Mark 8:34 NIV
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
In this portion of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is teaching His disciples about what it means to be His follower. In verse 34, Jesus teaches self denial, something with which our culture is unfamiliar. His point is that nothing should come between Christ and His people. Family, friends, hobbies, possessions…if anything divides our allegiance or pulls us away from Jesus, we need to deny our earthly desires and let it go. Christ comes first.
As we are to be prepared to leave some people and things behind, Jesus reminds us to pick something else up. Our cross. This cross represents all the challenges we will face in this life as a result of our faith in Jesus. Mockery, persecution, possibly even death. It may seem like a lot for Jesus to ask but the blessings of eternal life will so far outweigh the challenges of this life that they aren’t even worth comparing.
Jesus gave His life so that we could live. He asks us to deny ourselves when we must and cling to Him so that together we will spend eternity in the presence of pure our loving God.
Sunday at Victory
8 and 10:45 a.m. Worship – Moments From Mark – ‘On Being A Disciple’
9:30 a.m. Bible Study – Living Together as The Body of Christ (large group processing of our small group study from this week)
Oh, and since it’s Lent, why not give something up? Give up not coming to church and Bible study ;-)
(Yeah, I know, I’ve got a little smart alec in me.)
Peace in Christ!
Pastor Prigge
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