Matthew 16:24 - Transformation and Really Living!
Matthew 16:24 - Transformation and Really Living!
Matthew 16:24 (NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.
Matthew 16:24 (NIV) Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If
anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross
and follow me.
Matthew 16:24 (EAV) Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone
desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight
of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross
and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My
example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].
Matthew 16:24 (TLB) Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If
anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him deny himself and take up
his cross and follow me.
About Discipleship (21-28). In his misguided attempt to keep
Jesus from suffering and dying, Peter the stone became Peter the
stumbling block. Confessing Christ must lead to following Christ. The
world encourages you to pamper yourself, but the Lord calls you to
deny yourself. The only way to live is to die to self and follow
Christ by faith. [Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren
Wiersbe]
George MacDonald sounds as tough as a medieval monk when he
writes about denying ourselves: "We must refuse, abandon, and deny self
altogether as a ruling, determining, or originating element in us. We are
no more to think, 'What should I like to do?' but 'What would the
Living One have me do?'"
He adds, "The self will be cunning and deceitful until it is
thoroughly and utterly denied."
Although severe about denying ourselves and emptying our
wills, MacDonald communicates grand enthusiasm at the results. He
describes our drawing fresh life from God by our "uplooking will" and says
that when we deny ourselves, we're receiving God's will and can shove
aside our anxieties and fears: "The life of the Father will be the joy
of the child."
When we deny ourselves so we can see through God's eyes and
think his thoughts--when we feel his deep concerns and his
compassions--we find purpose and guidance even in grim times. We follow the
Father's guidance in the same way that Jesus followed his Father all the
way to his heavenly home. The will of God becomes the driving force
and zest of our lives--and ultimately the source of our joy.
When we take on the yoke that Jesus invites us to bear, we
carry the same yoke as he bore in fulfilling the will of the Father.
"With the Garden of Gethsemane before him," MacDonald says of
Jesus, "with the hour and the power of darkness waiting for him, he
declares his yoke easy, his burden light [see Matthew 11:30]. He first
denies himself, and takes up his cross--then tells us to do the same."
His burden is only light as we shoulder it in his
strength--and with his determination to follow his Father without
reservation.
Father in heaven, help me to bring my will and my self to you
and to trade them in for your dynamic will and purpose. Help me to
follow you now more fully than ever before and to be an instrument of
your peace. [The One Year Book of Encouragement by Harold Myra]
Principle Never Changes. So it will be with all who will live
godly in Christ Jesus. Persecution and reproach await all who are
imbued with the Spirit of Christ. The character of the persecution
changes with the times, but the principle--the spirit that underlies
it--is the same that has slain the chosen of the Lord ever since the
days of Abel. {AA 576.2} [Remnant SOP SB re 2 Tim. 3:12]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
A Better Way to Live: http://www.itiswritten.com/betterway/
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Grace Notes: http://www.e-gracenotes.org/index.php
Excellent Spiritual Resource Site:
http://www.christianlifemediacenter.com/
More Spiritual Resources: http://www.aBible.com
