We get all our strength from God when we choose to connect with God…then we can deny ourselves and pick up our cross and…well let’s hear Jesus say it:
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” Mt 16:24 NIV
So once we begin to want to be His disciple out of gratitude over what Jesus has already done for us, once we begin to lean on the Holy Spirit so we can deny ourselves, and once we choose to pick up our cross daily, seeking to do the righteous thing…we can follow Jesus too. One builds on the other, which builds on the next, which gives us the Abundant Life we truly crave. This Abundant Life is one filled with peace and joy. This Abundant Life is filled with loving God and loving others. This Abundant Life is what you and I were created for, and only this Abundant Life will lead to a satisfying life of contentment.
Contentment is so important, my Friends. It is not only something we feel and experience, but it is actually a state of being. That means this virtue goes down deep into our spirit, into WHO we are, then it helps determine everything we DO. Being content does not mean we particularly like everything that is going on, but rather, that we trust God in all of it. When we are content, the love of God naturally flows from us to Him and others. When we hold on to this contentment because we are connected with God, we will deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Jesus, and others around us can catch a glimpse of Jesus within us. And this is one of the major points to being His disciple.
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
July: 26- Jas 2:19; 27- Dt 31:8; 28- Jn 14:15; 29- Jn 8:11
August: 30- Ro 8:1; 31- Pr 4:23; 32- Pr 18:21; 33- Ps 118:24; 34- 1Jn 4:4
35- Mt 16:24
<>< Peace, Diane
