And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
(Luke 9:23)
Another piece of chocolate cake, a second glance at that pretty girl, buying that new car I can’t afford, harboring anger toward a friend, skipping that workout, or super gluing my friends shoes to the floor – all things I ought to say "no" to. Winning those little battles in our heads is essential to following Christ. But a life of "no’s" would be a miserable existence at best. Jesus gives us ample opportunity to say "yes" – yes to following His ways, yes to loving others, yes to serving the less fortunate, yes to helping another follow Him, yes to accepting the love He has for us, yes to forgiveness and mercy. That is the abundant life. Jesus has far better plans for our lives than we do. But we need to practice the art of saying "no" to the flesh, world, and our spiritual enemy – and "yes" to Him.
(Luke 9:23)
Another piece of chocolate cake, a second glance at that pretty girl, buying that new car I can’t afford, harboring anger toward a friend, skipping that workout, or super gluing my friends shoes to the floor – all things I ought to say "no" to. Winning those little battles in our heads is essential to following Christ. But a life of "no’s" would be a miserable existence at best. Jesus gives us ample opportunity to say "yes" – yes to following His ways, yes to loving others, yes to serving the less fortunate, yes to helping another follow Him, yes to accepting the love He has for us, yes to forgiveness and mercy. That is the abundant life. Jesus has far better plans for our lives than we do. But we need to practice the art of saying "no" to the flesh, world, and our spiritual enemy – and "yes" to Him.
