The Upward Look - Luke 9:23a

Following Him
Luke 9:23a

“And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 NASB

Jesus issues a call to come after Him, to follow Him, to be His disciple. This call is not for one to have a superficial acquaintance, but instead to have an ongoing and growing personal relationship that embodies an absolute surrender to His Lordship. In MasterLife Avery Willis declares, “Christian discipleship is developing a personal, lifelong, obedient relationship with Jesus Christ in which He changes your character into Christlikeness, transforms your values into kingdom values, and involves you in His mission in the home, the church, and the world.”*

Lord Jesus, I yearn to follow You, to be completely surrendered to Your Lordship, and to honor and glorify You.

* Avery T. Willis Jr. and Sherrie Willis Brown, MasterLife: Developing a Rich Personal Relationship with the Master (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1998), 7.

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* Bible Copyright Credits

NASB © The Bible quotes marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA. (used with permission)

CSB © The Bible quotes marked CSB are from the Christian Standard Bible,
© Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers (used with permission).

HCSB © The Bible quotes marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible,
© Copyright 2000 by Holman Bible Publishers (used with permission).

NIV © The Bible quotes marked NIV are from the New International Version,
© Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, by The International Bible Society. (used with permission)

ESV © The Bible quotes marked ESV are from the English Standard Version,
© Copyright 2001, 2016, by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. (used with permission)

KJV The Bible quotes marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible and are in the Public Domain.