Read Mark 8:34-37 in your personal Bible or at the link provided.
Review
- What must Jesus’s followers do?
- How would they lose or gain their lives?
- What questions does He ask His disciples?
Reflect
Jesus’ picture of taking up a cross would have been familiar to His disciples who witnessed this Roman method of execution. Those sentenced to crucifixion had to carry their crosses to their own execution site, and Jesus Himself carried one when He laid down His life for us. He asks His followers to pick up their crosses as a sign of exchanging their way of living for His.
When we say yes to Jesus, He asks us to lay down our self-sufficiency and desire to have our own way in exchange for dependence on Him and obedience to His Word. Following our own wants can appear to satisfy us, but the world can’t give us lasting fulfillment. Life with Christ is worth more than anything we could acquire on earth.
Taking up your cross is a daily decision to keep serving Him. How easy or difficult is this for you right now? What might you need to lay at Jesus’ feet? Which promise of His do you need to remember in your current season, and who can you share that encouragement with?
Respond
Pray through these questions, and write down what God is prompting you to do next. Share with a friend, and take a step to apply it.
Remember
During At the Movies, each week we’ll focus on remembering what we read. If you’re new to memorizing Scripture, start by looking at one section of one verse to remember this week.
Read John 10:10 again to remember. If you want to begin by memorizing just part of it, start with this phrase:
“My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”