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thoughts on what it means to deny my self and take up my cross and follow Christ 
If Singapore doesn't become a Christian nation by 31/12/2001 ... 
God could still do it (Bernard Soh)
It is all Hype (John Doe 666)
Anticipation (Bernard Soh)
my point - SELF MUST DIE (John Doe 666)
Christ lives (Keith)
On the destruction of the "self". (Interested )
Indeed the old Gosple (John Doe 666)
Hi Joe, Yes, I have heard it all before. (Interested )
So what does This mean then ? (John Doe 666)
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Hi John,
___________________________________________________ You wrote: Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Luke 9:23 - And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. What is your interpretation then ??? how can we deny ourselves , take up the cross DAILY and follow Him ??? ___________________________________________________ Let us take a look at the verses in context: Luke 9 20 And he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God." 21 But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." 23 And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Mathew 16 21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27 For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. Personally, from the context of the Scripture quoted above, I would interpret "denying oneself" as rejecting my own human methods and efforts (e.g. religions, philosophies, good works etc) in trying to achieve salvation, but fully trusting and relying on God's method - Jesus and the Cross. Although I can't say it is definitely wrong to do so, I don't think the context warrants the reading of "denying oneself" as supressing one's desires or depriving one's needs. Therefore, to me, to deny myself and take up my cross daily and follow Jesus simply means: give up totally on trying to please God by human efforts, but bring Christ and His Cross into every situation. Forget my/the world's methods (religious works). Trust God's method (the Cross). I wouldn't worship God without bringing the lamb along. I wouldn't serve God without lifting up the Cross. I wouldn't walk into any situation without Jesus Christ going along with me. Just some of my thoughts on the questions you raised. Hope you don't mind me burging in with my comments. Continue to enjoy His grace, Keith
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It is about discipleship by Ivan, 2001, Nov 06
Untitled by John Doe 666, 2001, Nov 07
okay, we are not disagreeing with each other. by Keith, 2001, Nov 07
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