One quarter of our journey is in the books!  Great job.  Keep going.  

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Deuteronomy 16:1-17:20; Luke 9:7-27; Psalm 72:1-20; Proverbs 12:8-9.

Luke 9:23-25 (NIV)
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [24] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. [25] What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Hard words.  Our culture does not understand self-denial.  In fact, the message is the opposite:  “You deserve to be happy.  Look out for yourself.  If you want something, go get it.”  But true discipleship is not only a life of self-denial, it is a life of self-death:  “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live…”  If this sounds like a depressing life, it is absolutely not.  It is only when we lose our selfish lives that we find true fulfillment in Jesus Christ.  Once again we see just how upside down the values of God’s Kingdom are in contrast to the values of this world.  Lose your life today and find the life you have been looking for.