The Word

A Living Sacrifice

🌟 Scriptures 🌟

Luke 9:23 "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 will find it."

John 15:19-20 "19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.'[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also."

1 John 4:12b-14 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us.13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

🗣️The Message📜

When Christ died and then rose to defeat death once and for all on the cross a few things changed for those who believed. One, believers were joined into The Body of Christ, two, believers were able to talk to God directly, and three. Believers also were no longer under the law but led by The Spirit. We have many privileges now that we're joined to The Body of Christ but we also have a greater charge. Christ said in the book of Luke, "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 will find it." Right here Christ commands us to take up our cross and give up our lives if we want to be His disciples! Before Jesus even says anything about giving up our lives He commands us to take up our crosses. Now, what was a cross back in Jesus' day? It was something someone suffered on. Also, where is Christ leading us? Where did Christ go with that cross when He was on earth? To Calvery to die, but Christ didn't die to God He died to this world. Christ even said that if He suffered we will suffer because we are not greater than our master, also if we belong to this world it would love us, but since we don't it hates us. Christ has called us out of this world. We are no longer ruled by sin but by The Holy Spirit. We died to sin and this world when we accepted Christ into our hearts.

This action led to our freedom and peace, but it also initiated a war with the enemy who rules the world since we are no longer under him. Then we're called to continue to lead people to God so they can also be pulled from the enemies' kingdom of darkness and led into God's kingdom of life. Of course, we're in a war, it's obvious that the world will hate us. This is kind of a scary thought, but we must remember that when we were called out of this world and into war Christ didn't leave us alone, He lives in us along with The Father through The Holy Spirit. Praise The Lord for that because The Word says in Luke 12 that The Spirit will give us the words to say right when we need them.

Christ called us in the book of Luke to give up our lives for Christ. Paul even said that he considered his life nothing his main aim was to finish the work of spreading The Good News. We are all joined to The Body of Christ and as we take Christ's yoke and begin to walk more and more like Him we will be able to stand in the midst of persecution, in the midst of hate, in the midst of being an outcast and we will be bold because it's not us who lives but Christ who we are allowing to live in us. How? by dying to ourselves every day and allowing Christ to lead.

So today remember that this walk is not peaches and creme we were called to die to this world, die to ourselves, and go to war. But take heart Christ has already overcome the world we just have to walk in His will and His way, stay under His covering, and trust Him so we won't be defeated.

Father in Heaven may we die to ourselves more and more every day, may we become nothing and You become everything. You gave up Your life on the cross for us may we give up our lives for You In Jesus' Name Amen