repent
Deny yourself. Take up your cross daily. Follow Me. – Jesus

Here we hear a command from Jesus to those who would come after Him (Luke 9:23; Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34). Jesus equates obedience to His commands as the same as loving Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3). So if we love Jesus, we obey Jesus.

If you profess to love Jesus, today, by the power of the Spirit, you must:

1. Deny Yourself

To deny self is to decide to feel, think, and act against my own will, my own way, my flesh. It is to oppose any part of me that is not submitted to (filled with) the Holy Spirit.

2. Take Up Your Cross

To take up my cross daily takes it one step past denying self. It is to die to self. It is to be waging war against all that is in me that is not submissive to Christ and His Word. It is mortification – to be killing sin or it will be killing me.

3. Follow Christ

This is to walk as He has instructed me to walk. It is to walk worthy of His calling. To go where He wants me to go and do what He wants me to do and think what He wants me to think. This is a willful act of submission and surrender and obedience to Christ as Lord. It is not making Him Lord – He is Lord!

These things are actually nothing short of daily repentance. Daily turning from self and sin to the Savior. And this is His command for us every day. Every good day. Every bad day. Every day we sin. Every day we are sinned against. Every day we experience the victory. Every day we fall and fail in defeat. Every single day.

Do not let your circumstances, the way others treat you, your doubts and fears, or even your confusion push you back into the embrace of selfish ways and flesh driven thoughts.Too many allow setbacks, sins, and suffering to be used as an excuse for dropping out of the battle or retreating from the enemy. Press on. Run the race. Endure. Wage war. Do whatever it takes to be an obedient servant of Jesus Christ.

For all He has given for us, may we never give any less for Him.