Matthew 16:24-25 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Everywhere we look today, there’s some kind of “self-help” advice—books, podcasts, videos, websites, even world-famous speakers—all telling us how to feel better about ourselves. And yet, so many of us still wrestle with self-doubt, even as believers!
But let’s think about this for a second. Did Yeshua (Jesus) ever say, “Just feel good about yourself”? No, He actually told us to crucify ourselves!
If we go around hating ourselves and even feeling condemnation over our faults and sins, what we are really doing is focusing on our self! My wife said something really wise the other day: Self-consciousness is not God-consciousness. And that’s the truth. God doesn’t want us fixated on ourselves — He wants our eyes on Him!
When we lay down our flesh and surrender fully, it’s no longer us trying to live this life — it’s about Him living through us! And if our old self is crucified, there’s no self left to hate, no self left to condemn. That’s real freedom! We’re free to serve the Lord and let Him do amazing things through us.
So let’s stop looking in the mirror and start looking up—because the more we focus on Him, the more He shines through us!
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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While Chanukah is not a Biblical feast mentioned in the Old Testament, it is an important one. Chanukah commemorates the story of small group of men with much courage — enough courage to defeat even the greatest of the world’s empires.
As we mentioned a couple of days ago, Chanukah commemorates of the desecration of the holy temple of old, (just another attempt of the enemy to wipe out the Jewish people and the things of God), God’s great grace and the rededication of the temple to Him.
As the world celebrates the end of 2024 and enters into 2025 tonight, it looks toward the conclusion of yet another year. However, God has not been working on his plan according to the Gregorian calendar- rather, according to His own calendar. For example, when Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified and became the Lamb of God slain for the world, it was on the Biblical feast of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew). When He rose again from the dead, His resurrection was on the feast of first fruits. Fifty days later, the Holy Spirit was poured out during the Hebrew Feast of Shavuot or better known as Pentecost. This marked the beginning of the harvest season, and we’ve been in the midst of the great harvest for the past 2000 years. The fall feasts have yet to be fulfilled prophetically, however we as believers are groaning for the world’s redemption!
This parable in Matthew 25 is a warning to the entire body — be ready with your oil! Each of these virgins was anticipating the Lord’s return; none were atheists, or non-believers. They were all virgins who claimed to be awaiting the Bridegroom’s arrival. But notice carefully that only half of them were truly ready.
In the year 1920, young Oswald Smith stood before the examining board for the selection of missionaries. He had wanted to be a missionary for as long as he could remember, and for all that time had been crying out to God that He might open a door for him to do so. Finally, his time had come. There he stood awaiting his destiny. His long-awaited was about to come…”No.”
When God called Gideon to lead Israel against their enemies, He wanted to show that a small army empowered by God was more effective than the largest armies. But notice how they fought – without weapons that an army would normally use. They fought with shofars and lamps! They fought with weapons that the world would consider ineffective, yet triumphed mightily over their enemies. They shouted as loud as they could, sounded the shofar, and broke the vessels that held the fire so that their lamps burst through with brightness.
Let me tell you a funny little story. An old mountaineer and his wife were sitting by the fireplace one evening, passing the time in silence. After a while, the wife broke the stillness and said, “Jed, I think it’s raining. Go outside and check, will ya?”