Luke 9:23
Rebecca Lightfoot
IF! IF,we r to be true seekers of Christ,we will be denying our sinful passions&desires everyday AND seeking to know&follow Him every day!If we r continually “hit&miss” in our seeking Christ and following Christ..then we will find ourselves frustrated and empty,and with no joy&no eternal purpose, instead of knowing the peace/joy and fulfillment that Christ lived/suffered/died/rose/ascended for us to have!At the core of our lives we have foundational NEEDS,that every human is born with! These r only fulfilled through the Author&Creator of all life!Satan knows this,oh so well!Satan will leverage every tactic in his arsenal to move us further and further away from God’s Truths & Promises that God only knows and desires for our lives - peace/joy/hope/purpose/fulfillment in the midst of our daily life and it’s struggles.IF I am drifting from these promises,then my sincerity in denying/turning from my ways,& seeking to know and follow HIS WAYS is not the “daily” occurrence that Jesus is telling me I NEED...for my own good!Sure,I may be “having my quiet time”...,BUT IF I am not committed to earnestly seeking to know what God wants to talk w me about through His Word...,then I am “halfhearted” & not “all in”.Jesus words in these verses are communicating the significance of an “all in” life!This “all in” is only “all in” IF we r also committed to assimilating what God talks with us about into our lives,and we FOLLOW Christ!We must turn from our own ideas/desires and seek to know God’s Thoughts/Ways for us.& then we must commit to making God’s Thoughts&Ways our thoughts&ways for the day....every day!A less than every day commitment will more quickly expose our hearts/lives/minds to the selfish thoughts&ways that Satan will tempt us with...&ultimately a drift away from The Lord occurs n our life.A drift so slow, that just like a frog placed n a comfortable pot of water will not realize the slow coming threat of boil as his environment is slowly “drifted away” from a healthy environment to one that kills him as the heat is slowly turned on & up.This is what Satan is always strategizing for our lives!This is also why n Luke9:23 Jesus is saying.”If anyone would come after me,let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.For whoever would save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”Jesus tells us this for our own good!HE is not being selfish nor demanding! HIS love for us is compelling HIM to be direct with us about this LIFE TRUTH!Dear Lord Jesus,thank you for being direct and not mincing words n these verses of Luke! I have a natural tendency to drift,that you warn me of.Please heighten my awareness of this drift n my life,and lead me&help me to b deliberate n seeking to know You/Your Ways/Your Thoughts every day and throughout every day!And by Your Spirit lead me and guide me and empower me to walk and live as You lead...so I have an “all in” life.