Matthew 16:24-26

Matthew 16:24-26 (NIV)

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?”

I realize that life is not easy, especially for the believer.  We may have been told that once we accepted Christ, it would be nothing but smooth sailing from here on out.  That is the furthest from the truth.  Imagine that you have just accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and while the angels in Heaven are rejoicing, the demons and imps of hell are sitting at the edge of their seats, planning their strategy on how to get you to either denounce your confession, or how to make you stumble and fall to your demise.  This is when you must dig your heels in, draw that line in the sand, and call on Jesus to answer your prayer to give you the strength to fight the good fight of faith.  All the riches in the world will not help you when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, of which we all must go there.  So, you have the opportunity to call on the Lord in times of trouble, and make up your mind that for God you will live, and for God you will die.