giving up

Proverbs 9:23 Then Jesus said to the crowd,

     "If any of you wants to be my follower,

          you must put aside your selfish ambitions,

          take up your cross daily,

          and follow me.

24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.

     But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it

.25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.


How many are seriously willing to do this in a day when we're more interested in living the American Dream, drinking the perfect latte as we drive our SUV through our perfect little neighborhood to our McMansion, living the life of the richest people in the history of the world, while the rest of the world goes to hell in a handbasket?