No Crown without a Cross

UV 3113/10000 No Crown without a Cross
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me
Matthew 16 v 24
Scripture clearly shows us that we can have no victory, no triumph without carrying the cross. The cross does not mean something physical or that we punish ourselves. It means that we subject ourselves to the discipline of the Lord, His word and the Holy Spirit. We need to deny our lusts and pride but we do not need to deny what is legitimised by the word and the Lord. We need to follow Jesus in terms of following His taught principles, His example of patience and strength and character in the face of extreme temptation and extreme suffering. The Lord will, of course, give us a cross that we can bear.
The cross is an instrument of death. We need to willingly put to death all that is not in accordance with the word and the will of the Lord. The iceberg of our lusts or our sinful self needs to melt in the presence of the Lord in His love and grace. We need to pray and ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit to know what are the specific areas we need to deny ourselves and then go ahead and do it. As we focus on the example of Jesus and meditate on His words, He as the author and finisher of our faith will begin a good work in that area or areas and see it to completion.
Denial implies that we say, “No” to ourselves and “Yes” to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It means that we do not do our own wills but seek the will of the Lord and execute His will. Like the grain of seed that dies to itself before it can produce much fruit, we die to our own egos, our own desires and our own set ways of doing things. We crucify or nail anything that displeases or grieves the Holy Spirit. We get rid of dead habits in our lives. The cross can also mean a source of personal pain in our lives that does not go away or does not abate. The Lord will give us the grace or strength to bear our crosses and endure it till we inherit our crowns.