Denial

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.”

- John 13:36-38, NKJV

Are you heading in the same direction as your Lord or are you going to the beat of a different drum? Know that many Christians today are suffering from a bad case of denial in that they say they love the Lord, but their hearts are far off - Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’ (Matthew 15:7-9, NKJV). Likewise it is this same group of Christians who scoffs at Peter for denying knowing Jesus three times, yet when the world’s pressure is applied to their lives, their Church, and their faith, they compromise the very doctrine that was established by the blood of Christ. Your denial encompasses the totality of your essence, and since your body is His, any/all things (big or small) that are misaligned with His will are simply another version of denial. As a result, you cannot follow Him where He is going because you must lay down your life (deny self) in order to gain His. So are you in denial? Perhaps it is time to examine just how much of you has truly decreased that He might be increased…

BE BLESSED!