Rachel Workman: 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
If
we want to be a disciple we must deny ourselves. In other words we must say no
to sin. You really need to look at the word disciple and what it really means.
Anyone who wants to follow Christ and spread the word about Christ is a
disciple. If we choose to spread the word about Christ then we need to be
diligent in denying ourselves. A seasoned Christian might look at another
Christian and give them grace for being human and making a mistake. A new
Christian is another story all together. They might look at a disciple with disgust
and feel everyone who claims to be a Christian is a hypocrite and you've done
more damage than good. We need to be aware that we are being judged more
strictly as a follower of Christ. Maybe your actions are not that big of a deal
and not even a sin but to the non-believer they appear to be. We need to be
extra careful when we claim the name of Christ.
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Pat Bell 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around
Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They
replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one
of the prophets.”
29 “But
what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter had the holy spirit in his heart and could see who Jesus
was. It scares me to think of all the false prophets. Could I be fooled? I am
always comforted when I read this, it tells me he would speak to my heart.
Peter
answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus
warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 He
then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that
he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke
plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But
when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind
me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely
human concerns.”
It is hard to look past our humanly concerns to try and stay
focused on the concerns of God. Lord help me to follow the right path.
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John Burnett:
34 Then
he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever
wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me. 35 For
whoever wants to save their life[a] will
lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save
it. 36 What
good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in
exchange for their soul? 38 If
anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s
glory with the holy angels.” Denying oneself is realizing that
you can do no good on your own apart from God. Giving up your life can
mean two things. First, to physically give up your life for the sake of
the gospel like the disciples did will save your life. Second, one who
gives up trying to be good and totally surrenders his or her life to the point
of realizing the only way to be saved is through Jesus Christ and living life
based on His Word will save your life. Verse 38 used to be scary for me
but as I continue to grow in Christ, it is actually uplifting to defend my
Savior.
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Allen Michaels: 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross
and follow me. Death on a cross was a form of
execution used by Rome for dangerous criminals. A prisoner carried his own
cross to the place of execution, signifying submission to Rome’s power. Jesus
used the image of carrying a cross to illustrate the ultimate submission required
of his followers. He is not against pleasure, nor was he saying we should seek
pain needlessly. Jesus was talking about the heroic effort needed to follow him
moment by moment, to do his will even when the work is difficult and the future
looks bleak. 35 For whoever wants to save their life
will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save
it. We should be willing to lose our lives for the
sake of the gospel, not because our lives are useless but because nothing—not
even life itself—can compare to what we gain with Christ. Jesus wants us to choose
to follow him rather than to lead a life of sin and self-satisfaction. He wants
us to stop trying to control our own destiny and to let him direct us. This is
perfectly logical because as the Creator, Christ knows better than we do what
real life is about. He asks for submission, not self-hatred; he asks us only to
lose our self-centered determination to be in charge. 36 What
good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or
what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? We
spend all our energy seeking pleasure. Jesus said, however, that a world of
pleasure centered on possessions, position, or power is ultimately worthless.
Whatever we have on earth is only temporary; it cannot be exchanged for our
soul. If we work hard at getting what we want, we might eventually have a
“pleasurable” life, but in the end we will find it hollow and empty. Are we willing
to make the pursuit of God more important than the selfish pursuit of pleasure?
We must always follow Jesus, and we will know what it means to have eternal
life as well. 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my
words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed
of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Here Jesus gives us a choice. We can reject him now and be
rejected by him at his second coming, or we can accept him now and be accepted
by him then. Rejecting Christ may help us escape shame and help justify our
actions for the time being, but it will guarantee an eternity of shame later.
We only have two choices; we can accept Christ and live 100% (including
weekends) for him, or we don’t. We won’t get to heaven by being a 90%
Christian. We cannot serve both Christ and Satan simultaneously. There’s just
no room in the middle.
"Lord Jesus Christ, I want to follow you as your
disciple. I gladly offer all that I have to you. Take and use my life as a
pleasing sacrifice of praise to your glory."
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Tomorrow's reading for Mark 9-1:7
9 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are
standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has
come with power.”
2 After six days Jesus took Peter,
James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all
alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than
anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses,
who were talking with Jesus.5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
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