I want the crown NOW! I want the glory NOW! I want to be the hero NOW. I want people to notice MY ministry NOW! Later is too late. I want to be made much of NOW!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated in The Cost of Discipleship, “when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Our Lord said in Matthew 7, the door is small and narrow and so is the path to following our Lord Jesus. The door is the Cross and the path to following Jesus is the Calvary Road. That means dying daily to MY crown here, MY glory here, MY being the hero here. There is only ONE whom we are called to follow. There is only ONE glory that counts. There is only ONE hero. It is Jesus. We are called to die daily on a cross so we may receive a crown in glory. It is all about HIM.

Later our Lord says in Matthew 7:21-23 (the scariest verses in all Scripture) to those who have great ministries in HIS name, done great miracles in HIS name, have great churches in HIS name, and done big things in HIS Name, but did it all for themselves, “I never knew you, depart from ME, you who practice lawlessness.” Oh my!

True confession: I have spent most of the last 40 years using Jesus’ Name to build my own kingdom, my own glory, my own name.

Oh, Lord Jesus, please forgive me. I have committed blasphemy and wickedness in using YOU for my glory story. I repent, Lord Jesus. Show me how to die daily to my glory, my kingdom. It is all about YOU. My soul longs to be able to say with the Apostle Paul in Romans 15:18, “For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed.” I ache for You. I long for Your glory. Show me how to get out of Your way. Show me how I may bear the cross daily by dying to me so I may receive the crown in glory. Today the cross and death. In glory, a crown.

“In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” -2 Timothy 4:8

So what has to die in your life today so you will receive that crown in the future? It is only in dying that the life of Jesus is revealed. John 12:24 is the daily call from our Master. Dying daily bears much fruit!