Luke 9:23 - HOW TO FOLLOW JESUS.
Luke 9:23 (NLT) Then he said to the crowd,
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must
turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross
daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:23 (NCV) Jesus said to all of them,
If people want to follow me, they must give up
the things they want. They must be willing to
give up their lives daily to follow me."
COMMENTARY PEARL
The gospel of Jesus is simple, but that
doesn't mean it's easy. As Luke records, Jesus said
we must be willing to give up our lives daily
to follow Him. There's no other plan. No
step-by-step directions to follow, no self-help book, no
stairway to heaven. It's just the dying, the grave,
and the rising. Day after day after day.
Once when I was grousing about something
that annoyed me, my mentor Roy said, "It's just
another thing to die to." We laughed but then talked
seriously about how that's really the attitude faith
in Jesus requires. Once I started using Roy's
mantra, I found myself saying it several times a
day. Turns out there are plenty of opportunities.
Everywhere we look there's another thing to die to:
another hurt or frustration, another door in the
face, another bout of anger or pride, another pang
of jealousy. All things must be put to death in
me that Christ may live.
The beautiful irony is that it's in those
very deaths that life is found. It's where true
power lies - true joy. Because the same God who
brought Jesus out of the grave reaches down into the
tombs where I reside and delivers me from the
clutches of my own darkness and fear, my own bad
choices, my own laziness, prejudice, and pain. Each
time I am buried with Christ, He raises me to
walk in resurrected life. Old things have passed
away; He is doing something new! by Gwen Ford
Faulkenberry
Faith Step: When faced with moments in
which you must surrender your will today, say it
with me: Just another thing to die to." Then
wait for the rising. [Mornings With Jesus 2021
Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan]
COMMENTARY
God has given us the power of choice; it
is ours to exercise. We cannot change our
hearts, we cannot control our thoughts, our
impulses, our affections. We cannot make ourselves
pure, fit for Gods service. But we can choose
to serve God, we can give Him our will; then He
will work in us to will and to do according to
His good pleasure. Thus our whole nature will be
brought under the control of Christ.
Through the right exercise of the will,
an entire change may be made in the life. By
yielding up the will to Christ, we ally ourselves
with divine power. We receive strength from above
to hold us steadfast. A pure and noble life, a
life of victory over appetite and lust, is
possible to everyone who will unite his weak,
wavering human will to the omnipotent, unwavering
will of God. MH176, 177
You need to drink daily at the fountain of
truth, that you may understand the secret of
pleasure and joy in the Lord. But you must remember
that your will is the spring of all your actions.
This will, that forms so important a factor in
the character of man, was at the Fall given into
the control of Satan; and he has ever since been
working in man to will and to do of his own
pleasure, but to the utter ruin and misery of man. But
the infinite sacrifice of God in giving Jesus,
His beloved Son, to become a sacrifice for sin,
enables Him to say, without violating one principle
of His government: Yield yourself up to Me;
give Me that will; take it from the control of
Satan, and I will take possession of it; then I can
work in you to will and to do of My good
pleasure. When He gives you the mind of Christ, your
will becomes as His will, and your character is
transformed to be like Christs character. Is it your
purpose to do Gods will? Do you wish to obey the
Scriptures? If any man will come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
Me. 5T515
CLOSING THOUGHT
Sanctification is not the work of a moment,
an hour, a day, but of a lifetime. It is not
gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the
result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly
living for Christ ... So long as Satan reigns, we
shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to
overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no
stopping place, no point which we can reach and say,
I have fully attained. AA560,1
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
Luke 9:23 - How To Follow Jesus.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190821-1039.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.revelationnow.com/
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio:
https://bible.awr.org/en/the-signs/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
