Nothing Without Jesus

“Then (Jesus) said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’”- Luke 9:23-24 ^NIV

                  Let’s look at Luke. Jesus is asking those who were following him to forsake all they know, which required “self-denial, complete dedication and willing obedience.” ^[1] “…we must align ourselves with God’s will through a humble renunciation of our own agenda.” ^[2]

To be a follower of Christ you must take on his character. You must put him on as a piece of clothing. People should see Christ in you. Just declaring you are a Christian will mean very little if you don’t back up your declaration with action. Now we are human and painfully so I might add. We stumble and fall and fail under the sheer weight of our own conscience as we strive to be perfect in the eyes of God. Our Lord never expected us to be perfect, for the only perfect individual is now seated at his right hand. Our perfection comes thru Christ, yet in actuality we will never be any of the things we’re striving to be. Having said that we must never stop trying for perfection. Those things we do in the name of Christ are tantamount to working out our salvation. We are to lose ourselves in favor of living for Christ. Paul once said, “For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.” ^{[Phil 1:21]} Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

[1] NIV Study Bible Notes, Fully Revised Edition

[2]  NIV Application Commentary