In our world today, it's all about you. It's all about how to live your life your way and make you happy. Well, Jesus said otherwise. In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." Jesus' teachings blew what people thought as the norm way out of proportion, even in that day. Jesus was telling us that we weren't put on this earth to please ourselves, but we were put on this earth to live as Christ did and love other people. This is hard for many people to grasp, in fact, in John 6:60-67, you'll find that many of the people that followed Jesus were turned off and left him when they found out they were supposed to live for others. They said that what Jesus was saying was something they couldn't accept. This still stands true for many today. Advertisements today are flooding with ways to make you a "more perfect person" by changing your appearance or living for yourself. It's no wonder Jesus' teachings seemed difficult to accept. Throughout your week, please remember that true life dwells in the spirit, not the body.

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Have you ever wondered what the cost is for following Jesus? After all, it cost Jesus his life to save us. Is there a cost associated for following Jesus? When I read Matthew 16:24-25, I am reminded that if I follow after Jesus, it will cost me something. It costs me the freedom to do what I want to do. In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus tells his disciples to take their cross and follow Him. In today's world, I think that this means that I have to give up my worldly desires to follow Him. I have also found that I need to step out of my comfort zone if I am going to follow Jesus.

A real relationship with Jesus means submitting yourself wholly to Him. You must trust in Him completely. There may be times where it is difficult to do because you may find yourself in a position to do something that may not be a popular thing to do. You also have to trust in Him completely. I have found that it is difficult for me to speak to someone about religion, God, or Jesus because I fear that they may look at me like I have lost my mind: I am not a perfect person, and I feel like I may be viewed as a hypocrite.

I have come to realize that the cost of following Jesus is hard. I must give up my selfish desires. There are times when I am hard headed and feel like doing things my way or living life the way that I want to. It is during these times that I realize that this life is not about me; it is about serving Him and doing His will. I have to remember that while it appears that the cost of following Jesus appears to be high, in relation to worldly things, the reward that awaits me is better than anything I can sacrifice in this life.

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Matthew 16: 24-25

In these 2 verses Jesus tells us that if we want to follow Him we are going to have pick up our crosses for Him. He is not talking about a little cross necklace or earrings rather he is talking about a thing of death. The cross was used to hang people on when they were punished to death. Jesus is telling us that we are going to have to die to ourselves. We are going to have "put to death" the things that keep us from Him. As I sit here and write this I can think of several sins and things I need to 'put to death.' Is there anything in your life that you need to 'put to death' to follow Jesus better? You see to truly follow Jesus we are going to have to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow Him. There is no way we can follow Jesus and not deny ourselves of something. Following Jesus is not free... it cost something... and that something is our lives. I hope you are willing to allow Jesus to show the cost and rewards of following Him.

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Matthew 16:24-25

In these verses we see one of the greatest paradoxes of the Bible. In vs. 24 Jesus tells us that we are going to have pick up our crosses and follow Him. To us today that may not seem like that big of a deal... but in the 1st century the cross was not a nice shiny gold charm on a necklace, it was a means of execution. Jesus is telling us that we need to die to ourselves.

In vs. 25 Jesus tells us that if we want to save our life we are going to have to lose it and if we try to save it we are going to lose it. You may ask how this makes any sense. It seems that Jesus is getting His words mixed up; after all He is telling us that to save our life we have to lose it.

I assure you Jesus did not get His words mixed up. He meant to say what He said. If you want to save your life with salvation that comes from Jesus you are going to have to lose your life to yourself. Following Jesus cost us something. We are to give Jesus our lives... not just part of them but all that we have. We are to give Jesus all the junk, all the good stuff, all the stuff we don't want to give up, all the sin and all that we have. I know this is hard. I have things in my life that I do not want to give to Jesus but I know that as soon as I hand them over He is going to cleanse me and forgive me.

When you give your life to Jesus the rewards are far better than you could ever imagine. With Jesus is eternal life, righteousness, holiness, joy, and peace. Have you counted the cost of following Jesus? It may cost you your life but in the end you find your life.

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Luke 9:23-24

~ Have you ever denied yourself to follow Jesus?

~ What are some things in your life that you could deny to follow Jesus closer?

~ Do you pick up your cross daily? (Die to yourself)

~ What will it cost me to follow Jesus?

~ Are there sins in my life that get in the way of me following Jesus?

~ Is my Christianity shallow and stagnate?

~ Am I willing to let go of everything and follow Jesus?

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