Tag Archive | denial

Portrait 3, Take Up Your Cross

Jan12

And He (Jesus) 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. For whoever wishes to save his life (soul) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (soul) for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
Luke 9:23‭-‬24¹/Matthew 16:24-25²/Mark 8:34-35³ NASB

To deny “self” is to allow Christ living in us to have full reign of our lives. Surrendering our life to Christ who took on our sin so we could walk in Him free from the burden of sin and eternal Hell.

And taking up our cross is not a burden to carry alone.

Simon of Cyrene carried the cross of Jesus. As we carry our cross we have Jesus to help us to deny self for His purpose. For His glory.

🌹Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:27 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/luk.14.27.NASB1995

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Matthew 10:38 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.10.38.NASB1995

Are you carrying the cross of self denial?

Portrait #1 Christ in You
Portrait #2 Walk in Him
Portrait #3 Take Up Your Cross-Self Denial

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

¹ https://bible.com/bible/100/luk.9.23-24.NASB1995

² https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.16.24-25.NASB1995

³ https://bible.com/bible/100/mrk.8.34-35.NASB1995

Compromise

Oct17

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, . . .
Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”
Daniel‬ ‭3:1, 4-‬6‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/dan.3.1.NASB1995

What are you willing to compromise in your walk in Christ Jesus?

🌹If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.
Ecclesiastes 10:4 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/ecc.10.4.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Silent Christian

Jan12

“And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Luke 12:8‭-‬9 NASB

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:26 NASB

Would you consider “being quiet” about your relationship with Jesus a denial or being ashamed of Him? God truly knows our heart. If Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to us why wouldn’t we want to tell everyone we know or see about Him?

🌹Will Jesus confess you before the angels of God?

Continually Seeking Him, 


Sharon 

Seek and Confess

Apr7

and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.
2 Chronicles 15:2 NASB

“Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 

But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 10:32‭-‬33 NASB

And blessed is any person who does not take offense at Me.”
Matthew 11:6 NASB

🌹How much is God a part of your life? Does He have all your being? Hope is found in  seeking God continually. When walking with Him continually you experience Him and can’t help but confess Him before others.

Continually Seeking Him

Sharon

Denial

Oct30

Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.      John 13:38 NASB1995

Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too. Matthew 26:35 NASB

Haven’t we all been there? We are gung-ho in His presence or when amongst other brothers and sisters. But what happens when we are alone, confronted with the truth? Whether through the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the word of God or out in the world amongst aggressive unbelievers.

Christian brothers and sisters, we have been silent too long. We have been passive when confronted with our faith. It is time to stand for Truth. Jesus is the Truth.

Will you deny Him when confronted with your faith? Now is the time to ask yourself and to prepare for persecution of your belief.

🌹 Is God deeply abiding in you? Are you experiencing Him daily? Without the Holy Spirit abiding in you there will be no standing strong. Surrender now to His will. No more denying.

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:32‭-‬33 NASB

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Faithful Follower

Sep22

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. — Mark 8:34 (Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23)

The gospel leads to discipleship (Acts 14:21). If we are saved by accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ we are to be disciples of Christ. Being a disciple is being a follower of Jesus. A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example (Matt. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69)*.

I was reminded yesterday of the cost of discipleship and convicted as to my level of commitment to follow Jesus. Are we taking our salvation seriously? If we are then we will heed the words of Christ when He said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, He must deny Himself.” So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. — Luke 1:33 Nothing can be more important than following and doing the will of God. If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. — Luke 14:26

Christ has set the standard for being a disciple (follower) of His. We must deny ourselves, all of our desires, plans, will, possessions, etc. and take up our cross and follow Him. Jesus says, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38)

Discipleship is a serious matter that needs our immediate and faithful attention. My words cannot express how important an issue this is for all of us who call ourselves Christians. Jesus’ words express the importance and it is not to be taken lightly. I hope you take the time to examine your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ to assess your level of discipleship. Is Jesus everything to you? Is He the first thought on your mind when you rise in the morning and the last thought as you close your eyes at night? Is He the reason you live your life? Do you make it your ambition everyday to please Him and serve Him? Do you deny yourself for His glory? Are you willing to sacrifice your life for His? Are you willing to give up everything and/or go anywhere for Him?

Only you can answer those questions for yourself. Be true to God and talk to Him about your walk. He is waiting and wanting to help you to become the disciple that faithfully follows.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

*Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary