Today is October 27May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.” Today’s reading is from the gospel of Mark, chapter 8. 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?How do the words ‘deny yourself’ feel to you? Start your prayer today by thinking about the discipline of self-denial… and do a bit of evaluating regarding yourself, and how well you engage in this particular discipline. If you’re like me, you’re not very good at it! Allow the Lord to search your heart for places where he is inviting you to deny yourself.I often think how funny it is that we followers of Jesus love to read his words as metaphor. Ah, they may be thinking as they listen to him: ‘take up our cross’. Okay… that means we’ll do some difficult stuff. Imagine how they felt a few years later, remembering these words, as they watched Jesus stumble through the streets, beaten and bloody, carrying His cross. Listen again, and try to put yourself in their place. How would that moment of reality shift their metaphorical understanding of this text?“Whoever lives their life for me and for the gospel will save it…” Let’s recall: what is the gospel? How would you summarize it up for yourself? If you can, take time to remind yourself of the gospel. If you have trouble finding the words, then ask yourself, How has the good news of Jesus changed my life and how can I live for him today? Music Credit:"This Is Love" - Vineyard Worship (YouTube)

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