Deny Self & Pick Up Cross

Matthew 16:24: "Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"

Luke 9:23: "And He said to them all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'"

Essentially, these verses say the same thing but Luke adds one important word that changes the whole thing: daily.  The point in all of this is that following Christ requires that we acknowledge giving every thing to Christ in obedient worship and praise to His glorious name.  Salvation is often reduced to a single act of ascending to theological propositions in faith unto salvation.  But belief in Christ demands more.  As Luke's quote of Christ remarks, devotion to Christ requires a daily, intentional giving of ourselves to the Lord Jesus in obedient faith.  Let us then take these words of Christ seriously, always.