Shameless Christianity
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26
"23 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. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.
Observations:
Jesus had many followers in His day. Multitudes of people came from everywhere to hear Him speak and to see Him perform miracles. While Jesus welcomed anyone that was willing to follow Him, it was not without expectation. Jesus conditioned for everyone the level of commitment required and the personal sacrifice necessary to be counted as one of His followers. He also pointed out the severe consequence that follow those who fail to "take up your cross daily", "hang on to your life", and are "ashamed of Me and My message"- (you will lose your life, your soul will be destroyed, and Christ will be ashamed of you).
Application:
Of course it's never God's will for us to experience the above consequences, but the only way to avoid those consequences is with "Shameless Christianity" that consistently puts into practice all three of Jesus' commands: 1. Deny yourself 2. Take up your cross every day 3. Become a Christ follower. Doing these things are the only hope we have of escaping the only other alternative- clinging to your life and being ashamed of Christ. Whether we realize it or not, these are our only two options in life. Either we are committed to ourselves or we are committed to following Christ, but we can't be both. According to Jesus we are either shamelessly following Him by denying ourselves or we're following ourselves and shamelessly denying Him. In everything we do, on a daily basis, the less we cater to our "selfish ways", the more likely we are to say no to ourselves and yes to Christ. Shameless Christianity is the only way to live. According to Jesus, anything else is a total and eternal loss.
Prayer:
Father, help us today to lay aside everything in our lives that we are holding on to that would keep us from following You totally and completely. We choose to die so that You might live through us. Put to death in us every attitude that would make us ashamed to be counted as a follower of Christ. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"23 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. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.
Observations:
Jesus had many followers in His day. Multitudes of people came from everywhere to hear Him speak and to see Him perform miracles. While Jesus welcomed anyone that was willing to follow Him, it was not without expectation. Jesus conditioned for everyone the level of commitment required and the personal sacrifice necessary to be counted as one of His followers. He also pointed out the severe consequence that follow those who fail to "take up your cross daily", "hang on to your life", and are "ashamed of Me and My message"- (you will lose your life, your soul will be destroyed, and Christ will be ashamed of you).
Application:
Of course it's never God's will for us to experience the above consequences, but the only way to avoid those consequences is with "Shameless Christianity" that consistently puts into practice all three of Jesus' commands: 1. Deny yourself 2. Take up your cross every day 3. Become a Christ follower. Doing these things are the only hope we have of escaping the only other alternative- clinging to your life and being ashamed of Christ. Whether we realize it or not, these are our only two options in life. Either we are committed to ourselves or we are committed to following Christ, but we can't be both. According to Jesus we are either shamelessly following Him by denying ourselves or we're following ourselves and shamelessly denying Him. In everything we do, on a daily basis, the less we cater to our "selfish ways", the more likely we are to say no to ourselves and yes to Christ. Shameless Christianity is the only way to live. According to Jesus, anything else is a total and eternal loss.
Prayer:
Father, help us today to lay aside everything in our lives that we are holding on to that would keep us from following You totally and completely. We choose to die so that You might live through us. Put to death in us every attitude that would make us ashamed to be counted as a follower of Christ. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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