By Tony Williams
“And he said to them, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
The Lord gives the faithful Christian this daily charge found in Luke chapter 9 verse 23. I often wonder if our day-by-day lives become so regimented that we often lose sight of the daily responsibility to have the mind of Christ. When observing the world in general and the church in particular, it seems there needs to be more emphasis on daily living for the Lord. In some folks, the attitude appears to be that if they attend services at 10 a.m. on the Lord’s Day, partake of the Lord’s Supper, and contribute a few dollars, they are then free to go about the week with their religious duties being fulfilled. Notice what the Lord said in Luke 9:23, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY.” Not just on the first day of the week, but every day. Let our co-workers, friends and all who may cross our daily paths see in our lives the teaching that the Master put into practice.
In the Old Testament we see numerous examples of how the man of God was to perform daily: daily offerings (Num. 28:24), daily vows (Psalm 61:8), daily praise (Psalm 72:15), daily blessings (Psalm 68:19), and the list could go on and on with rejoicing, etc.
We can turn to the New Testament and as we look, we see many things that serve as examples for us today. Things such as daily prayer (Matthew 6:11), daily study (Acts 17:11), and many others that are listed for our learning. Let us all take note of our daily deeds to see if they are pleasing to the Lord and helping to lead lost humanity to Him.