Sacrifice

 ‭Luke 9:23-24 NLT‬
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, 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.

https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.9.23-24.NLT

Jesus didn't flatter people into the Kingdom of God. He was honest about the cost of following Him. We have to deny ourselves.

Our own way leads to destruction. We need to go God's way. His way leads to eternal life.

We need to be prepared to give up our lives for the One who gave up His life for us. Anyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. We might not have to be martyred, but we need to be prepared for every eventuality.

We're going to lose our lives anyway, unless Jesus returns first. So there's no point clinging onto them. Instead, we should be prepared to give them up for Him.

'Dear Lord, help us to count the cost of following You. Help us to know it's always worth it to live for You, for the honour of Your name, amen'.

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