Deny yourself and follow Christ

Here is another truthful pill for you to swallow with holy water. This truth is that living your life for God means you have to deny your desires, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus. 

You, my brother or sister in Christ, will have to place all of those desires at the feet of Jesus, including all of the sins in Galatians 5:19.

List of sins

• Sexual immorality
• Impurity and debauchery

• Idolatry and witchcraft
• Hatred and discord
• Jealousy and fits of rage
• Selfish ambition 
• Dissensions and factions 
• Envy and drunkenness
• Orgies, and the like

Mark 8:34-35 tells us that Jesus called his disciples to himself and said, “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it.”

Your life is no longer your own when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This means you have to continuously listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and read your Bible to find out how to please God.

This behavior is absolutely different from the world’s philosophy, though. The world encourages us to focus on ourselves, to follow whichever path we want, and to deny Christ.

However, if you want to please the Lord, you must fall to your knees daily and place your desires on the altar, confessing, “Lord, not my will but Your will be done. Jesus, You are the way, the truth, and the light (John 14:6). No one comes to the Father but through You. I am deciding to walk on Your path. Yes, I do want to ____(name the sin or selfish desire), but I am deciding to obey Your truth. And I surrender my life to You, so the old me can die and the new me can live in You (Galatians 2:20). Amen.”

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