The apostle Paul tells us that if we want to live a life holy and acceptable to Christ, we must deny ourselves DAILY and pick up our crosses each and every day.

This is so easy to say, but so hard to do each and every day. Do you believe you have been living your life for God? Do you believe your life is holy and acceptable to him? I want my life to be a living witness of God's goodness, mercy and grace. I know I will sway, sin and dishonor God but I know that God will still love me and understand that I, we are just humans and we live in a sinful world. All God wants from us, is to repent of our sinful ways and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us in to the likeness of Jesus.

Why is it important to live a life like that? Why is it important to live for God? Here’s your answer, if you aren’t living for God, who are you living for? What wakes you up each and every day. Nothing can bring you unspeakable joy and happiness like the Lord. I have learned that only Christ can provide that for me. Being a young adult in our society is hard, there are so many things buying at our attention and if we aren’t rooted in Christ, we will fall for every act of the enemy. Don’t subject yourself to a life of sin and disappointment. I know it’s hard to deny yourself each and every day of sinful desires and truly live for God, but it is so worth it. When God sees that you are committing yourself to Him fully, He will bless you immensely. God should be your only source, and with a source like Him, you will never want for anything. He is the only one who will give you a fruitful life, a life that is so full and wonderful. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to be blessed beyond measure and to feel whole.  Only God Can provide that for us.

Here are some tips on how to pick up your cross daily and follow God:

• We must be disciplined in our Christian walk, we have to focus on God and his commandments. The Bible was created for a reason, it is full of stories of other Christians denying themselves to live a life for God. Use the people in the Bible as a guide for living your life.

• We can’t give into temptation and the acts of the enemy. We have to stand strong and be the light for others. I understand that this is hard to do but once you start changing your way of thinking and behaving, God will bless you with discernment so that you will not fall into sin. God gave us the opportunity to show others Christ through our lives, if we aren’t living for God, it will show.

• We must focus on God and allow him to be the only source that we pull from. It means denying ourselves of worldly desires and trusting that God will make a way and see us through all things. Life will throw many challenges at us but if our eyes are solely focused on the Lord, we will overcome every obstacle.

These 3 steps may seem easy to follow but trust me, putting your whole trust in the Lord is not easy. I, myself, have to deny myself hourly lol. I am learning to fully put my trust in the Lord and it is so hard. The reward however is worth far more than we know. Join me in this journey of trusting in the Lord, every minute of every hour of everyday. Let's pick up our crosses and give God total access to us.