Daily Devotion 11/14/18

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

“It is just my cross to bear.” Have you heard someone say this before? Generally they mean they have some suffering or burden that they have to deal with on a daily basis. But that’s not what Jesus means here. When Jesus tell us to take up our cross, he means to take up the hardships of being a Christian. Suffer and endure the negative things in life that are caused from associating with Jesus. It is a cross when someone doesn’t talk to you anymore because you don’t support the way they are living. It is a cross when friends cut you out because of your faith in Jesus. It is a cross when your boyfriend breaks up with you because you won’t go “there” with him. The crosses of Christianity are hard because we all want to be liked. We all want to be loved. And yet, how great is it to know that even when people reject us, God loves us, forgives us, and accepts us because of Jesus. May we gladly carry our cross for Christ, never be ashamed of him, but be proud to be called Christian. Any cross you carry because of Christ is nothing compared to the glory that is waiting for you. What a day that will be!

Jesus, thank you for carrying your cross for me. Thank you for dying on it so that I am forgiven. Today, give me the strength to carry my own cross; not because I’m earning salvation but because you have won salvation for me. Amen.