Luke 9:23

        “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me”. We should start using the term disciple of Jesus, or follower of Jesus instead of the word Christian. Christian only appears in the Bible 1 time (Acts 11:26), and it is referring to the Disciples. The word “Christian” in that verse is from the Greek “Christianos”, which means “follower of Christ”, but now it seems that anyone who has ever gone into a church calls themselves a Christian. In our text today, we see what Jesus says about it. First, you must have a desire to come after Him. Using His name, or going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, Disciple, or follower of Jesus. Do you really have a desire to go after Him or even get closer to Him? Have you given your life to Christ? The real understanding of that phrase would make you wonder if you did. If you really gave your life to Jesus, it’s His to do what He wants with it. If Jesus told you to go to the Amazon jungles of Brazil, would you go?  My best friend and his wife did just that, going to the jungle villages that were only accessible by boat. After over 10 years there, they are now in the South Pacific doing the same thing. That’s giving your life to Jesus. I have another friend who, as a single young man, left everything this world has to offer to be a missionary in Russia. Now married, he and his family are in the Ukraine, even with the war there, and the church is growing. That’s desiring to come after Jesus, denying yourself, and taking up your cross. That’s the attitude of a follower of Jesus. I ask again, did you give your life to Jesus?