The world is contrary to God.

From yesterday--

'He whose self life has been sacrificed to death is cut loose from the things of the world. Gaining spiritual life is conditional on suffering loss.' - The Spiritual Man- Watchman Nee

Mat_16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Do you want to gain a spiritual life? How important is it to you to have a spiritual life? Seriously, do we even care about our spiritual lives? How often do you think of your spiritual life?

These are questions that need answering.

What would YOU give in exchange for your eternal life?

What good does having ANYTHING if we do not have eternal life?

… How much do we DAILY TAKE UP OUR CROSS and how much do we let Christ work in us? Do we separate the two? These are many questions we need to consider.

*******  Today-

It shouldn't be how much, it should be how often do we take up our cross, and how often do we let Christ work in us? Do we separate the two?

Christ should ALWAYS be working in us, yes?  If Christ is working in us always then when we take up our cross it is still Christ working in us. We need to LIVE for Christ. We truly need to DENY ourselves, and you know what, our SELF will fight against denying ourselves and come up with a million reasons why we don't need to do that. And yes, I mean a million excuses. For every opportunity that arises for us to deny our soul-self, there will be several reasons for us not deny it and every one of those reasons will NOT come from Christ. We can be foolish enough to believe they do, but they don't and never will.

Why are we to give up stuff we want?

We need to comprehend whether the stuff is good or bad for us first, right?

We need to comprehend if the stuff will take the place of Christ in our life in any way.  If we are being drawn away from Christ and the love of Christ, from living in love, in the SPIRIT as Christ would have us live then WE are to deny ourselves from what is drawing us away.

The world and the things of the world ARE contrary to God.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

LOVE NOT  THE WORLD.

LOVE NOT THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THE WORLD.

Lusts of our flesh- our flesh desires- and these can be any and all things we desire MORE than our Savior!

Please Father, please, help us to DENY self, help us to TAKE UP OUR CROSS, help us to know what is of the world and what is of You. HELP US! We would follow our own wants, we despise having to give up our desires, help us to despise those desires!

Please, Lord, please!

In the name of our SAVIOR Jesus Christ, our LORD!