The Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 15:31 (AMP) “…I die daily (I face death every day and die to self.)”
Our Lord Jesus said in Luke 9:23 (NIV), “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Are you shouldering your personal cross? If not, I urge you to pick it up and carry it daily, nail your stubborn will and selfish desires to the cross and let them die. Only then will you be able to experience a truly resurrected life.
Jesus said in Luke 14:27 (NIV), “Anyone who does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
For unbelievers the message of dying to self seems incomprehensible, unthinkable, or absurd. Bottom line, it doesn’t make any sense intellectually to them, so they won’t accept it. Unfortunately, many within the body of Christ find it incomprehensible as well.
Some see dying to self as a weakness. They say you need to be strong, you need to pick yourself up and get going, God helps those who help themselves. Many believe that weakness is a problem, that weakness is a sin. Well, if we think of our weaknesses as a sin, then Jesus was the greatest sinner who ever lived because Jesus said, “Of myself, I can do nothing…” (John 5:30 NIV) And then the man who could do nothing by the glory of God does everything.
He walks on water He stills the storm
He feeds the multitudes He heals the sick
He cures the lepers He makes the blind see
The man who said he could do nothing, went ahead and did everything. God does much with little, most with least, and everything with nothing.
Many will say “Pray to God to help you with your weaknesses.” But I say, “No, praise God for your weaknesses.”
Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:9, 10 NIV)
LIFE LESSON: In the same way that Jesus had to die and be raised, so we, too, must die to self, pick up our cross daily, and follow Him in order to be raised to the new life of Christ within. Now that is DYING TO SELF WITH PURPOSE.
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