August 23rd, 2026
Scripture – “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Mark 8:34-37 NIV
Observation – Jesus tells us if we want to be his disciple we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him. If we want to save our life, we will lose it, but if lose our life for Jesus and the gospel we will save it. What good is it to gain the whole world and yet forfeit our soul?
Application – Jesus is calling us to death. The cross is a symbol of death and Jesus is calling us to be crucified with Christ and no longer live for ourselves but live for him by faith. This is the calling for a person that follows Christ. How are you doing with death to self? If you took a thoughtful step back and watched your life from a completely objective viewpoint would you be able to truthfully say, “that person is following Jesus or would your impartial examination of your life reveal a person that is living for themselves and doing a few things here and there to “please God”?
Prayer – Lord Jesus, help us all to believe with all of our heart that one day you will return and judge the living and the dead so that we deny ourselves to today and not fall in line with the materialistic world order. Amen.
What are you doing? Do it better 