A Call To Die

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Matthew 16.24

The Lord put fasting on my heart a few months ago. I'm not quite sure where He is going with the whole thing, but I know He is going to ask me to give up something for a season. I'm learning a lot about how fasting expresses my complete dependance on Him and His word. But I know whatever it is, in the end it will be worth it--the reward will far outweigh the cost. He has already given me more of Himself than I could ever ask for.

"The rewards are great, but so is the cost. It costs us everything. Like the hymn says, "I surrender all," not "I surrender 10%." No one will tell you that it's and easy road. Jesus himself faced hardship on the cross. He wept. He sweat. He asked his friends to pray. The result of his obedience was that God is exalted above all and Crhist became the way for you and I to be forgiven. Man, I'm glad he didn't bail! You and I will face excruciating moments, too, when it seems God is asking too much and nobody is there for us. Those are the most painful, and the most important, times in our journey. We will feel alone, but we aren't. God is with us, and he has not forsaken us, especially in those times of need. Our obedience is worth it."
A Call to Die by David Nasser