Daily Devotional - Discipleship - WK32 - 08/07/24 - Day 199 “Followers of Christ”

Author: Evang. Jamie Hoffman

“Followers of Christ” 
Scripture: “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. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭23-24‬ ‭KJV)‬‬


Devotional:
When Jesus called forth His disciples, He literally told them to drop everything they were doing in that moment and come and follow Him. He didn't give them a road map to where they would be going. He didn't tell them how long the journey would take. He did not hand them an itinerary of the events that would happen as they followed Him. He just said follow Him. Jesus is still asking us with blind faith to trust Him enough to follow Him.

Our scripture today lets us know that we have to lay down our lives and die daily to our own fleshly desires. That means that my will is submitted to God’s will. I am no longer in control of my life. God is the captain, and I’m just a willing vessel to be used by Him. There are three main points that I found from today’s scripture that are needed to be a disciple of Christ. They are: self-denial, sacrifice, and surrender. Jesus said that a man has to deny himself if He wishes to follow Him. People led by their own selfish desires, pride, and hidden agendas don’t make for good disciples.  Next, Jesus said that those following Him have to take up their cross daily. That means that just as Jesus sacrificed His life for us, we would need to sacrifice and give up some things for Him. We also have to endure the trials and tribulations that life brings our way just as Jesus endured the cross for our sake. The final one is complete surrender. Jesus let them know that if you try to save your own life you would lose it, but if you totally surrender your life to Him, you would save it. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine trying to live this life without Jesus. My daily desire is that He continues to lead and guide me so that He can get the glory from my life.

Prayer:
Thank You, Lord, for loving me. Help me to surrender all to You so that You can get the glory from my life. Amen.