Devotionals for September 20, 2023
Don't forget! Our next Night of Worship will be on Saturday, September 30th at 6:30pm.
READ
Luke 9:23-26; Hebrews 2:9-19
23 And he said to all, “If anyone 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, but whoever loses his life for my sake 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
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
23 And he said to all, “If anyone 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, but whoever loses his life for my sake 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
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
REFLECT
These two passages must be held together. We do not worship a God who tells us to take up a cross He was unwilling to take up. Jesus tells us to “take up our cross” and “follow Him.” Implied here is that taking up a cross, facing the little and great sufferings of our life, is how we follow him. If you are following someone you will travel through the same path they do. Imagine yourself physically following a person in a store (someone you know, of course!). Everything they see, you see. The exact tiles they walk on you will also walk on. There is something similar, not just about where you are going, but the path you are taking to get there.
The “where you are going,” biblically, is glory. God is preparing something so incomprehensively joyous for you in His coming kingdom that to catch a glimpse of it, even for a moment, could sustain your entire life. The glory you will enjoy is like the glory Christ experienced in being raised from the dead. But how we get there, the path to glory, is a cross. Why? Because He who we follow took a cross. In “being made lower than the angels” Jesus is glorified far above them. Likewise, in taking up our crosses, in facing our suffering, we have the hope that it does not stop there. The cross is not the end for us, because it was not the end for the one we follow.
The “where you are going,” biblically, is glory. God is preparing something so incomprehensively joyous for you in His coming kingdom that to catch a glimpse of it, even for a moment, could sustain your entire life. The glory you will enjoy is like the glory Christ experienced in being raised from the dead. But how we get there, the path to glory, is a cross. Why? Because He who we follow took a cross. In “being made lower than the angels” Jesus is glorified far above them. Likewise, in taking up our crosses, in facing our suffering, we have the hope that it does not stop there. The cross is not the end for us, because it was not the end for the one we follow.
APPLY
Q: What does it mean for Jesus to be “perfected through suffering?”
Q: What is the cross you take up daily?
Q: How can you utilize these passages in a discipleship context?
Q: What is the cross you take up daily?
Q: How can you utilize these passages in a discipleship context?
SING
PRAY
"Give us today our daily bread."
Give us enough for today, Lord. Our crosses are heavy. Help us to run the race well, with eyes on you and the glory that awaits us. Amen.
Give us enough for today, Lord. Our crosses are heavy. Help us to run the race well, with eyes on you and the glory that awaits us. Amen.