God’s call, there is only one way: to renounce to my plans and my self ambitions and allow him to do his work in my life. To deal with my pride, my character, my weaknesses. And then I will know more and more His plan for my life and I will be able more and more by His grace to enter in it.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:40 am
You guys have a great blog going here! I am using it as inspiration for the blog I am currently working on for my high school.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Hello everyone,
I believe that Christian life isn’t only a belief in One God. We are saved by His Grace, we don’t seek Him and we haven’t merit eternal life. It’s only by His Grace.
But now, Jesus wants more of you. He wants your life as He gave His life for you. Jesus has a wonderful plan for you, and this plan is: “to become like Him”.
The only way is the Gospel of the cross: To deny ourself and to surrender our life in the hands of the living God.
The first part belongs to God: we receive the faith to believe in Jesus by His Grace.
But the second part belongs to us: Accept to die for Him and to deny our rights.
To conclude, it’s wonderful to be called by God and to be in the plan of the Lord.
Bye bye
Fab
March 27th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Hello Victoria,
you can find great templates on http://themes.wordpress.net/
also I would recommande you those of Andreas Viklund. They are very well coded, so easy to customize: http://andreasviklund.com/wordpress-themes/
Thanks for your interest. Let us know you website address when it will be launched.
Bless you,
Oliver
March 28th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hi guys
It’s a great joy to be in the Lord’s plan, and to experience His rest. It’s true that we are only free when we are in His plan, but it’s easy to forget how quickly we can try to fit our lives into His plan. I’ve been reminded recently that we can only build on the true foundation of Jesus. For me to deny myself, and take up my cross is to leave my old life behind me, and to trust Jesus who is the only power to change me to be of use in His kingdom.
Within the plan of God there is no room for our personal ambitions. He has far greater plans than we can think of but they won’t be what we’d naturally seek for. The gate is narrow into the kingdom of God and the road is the same,we cannot deny ourselves, take our cross and follow our dreams… brushing aside anything that comes to challenge and mould us. As Christians I think it’s very important to know that if we entered through the narrow gate, that doesn’t exempt us from a wide road of destruction. I used to think I could play with the things of the world, putting faith in my own restraint, and judging Christians who avoided such situations, thinking they just had no self control. I claimed to be a Christian but my goals and ambitions were just like everyone else in the world. To me God’s kingdom was up to the preachers to build….one day a week! I never knew I was deceived and living in a world of pride and works, where Jesus did not me.
Praise God for His amazing grace that could humble me and reveal that it’s only when I take my cross, decreasing in myself, that I can know and experience His life. It’s only when our focus is for His kingdom, and not ourselves, that we can live a full life in His plan
March 30th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Jesus regularly repeated the need for His disciples to deny themselves in order to follow Him. It’s the foundation of the Christian life- we cannot walk with the Lord if we are holding onto our own lives.
I was saved for 8 years without truly understanding this. I think I understood it with my mind, but my heart was not willing to let go. Somehow, by the grace of God, I was allowed to have fellowship with people who were living the gospel. When I saw that it was possible to take this road and follow Jesus, I was convicted of my sinful life, and I repented and turned to the Lord.
Since then God has slowly been guiding me and giving me the grace to give up my own life. I know that unless I turn my back on my life and my own will every day, I cannot be a true disciple. I cannot say that I am there yet, but I have seen the gospel at work in my life and the lives of other brothers and sisters, and I believe that the Lord will finish the work that He has begun in all of us.
So, if you are faced with a choice today (this is as much for me as anyone else), I urge you to choose to deny yourself and throw yourself at Jesus’ mercy. I have learned that He never lets us down when we take this step. It is the only way that we can serve Him in freedom.
May the Lord’s grace be with you
Marc
March 31st, 2008 at 11:56 am
This scripture speaks to my heart with regard to the choices that Jesus always gave his disciples and extends to each one of us today.
Every day we have the choice to decide to follow Jesus or to follow our own road! Following Jesus is not attending meetings but the choice to say no to myself each time i feel like doing something i really love but which i can feel the spirit testifying to me that this is not for you anymore!
For instance, as youth we all feel attracted to the world in one way or another. for some of us it is fahion, for others it is music and so on… Dying to myself is deciding to buy that dress rather than that one cause i want to be an example to other youth. i want to align myself to what the voice of the spirit is showing me right there and then. its not at all what i would have bought before knowing Christ!
But because i want Christ to grow in me, its him i want to follow and not myself. i need to diminish daily and for that to become real, i need to set aside my desires each time the opportunity presents itself until im completely free! i.e. the desires do not surface anymore!
March 31st, 2008 at 3:00 pm
This scripture is like the base of our Christian walk!
It’s true what all the above posts have said! Can’t add to much more, as they are spot on!!!
But it’s our everyday choice to say “NO” to our fleshly desires, in those times of temptations, when our attitiudes rise up etc. Dying to oneself can even be when you are right in a sitiuation….. that’s a toughie!!!And when we say NO to our desires, our flesh etc. that’s when God gives us the grace to pick up that cross and have that faith to follow Him. It all starts by denying ourselves!!!
April 8th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Hey Marc, good comment as always. You mention ‘living the gospel’ what do you think of the following statement:
“There is not a single biblical verse that calls us to ‘live the gospel.’ By definition, the gospel is not something that we can live. It is only something we can hear and receive. It is good news, not good advice.†Michael S. Horton [Modern Reformation, September/October, 2007]
Lee
April 9th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Hi Lee,
Thanks for your comment. However Jesus taught that the gospel is definetily more than something you just hear and receive.
Here are a few scriptures which speak about doing the word of Jesus.
This is in fact one of the biggest problem of the church today. People know everything but it is not real in them. They’ve got the good words and the good langage but it’s not real in their everyday life. The Gospel is a lifestyle. You hear it, receive it and then live it!
Matt 7:24-27
James 1:22-25
April 13th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I’m sure Michael S. Horton is aware that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God to salvation (Romans 1:16). Our salvation is a life-long process (Philippians 2:12), and that work is accomplished through the gospel. There is no other way. So if it’s not the gospel that we are living, what are we living?