Day 19 - Lent 2026
SO YOU WANT TO BE A DISCIPLE?
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Matthew 16:24-26 NIV
During this Lenten season, we’ve been challenged to give things up that matter to us, things that bring us joy and satisfaction, things that have become part of our routine. But when we surrender certain creature comforts, we become resentful, agitated and bothered. We begin to ask ourselves, “Why are we doing this? Is it just a ritual? Will we get anything out of this period of denial?” All reasonable questions. And I believe this text from Matthew’s Gospel addresses our mid-Lenten queries.
After Jesus taught some powerful lessons, He challenges His learners (and us modern day disciples) by saying if they really wanted to hang with Him and learn from Him, they had to do three things:
Deny themselves. This is important to us on this Lenten journey. If our desire is to be close to Jesus, we must say “NO” to ourselves!
Take up their individual crosses. Jesus had a cross that He suffered on. Each of us will have crosses to carry. And while suffering is part of being a Christian, Jesus showed us how to deal with the crosses of this life
Follow Him. He is our Leader. Following Him is not optional. It is mandatory. And when we consistently and intentionally follow Jesus, we’re assured of recurring success
Let us pray:
Gracious Lord, we thank you for the challenge you have laid before us. We want to be near you but we also know that along with that desire, we must deny, understand that suffering is part of our call and that followship is a necessary part of discipleship. Help us to be good disciples. In Jesus’s name, we pray, Amen.
SUBMITTED BY PASTOR SCOTT WILLIAMS