Deny yourself
"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23
"Deny yourself? Now wait a minute, that's not what I signed up for when I became a Christian. I thought that every thing would be just peachy; fine and dandy, that Jesus would make every thing better and easier - that He would fix my every problem."
I regret to inform you that that is not the case.
What does "denying yourself" actually mean? Well, for one thing it doesn't mean "once you take this pill all your temptations and hardships will just vanish", it is foolish to even think that.
It frustrates me when Christians assume that as soon as they accept Christ as their savior, that all their issues will simply just go away. Yes, we are a new creation in Him ("Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away: behold all things are become new." - 2 Cor. 5:17) but our sinful nature still remains. We are all sinners. "For all have sinned..." Rom. 3:23a
Every last one of us has rebelled in one way or another.
And here's the kicker: we love to sin. It is our natural nature (because of being conceived and born into sin) that we rebel against God and His Law. However, there is One who will stand in place of our sins; Someone who will be the Go-Between and His name is Jesus Christ.
So, denying yourself.
ἀπαρνέομαι
aparneomai
ap-ar-neh'-om-ahee
From G575 and G720; to deny utterly, that is, disown, abstain: - deny.
What does it mean then? To deny yourseld?
It means picking up that cross and following Him to the grave. The grave. Jesus was loved, yes. But He was also hated. Will you follow Him then? Will you pick up your cross then and follow Him with the mockers yelling, the hateful jeers and hurtful taunting? Or is that not what you bartered for? You just wanted the easy way, right? The light cross and not the real heavy one? Well my friend, that's not the way it works (and I say this just as much to myself as I say it to you). It means dying to yourself. Daily. Witch is like really hard. But alas! The Lord gives strength to His people and He will walk us through it! Beloved, don't think that the path you are walking on is brand-new or that you're walking it alone, because you're not. A Great Man had to walk it first, carrying his cross to make ready the way for His children. Please take comfort in that.
"The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation." Psalm 118:14 (You can read about that memory verse here.)
So, have you denyed yourself today?
~Sarah
"Deny yourself? Now wait a minute, that's not what I signed up for when I became a Christian. I thought that every thing would be just peachy; fine and dandy, that Jesus would make every thing better and easier - that He would fix my every problem."
I regret to inform you that that is not the case.
What does "denying yourself" actually mean? Well, for one thing it doesn't mean "once you take this pill all your temptations and hardships will just vanish", it is foolish to even think that.
It frustrates me when Christians assume that as soon as they accept Christ as their savior, that all their issues will simply just go away. Yes, we are a new creation in Him ("Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away: behold all things are become new." - 2 Cor. 5:17) but our sinful nature still remains. We are all sinners. "For all have sinned..." Rom. 3:23a
Every last one of us has rebelled in one way or another.
And here's the kicker: we love to sin. It is our natural nature (because of being conceived and born into sin) that we rebel against God and His Law. However, there is One who will stand in place of our sins; Someone who will be the Go-Between and His name is Jesus Christ.
So, denying yourself.
ἀπαρνέομαι
aparneomai
ap-ar-neh'-om-ahee
From G575 and G720; to deny utterly, that is, disown, abstain: - deny.
"How can you say that following Jesus is hard?! If I love Him then it will be easy to follow Him." Not all the time, no. It's not always going to be easy. I love the Lord; I really do, and I can't fathom how He loves someone as dirty as me. But He does. But that doesn't mean that every day it's going to be an easy walk. Let me tell you that it is hard. Because I'm a sinner, because sin is in the way, I can't and won't have an easy life on earth. It's just not possible. No one is perfect and no one will ever be and it is and un-biblical to think that once I say yes to Jesus, that all my problems will drift away.
What does it mean then? To deny yourseld?
It means picking up that cross and following Him to the grave. The grave. Jesus was loved, yes. But He was also hated. Will you follow Him then? Will you pick up your cross then and follow Him with the mockers yelling, the hateful jeers and hurtful taunting? Or is that not what you bartered for? You just wanted the easy way, right? The light cross and not the real heavy one? Well my friend, that's not the way it works (and I say this just as much to myself as I say it to you). It means dying to yourself. Daily. Witch is like really hard. But alas! The Lord gives strength to His people and He will walk us through it! Beloved, don't think that the path you are walking on is brand-new or that you're walking it alone, because you're not. A Great Man had to walk it first, carrying his cross to make ready the way for His children. Please take comfort in that.
"The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation." Psalm 118:14 (You can read about that memory verse here.)
So, have you denyed yourself today?
~Sarah
Beautiful exhortation!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words Sarah, well written. Hope you are having a blessed day.
ReplyDelete