Good morning people who end up in a place of obedience to God

Matthew 16:24 NIV Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

This verse has an order that is essential to every disciple of Jesus Christ.

It starts with denying ourselves; being willing to say NO to our desire.

Then it steps into taking up our cross; accepting the reality that we will be persecuted for righteousness sake if we deny ourselves.

And it ends in us being true followers of Jesus Christ and ones who do the will of the Father.

Some may say, “I want to follow Jesus, but I don’t really like the deny yourself and take up your cross parts.” That’s understandable, but you can’t have one without the other.

There’s another really important little word in this verse above and it is the word and.

Jesus says that His disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. A true disciple does all three of these things.

May this be the time when the disciples of Jesus Christ shine brightly in this dark world.