Saturday after the Fifth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 23, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 9:18-26 (NKJV)
9:18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”
20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
21 And He strictly warned 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 be raised the third day.”
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
Devotion
Christ calls His followers to deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily. This means we do not get to dictate our terms of service to God. It means we do not get to pick and choose which burdens are too unpleasant for us to bother with. It means that our discipleship involves the suffering of a cross, not just the fun or easy experiences that seem good in our own eyes.
Our Lord Jesus does promise in Matthew 11 that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But He also teaches us that we are to be gentle and humble like He is, which means that even as we suffer evil, mockery, and the pains of a cross, we are to be steadfast in the calling that God has laid on us. We are made able to do these things by His power and Spirit!
The crowds of the world say many and varied things about God and His will, but the faithful are made able to confess our Christ and Savior rightly. By His grace we understand His Word and know that Jesus was crucified for our sins. By His Spirit we believe, repent of our sins, and do those good works that He prepares for us according to His will and calling. He makes us able to deny our sinful self and do that which is righteous, trusting that the peace and glory of eternal life is greater than the crosses of this life!
Prayer: O God, Who has prepared for them that love Thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward Thee, that we, loving Thee above all things, may obtain Thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
