Feb 18 : Matthew 16

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
What does that mean to you, to deny yourself? Deny yourself of what? I think the answer is complicated in that there are certain things or ideas you need to deny that is unique to you. Kind of like a tailored suit this passage has a meaning tailored to fit only your size. You have to examine what it is. It cannot be taken lightly. By that I mean you cannot size yourself up to other people and expect there to be a specific standard of guidelines that need to be followed. Your neighbor deals with excessive pride, but you don't. You deal with issues of lust, but he doesn't. None is worse than the other. It doesn't mean you are a better person. It means you have something that you must deny and your neighbor has something else to deny. Both are equal in terms of what Jesus is talking about - both are used as tools by Satan to have you forfeit your soul. Lets think about this =]