Take Up Your Cross Daily

"And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?" (Luke 9:23-25 NASB)

We've heard or read this so many times that its become cliché more than the actual standard of truth we're commanded to live by.

What is "denying yourself?"
Most of us who are married or have kids already get a basic idea... Life will never be the same! But yet American Christianity still seems to speak a different truth.

I'm not speaking of the church model itself, that is a whole different subject. What has been lost in Christianity today is the selflessness that Jesus and much of the Bible speaks of.
Today's Christian measures their level of servanthood with how much time or money they have "left over" rather than it becoming an attribute of their character.
The problem is, it ALL belongs to Him. To "steward" our time or money cannot be done with human reasoning, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
We all know that everything about the Lord's principles are upside down.
-if you give Him at least 10% of His money back, our 90% will stretch further. Even more, if we become cheerful givers, the windows of Heaven are opened to us.
-When you seek FIRST His kingdom, THEN our needs will be taken care of.
-Jesus spent more time with the despised and defending the sinner than rebuking them.
-He had more compassion on the hurting and healed those that later spat on Him...

"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'"(Galatians 5:13-14 NASB)

Denying yourself and taking up your cross daily is more than just choosing to follow Jesus. It's more than just being a good person.
(This is also reflected in how much time is spend entertaining ourselves.)

It's when preferring one another becomes the core of who you are... It's when you're so unconcerned about the possible negative effects or inconveniences you might incur when serving or preferring someone else over yourself that you literally don't even think about it. And when the messy, inconvenient, negative effects do happen, it doesn't phase you.
Selflessness is the attribute of a person that gives without measuring the cost. One who when praised for their "sacrifice" the respond with "what do you mean?"

Let us deny ourselves [completely], pick up our cross daily & FOLLOW Him.