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In Luke 9:23 Jesus was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
Owe, that sounds pretty un-graceful, doesn’t it? Discouraging? Well, Jesus was speaking to a people still under the Old Covenant with its demands in the flesh. At Calvary, thanks to Jesus giving up His life for us, the New Covenant came into being. From works to be performed, to promises (by God) to be believed. The difference is like night and day for us, my friend.
So, with New Covenant glasses, let’s look at this verse again. Can you hear Jesus admonishing us to say “no” to trusting in ourselves, admonishing us to remember we have died with Him, and have been crucified with Him? That’s Galatians 2:20. And admonishing us to daily place our trust in Him, following the leading of the Spirit? Daily the flesh, our flesh, will try to rise up or be tempted to rise up and take charge with its lusts, desires, or fears and anxieties. Or the lazies. So ‘daily’ is a good word when we think of placing our trust in Jesus; having faith toward God.
The Bible tells us Jesus’ cross in a very real sense became our cross, that’s Galatians 2:20 again, yet many of us Christians don’t realize it. Instead, we keep trying to die to self, not realizing we have already died with Christ and have risen with Him. Who says so? God says so!
As Paul Ellis of Escape to Reality says, “Contrary to what is sometimes taught, denying self does not mean denying your needs, appetites and desires. Abstaining from food, Facebook, or fun will not make anyone righteous and holy. The ancient message of self-denial is nothing more than asceticism dressed up in religious jargon. And that my friend, is a message that promotes self-righteousness and DIY religion.”
Say you hear a message that says you need to fast and pray to become spiritually mature. To hear God better. So you decide to fast and pray. Immediately you are no longer walking by the Spirit, no longer trusting in the finished work of the Cross. You are trusting in your own fasting and praying to make you mature, more sensitive to God. Where does the Lord fit in this picture? He doesn’t, and that’s the problem. It is dead religion, and it is a faithless way to live.
Today my dear friends, choose to see yourself crucified with Christ, risen with Him in Holy Spirit power and anointing, free from condemnation. Choose to walk by the Spirit — and COME ALIVE!
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