Christ Church Daily Devotion Feb 12 2024

In this Daily Devotion, the passage from Luke 9:18-25 is discussed. Jesus asks His disciples who the crowds say He is, and they give various answers. Then Jesus asks them who they say He is, and Peter says He is God's Messiah. Jesus warns them not to tell anyone. He then tells them that He must suffer, be rejected, killed, and raised to life. Jesus challenges His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Him. This passage marks a turning point in Jesus' ministry. Being His disciple requires complete commitment and sacrifice. The devotion ends with a prayer asking for guidance and strength to be a mature disciple of Jesus. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for February 12, 2024. Today, we will be reading from Luke, chapter 9, verses 18 through 25. Once when Jesus was praying in private, and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, Who do the crowds say I am? They replied, Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. And still others. That one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life. But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am? Peter answered, God's Messiah. Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And He said, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and He must be killed, and on the third day be raised to life. Then He said to them all, Whomever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit their very self? The passage marks a huge turning point in Jesus' ministry. Peter's answer that He is the Christ lets Jesus see that His apostles, who have been slow to learn His message, are finally getting it. Soon, Jesus would begin His final journey to Jerusalem and the cross. After telling His apostles that He must suffer and die, He uttered a challenge that each and every one of us who desire to be Jesus' disciple should cringe to hear. We are to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Over the years we have misunderstood and incorrectly applied this command. We have referred to living with physical ailments, dealing with a difficult spouse, and all kinds of inconveniences or difficulties as taking up our cross. What Jesus meant by this phrase is that we are to literally take on the kinds of things that could cost us our very lives if we are to follow Him. We are to deny ourselves so many of the interests that could consume our time and attention and would keep us from complete commitment to Christ. Jesus is saying that being His disciple is not a part-time commitment or an easy endeavor, but is rather a life lived on the edge. Your personal worship option today is to pray with me. Gracious and loving God, I want to be a mature disciple of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to commit to making this my first priority. Equip me for the journey and renew my spirit when I grow tired and distracted. I can only do this with Your guidance. Amen.