Skip to main content

DENY yourself

Matthew 16:24&25
"24 Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it."

Peter tried to REBUKE Jesus after He shared GOD'S plan with His Disciples. Jesus was forceful in his reply to Peter. Peter's concerns for Jesus were expressed in the form of a temptation for our Messiah. The mere suggestion that could have the crown without the cross. Maybe He could be like the kings of the world and not have to follow the plan His Father in heaven has set for Him. How often do you and I see God's plan the same way Peter does? And, in our ignorance and out of our hubris we question GOD?

We need to HEAR Jesus's answer in today's verses; "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him DENY himself, and take up his CROSS, and FOLLOW Me. For whosoever will save his life shall LOSE it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall FIND it." We think we understand these verses and the meaning being we need to prevent ourselves from receiving pleasure or profit. This is NOT the meaning found in the original GREEK version. There we read a more explicit meaning where all our natural motives and impulses that come into conflict with the claims of Christ are denied. This self denial commanded here is patterned after the Son of God, in becoming man emptied Himself and came to walk among His creation and become a living sacrifice for all people of all time.

The good parts of these daily devotionals are inspired by the sermon at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg Texas. You can watch it by following this link... https://youtu.be/Q2QPLUQnaiM
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

broken

Luke 22:61 "And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice." The cock crowed. Peter had denied Jesus—three times. Peter, who had walked on water, confessed Jesus as Messiah, and opposed the cross (earning “Get behind Me, Satan”). That day was already crushing: the Last Supper, Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest. Peter drew his sword, then stood down. Following at a distance, he was recognized: “You were with Him.” “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Third denial. Earlier, Jesus warned Peter would deny Him thrice. Peter swore: “Even if all fall away, I never will. Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You.” (Matt 26:33–35; Mark 14:29–31; Luke 22:33–34; John 13:37–38) Now Jesus—beaten, bound—looks at Peter. Not with condemnation. With love. Peter breaks. He is not who he thought he was...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Bread of Life

John 6:33-35 "33 For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." We were studying GOD'S Covenant symbolized by the RAINBOW. It's a VERY important message to know that the Great Flood will NOT happen again. When we see the RAINBOW we want to remember this Covenant. We also want to remember our own Covenant with GOD and how the waters of Baptism washed us clean and gives us the promise of eternal life. This week we will study another Covenant from GOD; The Covenant of Holy Communion. Instituted by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In today's verses He gave us a deep insight into how important and connected this promise from GOD is; "For the BREAD of GOD is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the wo...
Post a Comment
Read more

I will make you

Matthew 4:19&20 "19 And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him." In our "Follow Me" series, we study Jesus calling His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew. By the Sea of Galilee, a thriving fishing hub, Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting nets as humble fishermen. His disciples were ordinary workers, not wealthy or educated elites. Jesus approached them and said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Remarkably, they immediately left their jobs to follow Him. This brief exchange conveys a profound truth: Jesus says, "I will make you." Only God can transform us to accomplish His purpose. We should often pray, "Help me, God," seeking Jesus' guidance to follow His plan for our lives.
Post a Comment
Read more