Monday December 04th, 2023
« Then He (Jesus) said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. »
23 And Jesus said to them all, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.
24 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.
25 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not!
26 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Many times, people say it is impossible to live holy.
That is not true.
Jesus lived on earth for thirty-three years without committing even a single sin.
If Jesus could do it, you can do it too because His grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The problem is that we look at the concept of holiness with so much fear and just conclude that it is not possible.
Holiness is simply obedience.
« So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin. »
James 4:17 NET”
Once you know the right thing to do, do it.
Simple.
- You have read in your Bible not to steal; don’t steal.
- You have read that it is wrong to lie; don’t lie. Just obey.
That’s all.
Now, you may say Obedience to every single instruction from God is not easy, but if you take it one at a time, then you would see the possibility. Luke 9:23 NLT says
« And Jesus said to them “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me »
Jesus said you should take up your cross daily.
If you think about keeping your body and teeth clean for the rest of your life, it will look like a lot of work. But when you just ensure that you keep them clean daily, then you will achieve the goal for the rest of your life.
You brush your teeth every morning, you take your bath every morning, so also should you decide to live holy every morning.
When you wake up in the morning, renew your commitment to live holy just for that day.
Tell yourself (insert your name), throughout today, you will not commit any sin; you will live holy for the next twenty-four hours.
With just twenty-four hours as the goal, it is easier to achieve holiness.
By the time you add thirty sets of twenty-four hours together, you would have been holy for one month and then one year and so on.
Just take up your cross daily.
Application – Holiness is possible. Just make it a daily goal.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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