"If anyone will be My disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."
We are redeemed to be disciples. And the first step of discipleship is denying ourselves. It is more than self-denial. Self-denial is the process by which we decide which things we will give up to follow Him. To "deny himself," a disciple must give up his entire life to be used when, where, and how Jesus desires--to give up total control of his will to His will. "All to Jesus, I surr...ender, all to Him I freely give." Too often, I find myself willing to give some of life, some of my hopes, dreams, and aspiriations to Him, but tightly hold on to others. Those things I hold on to are, of course, idols I have erected in my heart--which is His temple. And they may be more than tangible things--like, for me, The Acres. They may be my perceived need for the applause of men or for positive responses to the grace and love that I show to others. Those--and other similar "things"--are self-centered ambitions. It's not that I want to lose The Acres, or have my grace-giving taken advantage of, but I must embrace God's will in all things. Yes, my prayers, petitions, and requests should be an honest reflection of my heart's desire; "this is my wish, Lord." And sometimes my honest request in situations has been "Do anything but this, Lord." But when His answer is. "no, this is what is necessary for you to become more and more like me, to reflect my nature to the world," then I must be willing to surrender to His will. To not surrender to His will in all things means that my ability to bear my cross in those situations is imperiled. The joy that strengthened Him to endure the cross will illude me. The grace that prayes, "Father forgive them," will die in my heart. The resurrection power that is essential to following Him as a faithful disciple will be short-circuited. And is there any life more miserable than trying to live the life of Christ in the power of my own flesh. And such a disciple, sadly, tragically, lashes out at those in his or her life that they have been called to love. May He enable me to close all my times of honest prayers with the simple cry, "all to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all to Thee. Not my will--ever--but Thy will be done--always, on earh as it is in Heaven. Above all else, Jesus, I desire to be more like You this day then I was tomorrow--regardless of the circumstances and people you are using to give me a heart like Your heart."
We are redeemed to be disciples. And the first step of discipleship is denying ourselves. It is more than self-denial. Self-denial is the process by which we decide which things we will give up to follow Him. To "deny himself," a disciple must give up his entire life to be used when, where, and how Jesus desires--to give up total control of his will to His will. "All to Jesus, I surr...ender, all to Him I freely give." Too often, I find myself willing to give some of life, some of my hopes, dreams, and aspiriations to Him, but tightly hold on to others. Those things I hold on to are, of course, idols I have erected in my heart--which is His temple. And they may be more than tangible things--like, for me, The Acres. They may be my perceived need for the applause of men or for positive responses to the grace and love that I show to others. Those--and other similar "things"--are self-centered ambitions. It's not that I want to lose The Acres, or have my grace-giving taken advantage of, but I must embrace God's will in all things. Yes, my prayers, petitions, and requests should be an honest reflection of my heart's desire; "this is my wish, Lord." And sometimes my honest request in situations has been "Do anything but this, Lord." But when His answer is. "no, this is what is necessary for you to become more and more like me, to reflect my nature to the world," then I must be willing to surrender to His will. To not surrender to His will in all things means that my ability to bear my cross in those situations is imperiled. The joy that strengthened Him to endure the cross will illude me. The grace that prayes, "Father forgive them," will die in my heart. The resurrection power that is essential to following Him as a faithful disciple will be short-circuited. And is there any life more miserable than trying to live the life of Christ in the power of my own flesh. And such a disciple, sadly, tragically, lashes out at those in his or her life that they have been called to love. May He enable me to close all my times of honest prayers with the simple cry, "all to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all to Thee. Not my will--ever--but Thy will be done--always, on earh as it is in Heaven. Above all else, Jesus, I desire to be more like You this day then I was tomorrow--regardless of the circumstances and people you are using to give me a heart like Your heart."
"If anyone will be My disciple, let him deny himself . . .
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