PROMOTED TO THE CROSS

Luke 9:23(KJV)23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Therefore, “Take up your cross and follow Me” means being willing to die in order to follow Jesus. This is called “dying to self.” It’s a call to absolute surrender. After each time Jesus commanded cross bearing, He said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:24-25). Although the call is tough, the reward is matchless.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24 ESVPerhaps you have heard this verse before. But have you ever personalized it? It’s important to know that the cross you take up is unique to your journey. You’ll need to answer some questions about the cross to know what yours looks like and how to carry it.The cross I carry is all that Jesus has done for me, just as the cross you carry is your gospel, or witness, of what He has done for you. But it doesn’t stop there. We are containers that pour out heaven’s precious gifts. Paul describes it this way:

We carry this precious Message [of the cross] around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives.
2 Corinthians 4:7 We do not filter the gospel; we just carry it. In this way the extraordinary is transferred within the confines of our daily “ordinary.”