Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The second criterion Jesus gave to be His disciple in Matthew 16:24 was to “take up your cross.” The cross was a form of torture and execution in the Roman world.…

Matthew 16:24, “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.’” The word disciple, “mathetes” in the Greek means, “a student or pupil of a teacher.” Just like in modern times when a person joins a mentoring program for their…

Matthew 4:20, “At once they left their nets and followed him.” What if your whole life revolved around being a fisherman? Everything you would do everyday would be focused on just one thing, catching fish. You would wake up early each day to get your nets ready, work on the boat, get bait and head out…

Matthew 4:19, “Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.'” The first four disciples of Jesus were two sets of brothers who were fishermen. Jesus had met them when He was teaching by the Sea of Galilee. Today’s passage comes from the time Jesus called the first set…

1 Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” It is always important to remember that the most pivotal aspect of being a disciple is being born again. To be “born again” means that you have been given a new spiritual…

Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” In the Old Testament, Moses was commanded by God to anoint the priests for service in the Tabernacle by pouring oil over their heads and letting it run down their beards and their robes…

Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Some people in the church forget that the Holy Spirit is just as much of a person as the Father and the Son are. Unfortunately, Christians can sometimes treat the Holy Spirit like He is…