Take Up Your Cross ~ Day 17

October 18 2006 - Day 17

Mark 8:34-9:1

Passage: After Jesus foretells his death and resurrection He begins to explain the type of following that He requires. Jesus was heading to the cross, a gruesome, shameful, and painful place of execution. Jesus tells the disciples and the crowds that if they want to follow Him they have to take up their own crosses also. They must be willing to give up their lives in order to follow Him. He says it is foolish to hold on to the things of this world in place of following Him. He says that if they are ashamed of Him and the path that He is headed on to the cross then He will be ashamed of them on Judgment Day.

Application: Jesus does not call me to light-hearted, half-committed devotion. That is a contradiction in terms. Jesus calls me to nothing other than radical devotion. Almost all of the disciples would later face great persecution or execution for following Jesus and preaching His gospel. Jesus does not promise me “cheap grace.” I must count the cost of being His disciple. I am often confronted with fear as I feel led to share the gospel with someone. Oh how shameful it is to say that I often give in to this fear. I thank God for His mercy, the same mercy He had on Peter after he denied Jesus three times. I pray that God would make me a bold, courageous proclaimer of the gospel. I want to lose my life for Jesus and the gospel so that I might gain life!