Jesus said, “…If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23

At first glance it seems that Jesus is getting pretty tough here, and He is, but not in the way most of us think.

Just before Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and carry it daily, Jesus leaves a crowd of five thousand men (and who knows how many women and children) whom He literally just fed, to go and pray alone. Jesus’ disciples follow him and and a discussion breaks out where Peter shares his revelation that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus turns back to the crowd and shares , “…“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

Jesus wasn’t beating anyone up with these words.

LET ME REPEAT THAT! 

Jesus WAS NOT beating us up with His words.

Jesus was letting everyone know that if you choose to follow Him it is not going to be easy. There are going to be times that you are going to want to run away and hide. There are going to be situations in your life that you do not want to deal with. There are just going to be times in your life when not following Jesus will be easier than following Him.

Think about what was going on before Jesus talked about picking up your cross. People were pumped up as Jesus performed the miracle that fed all those people. Then Jesus has one of His closest friends reveal that he knows that Jesus is the Messiah. I am not sure about you, but I don’t think Jesus was in a foul mood here. I believe Jesus, God on earth, was most likely very pleased. Many people had been blessed and then Peter lays his faith out there (if you didn’t know, it was highly against the law to say that someone was the Messiah back then. Peter was putting his life at risk if what he said was rejected.)

Allowing Jesus to be Lord of my life was the absolute best decision I have ever made. I know who I was before I met Jesus and I know who I am now that I have a personal relationship with Him, but with that said…following Jesus is not easy.

Cutting corners. Little white lies that “make life smoother.” Maintaing the status quo… That’s easy.

Follow Jesus. Carry your cross daily. Turn from your selfish ways…. That is not easy.

Jesus didn’t come to beat us up, He came to make a way where there was no way. He came to give us life and give us life to the full.

LifePoint, we are going to be like Jesus. We are not coming to beat people up. We are coming to help people find Jesus, to have a strong relationship with Him. We are coming so there will be THE way for those who think there isn’t a way. We are coming so people can have life and have it to the full.

Aiken. Augusta. CSRA. South Carolina. Georgia. United States. World…

LifePoint is coming and Jesus is in control… GET READY!!!