Follow Me

Thursday June 5, 2025

Good morning, Lord

Father in Heaven, I seek You first-the knowledge of Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Fill my consciousness constantly and complete Your joy in me as I take up my cross and follow...In Jesus' name…

Memory verse: Jeremiah 15:19 ESV

Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.”

Verse of the day: 1 Thessalonians 5:11

11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 23-24 John 15

Follow Me

The next command of Jesus we examine in scripture is:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24–25

This is one of the most precious to me; this does not mean I expect for it to be as precious to you. All of us are different by God’s design. I think it is precious to me probably due to the time of life I realized what this actually says.

To me, to take up my cross is like ‘kicking the bucket’ or ‘buying the farm’. It means I must figure this out. How do I die and keep living?

The only way it can be done-by living in Christ Jesus. Dying to self-to the world-dying to ego driven self satisfaction by the world’s success and pleasure-dying to listening to the enemy and the world altogether-this is the only way to live in Jesus. But this means we do not run from the world, it means we run to Jesus. It means we learn to love Jesus with all we are. It means we love to walk in the light and hate the darkness.

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12, RSV

This means a lot of returning to God because we will sin. We will have to confess to turning our minds off to the Spirit of Truth and planning our sin, and then finishing the plan. Nothing is by accident. All our behavior is directed by self-control. This where the fruit of the Spirit of Truth, in particular-self control-is so vital. Spirit-self control is just that. Our discipline of humbling ourselves under His control takes ongoing Spirit consciousness.

This is ‘following Jesus’-being under His control. It is also one of the hardest fights we have with our egos but we must be determined that the Lord wins this one above all.

Tell the Lord you know He sees where you are and ask for Him to make you better.

...because He loves us… He will do it…

Father in Heaven,

Your name is above all names-especially mine. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in my heart and mind. Give me today the desire to move and think under Your control. Forgive me for falling to my ego. Deliver me from evil.

Gracious and patient Father,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen