Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 June 2026 Luke 9:23.
Luke 9:23. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’
And so we’ve moved on to Thursday, the hot, sunny penultimate day of our work week – rather quickly in my humble opinion. (smile) But then, the way the Lord runs His universe is too big for us small-minded folks to understand. And He states that quite plainly through the prophet Isaiah. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9)
That means we will not be able to understand a lot of things that happen both in our lives and in the world, because God is still on the throne and still ruling the universe He created in the fashion He desires. Consequently, we need to put our utmost trust in Him, and rely on His unmatched, unfailing faithfulness, if we desire to live the good and abundant life here on earth.
And today we’re going to look at some tips from the May In Touch Devotional that shows us how to keep on keeping on in our faithful journey with Christ. They advise: ‘This is how you move forward in faith: by remembering where God has taken you so far and staying open to where He’ll take you tomorrow.’
Yes my brethren, the best way to build faith is to remember all that God has dome for us in the past, how He moved us forward from one point of glory to another, and therefore He will be there to look after us in the future. It’s like Bruh David says in Psalm 37 – titled ‘Trust in the Lord.’ ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread,’ (Ps. 37:25).
One commentary explains it thus: ‘In that verse David is reflecting on God’s unwavering faithfulness throughout his lifetime. He shares his observation that, even in the midst of trials, those who walk in righteousness are never abandoned by God, nor do their children go without provision.’ So let’s move forward in faith.
The next bit of advice the Devotional offers is: ‘This is how you show up: by carrying your LOVED ones as you go, every hour, every day – not perfectly but faithfully, holding them in prayer.’ I guess that’s like Jesus said in the parable of the persevering widow and unjust judge: ‘men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) Or like Bruh Paul advises in 1 Thessalonians: ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thess. 5:17) In other words, as the scholars declare: ‘a believer ought to remain in the attitude of prayer though not always praying audibly.’
Then the Devotional continues by saying: ‘This is how you move beyond what’s comfortable: by LOVING sacrificially, doing right by everyone, honouring this life you’ve been entrusted with.’ And you know the sacrificial living thing is always a burr in our sides, because sacrificing is against our basic human nature. But that’s what Jesus is all about. That’s why He came to earth; to sacrifice His sinless life to pay for our abominable sins.
And when you signed up to be His follower you also signed up for sacrificial living. Remember what discipleship is all about? As Jesus defined it: ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Yes my people, as followers of Christ, we are called to be sacrificial whenever necessary.
And that’s how we need to live for Jesus, as the Devotional continues: ‘Even on the long days, the boring days, the wish-it-were-already-tomorrow days. Remaining steady, present with the people around you. Knowing that God is carrying you through.’ Oh my fellow believers those are ever so true and faithful words! We need to remain strong and steadfast in LOVE and compassionate caring, knowing without a doubt that God’s faithfulness will carry us through, because He’s promised that if we’re faithful to Him, He will be faithful to us. And He never reneges on any of His promises.
And the concluding, crowning statement of the Devotional is this: ‘We’re here for that journey. All of it.’ And so we are my fellow believers in Christ! It’s a journey we have signed up for, knowing that it would not be an easy one, but that the rewards from undertaking it successfully will be glorious and incomparable; salvation and eternal life with Christ!
There’s nothing in this world to truly beat that. Lustful pleasures might thrill us for a while, but what happens when this comparatively short life is over, as it will certainly be? What’s going to happen for the rest of that never-ending period called eternity? There are only two choices friends; live for earthly pleasure and die an eternal death, or live for Jesus and live forever. The choice is the individual’s!
And to show how good God is, and how much He wants you to spend eternity with Him, He’s generously bestowed undeserved blessings on us, to enable us to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So, let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having accepted those undeserved blessings, it now behooves us to go out and use them to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…living for Christ…that’s the decision of all decisions…the ultimate decision…
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