Key scripture- “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me’” (Luke 9:23 NIV).

Author, Lisa Teukeurst asks, Do you want to follow hard after the Lord every day and let Him renew you and shape you into the person you need to be this year? Do you want to grow ever closer to God this year, pressing into Him so that He makes the deepest impression on you?

That’s my desire, and maybe it’s one of your desires too, growing closer to God. But how do we do that? How can we position ourselves to grow closer to God this year?

In Luke 9:23b, Jesus tells His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
His words seem surprising at first, because the disciples had already given up everything to follow Jesus. Or so it seemed …
Family. Friends. Jobs. The comforts of home.

Yet, in the Key scripture today, we find Jesus telling them the cost is going to be even higher than they had originally anticipated. The disciples aren’t being asked to lay down some things. They are going to need to lay down everything. Their plans. Their agendas. Their jobs. Their finances. Their pleasures. And maybe even their own lives.

While it may sound like a lot to ask, but based on their willingness to continue following hard after Jesus they will get to experience a level of closeness with Him unlike anyone else.

Closeness when they take communion with Him before He is crucified. (Luke ‪22:12-20‬)

Closeness when He bends low to wash their feet. (John 13:1-17)

Closeness when He eats with them after His resurrection. (Luke 24:36-43)

Closeness when they are among the first to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1-4)

So not only did they have the promise of eternity with Him in heaven, they also had the privilege of experiencing unparalleled intimacy with Him on earth. Could they have received a sweeter gift?

This is what my heart hungers for when it comes to the Lord. I want connection. I want communion. I want closeness. Not only in a distant heavenly future but right here. Right now.

That’s why I’m so thankful Jesus’ invitation to the disciples in Luke 9:23 is for us, too. We are also invited to get close. Which means we are also called to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

I realize “taking up our cross” may sound strange or vague at first, but for me it’s meant breaking old habits to create space in my heart for new growth. It’s meant moving beyond a plastic Christian checklist …

Go to church. Check
Read the Bible. Check
Don’t cuss. Check
Pray. Check
Give to the poor. Check

… to letting God mess, and I mean really mess with me, in any and every area of my life.

It has meant things like offering Him my willingness to step away from certain TV shows, getting up an hour earlier than I need to every day so that I can fix my eyes on Him and His Word first thing in the morning, to stop judging people’s motives, and allowing Him to call me to a new level of denying my flesh and feeding my spirit by doing the Daniel fast for three weeks. These are things I have said “yes” to because I long for an ever-closer walk with Him.

Today we can allow many things to become gods to us. Money, fame, work, people, food or pleasure can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security. No one sets out with the intention of worshiping these things. But by the amount of time we devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts and energies. Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods.

I don’t know exactly what following wholeheartedly after God will look like for you. But I do know that if you want to grow closer to God this year, you will have to distance yourself from whatever is distracting you. You will have to lay aside whatever you are prone to delight in more than Him.

Let’s each ask God to show us which distraction we need to distance ourselves from in order to grow closer to Him, and then let’s do the hard and holy work of denying ourselves, because a deeper level of intimacy with Him will always be worth the cost.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, show me what stands in the way of my intimacy with You, and give me the strength to lay it down — for a season or forever if that is what You want. I long to be closer to You, no matter the cost. I do not want there to be any other god before You. I only want to serve You, follow You, worship You, and praise You. Whatever You need to do, whatever You need to change in me to get me to that point, I want You to do it. You are the potter and I am the clay, shape me into a person who walks in righteousness and upright and blameless. I want to come to the end of myself and become more and more like Jesus. I take up Jesus’ yoke and follow Him, show me what I need to lay down in order to do what Jesus’ said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it” (Luke 9:24, NIV). In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

Credit: The Holy Bible
Luke 9:23
Google Images

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