7th July Discipleship 3 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF and take up his cross and follow me. The Bible teaches that there must be an end to self-esteem before true service can begin. Without denial of self one cant carry the cross. Christians should not try and store up the feeble positive attributes of their personalities. That is like trying to stop the bleeding from an amputated arm with a Band-Aid; it wont work for long. Regardless of how successful or talented we are in ourselves, we will eventually fail. If nothing else, we will get older someday and will not be as productive as before. If our self-esteem is rooted in our accomplishments, then it will ultimately fail. All the security we have found in ourselves will then come crashing down around us. The Christian should have Christ-esteem. Just like the Apostle Paul said, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20). The secret to victorious Christian living is not found in self-improvement but in self-denial so that Christ can live through us. This does not mean that God wants us to have a bad self-image. It just depends upon which self we are talking about. You see, every born again believer has become a new person in Christ. The old man is corrupt and, at his best, is incapable of living the Christian life. This is the self that most people try to patch up and feel good about. Give it up! We have to die to this old self life with all its good and bad, and find a new identity in Christ. Deny yourself of all your fleshly desires. #Sweet_Breath_Devotion#
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 02:02:10 +0000
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