Below is an adaptation of a devotion on Luke 9:23-62. The new year brings new opportunities and challenges. This January let’s reflect upon the past year and look forward to following God’s path for us in the new year. Do you know how to deny yourself and follow Jesus daily?
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. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 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.” (emphasis added)
Welcome to 2025! Are you ready to follow Jesus closer than you’ve ever followed Him before?
Do you like going for a walk? A hike on trails? Climbing mountains?
Well, we’re about to take a walk, sometimes a hike, and a few times a climb up a mountain or two in 2025.
Let’s get ready for an adventure up the mountains and down the valleys of our walk with Jesus. Are you ready? I’ve got my hiking boots on. Can you imagine walking up mountains and down valleys in sandals like Jesus and the disciples wore? Let’s start walking through God’s Word.
Follow Jesus
In the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus says, “Follow Me” 18 times in the context of being steadfastly focused on following Him as His disciple.
What’s “Follow Jesus” really look like?
Gladys Aylward was born in northern Britain to working parents. School didn’t interest her and at 14, she dropped out and became a maid. In her mid-twenties, she attended a revival meeting and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She heard God calling her to become a missionary to China. Gladys joined a training program that would equip her with the knowledge that she needed. But after three months, they asked her to leave. She failed the class work. That didn’t deter her. She became a maid again.
With gifts from others and her hard work, Gladys earned enough money for her fare in a year.
Little did she anticipate the struggles that she would encounter when she arrived in China. But God was with her.
Gladys denied herself and left the comforts of home, friends, and family to follow God’s calling on her life. It wasn’t easy. She hit roadblocks, but God always placed someone along the way to help her. Gladys followed Jesus by denying herself, living for Jesus and serving others.
Jesus Is Our Example
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. (emphasis added)
What’s it mean to deny myself, to take up my cross daily, and to follow Jesus? Jesus is our example.
Jesus shed His glory to enter flesh, to become a man. He denied Himself of His glory and walked this earth teaching, blessing, healing, commanding the air and the sea, feeding thousands, and much more. In God’s timing, Jesus walked to His death on the cross and resurrection to give you and me new life.
This is the Son of God. He’s the King of Kings! The world would tell us that the One who announced that the Kingdom of God is at hand would come in majesty, glory, and honor and that His followers would come in honor and plenty.
Yes! In a few days, three of His disciples will see His glory.
Ready to start walking up the mountain?
The Glory of Jesus
“But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God. Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. (Mark 9:3 tells us that “His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.”) And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease (His exodos – death) which He was about to accomplish (fulfill) at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”–not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” (emphasis added) Luke 9:27-34
Imagine waking up from a deep sleep and seeing Jesus. Jesus’ face glows—see His eyes—they’re like a flame of fire. His radiant robe is whiter than any white you have seen.
See Moses, the Law Giver—he led the Israelites from Egyptian slavery to the edge of the Promised Land. In a few days, Jesus will fulfill the Law and lead His followers from the slavery of sin to the freedom of life in Him.
Elijah the prophet who would “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17c) is with them. They’re talking with Jesus about His mission in Jerusalem. The mission that was necessary because of our disobedience.
Hear Moses and Elijah encouraging Jesus—reassuring Him that He is following God’s will. They discuss the cross and its cost—your sins and my sins, the sins of the whole world, placed on Jesus. The cost: God pouring out His wrath upon those sins on Jesus. The cost: Separation from God for a time. Hear the silence as they contemplate the tomb … three days in the tomb. Take a deep breath with them as they imagine the first breath of Jesus’ resurrection!
Marvel at the cloud of glory—the Shekinah glory overshadows the disciples. Hear the thundering voice of God Almighty, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
See Jesus! Hear Him! Follow Jesus!
How to Deny Yourself and Follow Jesus
1. See and Hear Jesus
The disciples saw the glory of Jesus—God’s radiant Shekinah Glory. They heard God the Father command them to hear Jesus.
First, we need to see Jesus and hear His teachings, His commands, His love.
Here we are on the mountaintop: Moses, Elijah, Jesus … Shekinah glory … Voice of God.
The next day comes. It’s time to walk down the mountain.
Mountaintops prepare us for the valleys and the pressing needs of others.
The Valley
What do the disciples see in the valley? Failure. Their failure. A father brings his son to Jesus. Before Jesus sent the disciples out to proclaim the Kingdom of God, He gave the disciples the power to cast out evil spirits and heal the sick. But they had failed with this one.
Jesus cast out the demon, and the people marveled at His majesty.
To follow Jesus, we need to KNOW Him. We KNOW Jesus by seeing Him and hearing Him. He heals. He casts out demons. He commands the wind and waves. He multiplies what we offer Him. He’s all-powerful!
We read a few verses later that the disciples were concerned about their position in the Kingdom of Heaven and who would be the greatest. Jesus took a little child and said to them in verse 48: “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”
We KNOW Jesus is humble. SEE HIM!HEAR JESUS!
“Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.” (emphasis added) Luke 9:51-53
Jesus’ focus was firmly set on accomplishing God’s will in Jerusalem. Is your focus firmly set on accomplishing God’s will?
God’s will for Jesus at this time was the cross. Because of His love for you and me, Jesus walked toward unspeakable suffering. Toward His death. Resurrection and victory over death followed.
I wonder if Jesus was thinking of Isaiah 50:6-7 as He steadfastly set His face toward Jerusalem.
“I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.“
Jesus set His face like flint toward what He was about to accomplish. First, He sent messengers to prepare for their time in Samaria. The Jews and the Samaritans did not get along. Because He was focused on reaching Jerusalem, they rejected Him. As they left, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven like Elijah did and destroy Samaria.
But verse 56 tells us that Jesus said, “‘For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’ And they went to another village.”
See His face set toward Jerusalem. Know His mission. He came to save you and me. HEAR HIM!
2: Count the Cost
Taking up our cross daily means dying to ourselves and living for Christ. In other words, follow Jesus and walk as He did through this world.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:15;17 that Jesus “died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. … Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
“Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.”
(Billy Graham)
“Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’” Luke 9:57-58
Jesus stayed in the homes of others. He slept in the boat, in other people’s homes, outdoors, wherever He found rest.
Paul writes to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”
It cost Jesus everything to be with you and me.
“Because of Jesus’ poverty and all that was related to it, we can become rich. We have a share in Jesus’ eternal, heavenly wealth because He came and had a share in our poverty.”
(David Guzik)
Following Jesus costs us everything. True riches exist only with Jesus.
Where are your riches?
3: Jesus First, Others Second
“Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’”
Jesus called this man to follow Him, but he wanted to wait until his father died before he followed Jesus. That could have been years!
Jesus gave him an urgent mission: to follow Him and preach the kingdom of God. Jesus followed God’s will and preached the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ followers go and preach the kingdom of God. It’s our motto: Preach the Gospel and Love One Another.
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37-38
We must examine our priorities. Just as Jesus’ priority was accomplishing the will of God the Father, our priority is following Jesus. That priority requires us to walk in the path that Jesus has set before us.
What path are you walking?
4: Focus Forward
“And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:61-62
Remember Lot’s wife in Genesis 19? Lot, his wife, and daughters lived in Sodom, a sin-filled city. The Bible describes Sodom’s sin as exceedingly grievous. God sent two angels to take Lot and his family out of Sodom before He destroyed it. At daybreak, the angels grabbed their hands and whisked them out of the city. When Lot reached Zoar, God rained brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s wife lingered behind him and looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. She followed Lot out of sin city, but her heart looked back to the life she used to live.
Have you been there? Have you looked back at the life you had before you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and longed to enjoy that life again? Did you slip off the path God had you on?
Have you noticed the straight rows farmers make before they plant their crops? They set their eyes on their destination point. Farmers don’t look behind them, to the right or the left. Wherever they set their focus, their rows follow.
Can you walk a straight line, putting one foot in front of the other? When I tried to walk a straight line, I noticed something. If I look down at my feet and put one foot in front of the other, I lose my balance. But when I focus on a point beyond me and put one foot in front of the other walking toward that point, I don’t lose my balance.
What if we applied that principle to our walk with Jesus? What if we focused forward, focusing on Jesus?
Where have you set your focus?
Gladys was steadfastly focused on following Jesus and fulfilling the mission He had given her. Life in China was hard. Eventually she was asked to become the region’s foot inspector. In earlier times, the Chinese bound the feet of young girls so their feet would be smaller. The Smithsonian Magazine tells us, “The most desirable bride possessed a three-inch foot, known as a “golden lotus.’” [1] Imagine your right foot next to a three-inch foot!
Later, China decreed that parents weren’t to bind their daughters’ feet. As foot inspector, Gladys went from house to house inspecting young girls’ feet. She shared the Gospel in those homes.
She also cared for about 100 orphaned or abandoned children. In 1938, war with Japan broke out. Gladys led the children (teens down to toddlers) on a 12-day trek through mountain trails to the Yellow River. No hiking boots for her or the children. They found no boats to take them across the Yellow River to safety. Stuck at the river’s edge, Gladys led the children in prayer and singing hymns. A Chinese officer heard them singing and commanded boats to come take them to the other side.
Do you think God was at work in that officer?
Gladys heard her Lord and Savior’s call to follow Him. Her steadfast focus was on following Jesus.
“Salvation is God’s gift to us because Jesus died for us on the cross. Discipleship is our gift to Him as we take up our cross, die to self, and follow the Lord in everything.”
(Warren Wiersbe)
We have entered a new year. Some of us make resolutions that, for many, are broken in a month or two. Some of us focus on a word that has spiritual significance to us.
What if we decided to die to self and live for Christ?
Let’s follow JESUS up the mountains and through the valleys! Let’s start walking!
Focus Points
Prayerfully examine how you are following Jesus. What changes do you need to make?
Surrender 2025 to Jesus and ask Him to show you the path He wants to walk with you.
What steps will you take to follow Jesus more closely? How will you follow Jesus with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength?
May 2025 be a breakthrough year for you. May you follow Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength as you deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and walk with Him up mountains and through valleys.
Let’s Follow Jesus.
See and hear Jesus!
Count the Cost!
Jesus First, Others Second.
Focus Forward!
FOCUS FOWARD > DENY YOURSELF > TAKE UP YOUR CROSS DAILY >FOLLOW JESUS!
“Follow Jesus” Teaching to Calvary Chapel Beaumont Women’s Bible Study on Luke 9:23-62.
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