In the last devotional, I shared that Jesus asked those who desire to follow Him must deny themselves. Does Jesus expect us to deny everything? What are we not supposed to deny?
And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” Joshua 24:27
The Lord’s desire for us is to be courageous and not to deny Him. He instructed Joshua to create a memorial for the people, so the people will not forget Him and eventually deny Him. The scripture is a reminder of how easy people can forget about the Lord when they get comfortable. The Lord expects us not to deny Him in seasons of comfort and plenty.
Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Matthew 26:34
In times of persecution/pressure, He expects us not to deny Him. We are to deny our fears. We are called to be bold in the midst of opposition. Peter denied Jesus in time of pressure. Praise God that this did not stop Jesus from loving Peter and restating His role in the Kingdom of God.
Some of us deny Him by our attitudes towards others. In the moment of passion, all we care about is to vent and get it off of our chest. However, after the fact, we realize that we did not represent Christ well in the midst of the battle. By staying calm, we deny ourselves in order not to deny Christ in that moment.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
The Lord does not expect us to deny our gifting and calling. As a matter of fact, He expects us to steward everything He has given us and use them for His kingdom. He calls us to be generous by blessing others with our treasures, time, and talents. God has been generous towards us, and we be generous towards others.
Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples and to all of us. It takes much courage to handle rejection and reach others for Christ. He expects us to stand up for Truth and share His message with others. To do the things He has called us to do, will require denying ourselves and taking up our cross to follow Him.
