Lead Me to Jesus
Day 37
What am I doing that is leading me to Jesus? I really need to think about my answer.
{Pause- followed by more questions}
What have I denied myself?
Have picked up my cross to truly follow Him?
Am I really serious about really following Him?
To answer these questions, I need to know what they mean. Going to my favorite Bible commentaries Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible. He explains so well.
- let him deny himself: let him deny sinful self, ungodliness, and worldly lusts; and part with them, and his former sinful companions, which were as a part of himself: let him deny righteous self, and renounce all his own works of righteousness, in the business of justification and salvation; let him deny himself the pleasures and profits of this world, when in competition with Christ; let him drop and banish all his notions and expectations of an earthly kingdom, and worldly grandeur, and think of nothing but reproach, persecution, and death, for the sake of his Lord and Master: and
- take up his cross; cheerfully receive, and patiently bear, every affliction and evil, however shameful and painful it may be, which is appointed for him, and he is called unto; which is his peculiar cross, as every Christian has his own; to which he should quietly submit, and carry, with an entire resignation to the will of God, in imitation of his Lord:
- and follow me; in the exercise of grace, as humility, zeal, patience, and self-denial; and in the discharge of every duty, moral, or evangelical; and through sufferings and death, to his kingdom and glory. The allusion is, to Christ’s bearing his own cross, and Simeon’s carrying it after him, which afterwards came to pass.
I can honestly there is much room for improvement. God’s grace is sufficient and His Spirit is faithful. This knowledge makes denying self, carrying my cross, and following Jesus possible.
What is your response to my first question?
I have been pondering this and believe the more we see God granting us grace the more humble we become. Just knowing how much He gives us, grows a desire to extend it to those around us. It is a desire that grows from within and manifests itself out of us, as we can’t help but demonstrate favor to those in need. But, I really believe we have to first know how truly needy we are! Oh, how we need Jesus every hour! What an honor we have, to sit in His presence. This is favor to us! I saw it clearer today as I looked up grace to get more of a deeper meaning. Something I read has left me truly pondering:
“to favor is to grace an occasion with one’s presence!”
When we deny ourselves from doing what we want to do, and spend time with those in need, we are favoring them! Just by being with a person we are extending grace. A picture in my mind, – God graces us with His presence! We can manifest this grace that grows within us, by spending time, building relationships, w those who are unsaved. We have the promise of His presence. God with us. Where can we take Him today? Who can we introduce Him to, today? With His loving presence, all things are possible!
Loved what you shared, Wendy!
Wendy, I really enjoyed this post today. It made me think.
In denying self I must deny ungodliness. Ungodliness is anything God would not approve. A lot of things in the world are ungodly. I can’t put restrictions on what I will deny for Christ. If Christ can’t approve of it, I need to get rid of it. When I got saved, God begin to show me things I need to put away- out of my life. I need to be willing to get rid of whatever he shows me. A lot of things in this world are ungodly, but the world thinks God will pass by them and he will be okay with them. I need to be zealous for God and deny the ungodliness. When I get on the internet, I must be careful what I allow myself to see. When I go by the movies or just hang out with the girls, if there are ungodly movies or gossiping, I must deny self and not partake. God wants me to live holy wherever I am. If I can’t be different than the world, there’s something wrong.
A lot of people might think that they will lose their freedom if they deny themselves. I don’t have freedom to serve God the bible way if I don’t deny self. Some people might say if I deny self I will lose my identity. I want to identify with Christ. Some people might say that I will lose my purpose if I am a Christian. When I serve God, my whole purpose is for God.
So, what am I doing that is leading me to Jesus? I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m taking time daily to pray to God to lead me in the right direction and then follow his led. I’m spending time reading His word daily, even if that means no TV or to set aside reading the newspaper. By reading His word I can build a relationship, get to know Him better so I’ll know what he expects from me . I’m staying actively involved with my church and surrounding myself with godly people to keep me on track and to hold me accountable for my actions. I’m living out my faith the best I know how, but realizing too, that I am human and will slip up, but understanding that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that will see me through. I guess The Message says it best in Colossians 3:1-6. “So if you are serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, ACT like it. Persue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, yes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going around Christ– that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life is your real life–even though invisible to spectators–is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up too–the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile be content with obscurity, like Christ…”
I hope I didn’t get too carried away in responding to your first question. Thanks Wendy for helping me to stay on track.