Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. …”
Matthew 16:24-25 NLT
Starting a fire this chilly morning… I find myself thanking God for dry… dead… wood…
Then it dawns on me… why Jesus says… we must take up our cross… die… to follow Him…
Dry dead wood is more easily consumed by fire than green wood…
Green wood smolders… smokes…
Dry wood… void of sap… moisture… flames up… crackles… pops…
Spiritually… we need to die to self… to our life… the natural life… in order for the Holy Spirit to consume our lives… flame up… and shine brightly through us…
Until then… we smolder… smoke… struggle with His will against our own…
“…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. …”
John 12:23 ESV
Thank You… Lord… for death that brings life…
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
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