From Rianna Bingham

A Daily Invitation to Follow

DENY, TAKE UP AND FOLLOW

Everyone’s had a bad day. Sometimes those bad days stretch into weeks, months or whole seasons. Before we even realise it, the things that once made a day ‘bad’ can become our new normal. We start thinking negatively, drifting into the wrong environments, making choices that hurt us or the people around us, and, after a while, it can feel impossible to fix.

Have you ever wondered if you’re too far gone, too messy or too inconsistent to be someone God can use?

In the Bible, we see something similar in the lives of Jesus’ own disciples. They weren’t trained theologians or men with perfect reputations; they were ordinary people with ordinary flaws. Yet, right in the middle of teaching them what it truly means to follow him, Jesus doesn’t list qualifications they need; he says, in Luke 9:23 (NIV):

“…‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’”

There are no qualifications, there’s no checklist, and no spotless reputation required to be a disciple of Jesus; only a willingness to lay down your sin and choose his way. While there’s no overnight fix for our lives, and while consequences may linger, every new morning brings the same invitation: “follow me.” Jesus’ call in Luke 9:23 reminds us that discipleship isn’t a single moment but a daily, ongoing decision. And this shows us something beautiful about God: his patience and mercy meet us day after day.

God’s merciful invitation isn’t cancelled out by yesterday’s mistakes, and that should get us excited: today is a new day! And the invitation remains the same: deny yourself and follow him. The way you felt on your worst day doesn’t discount you from accepting God’s merciful invitation today to follow him...To lay down your own habits, attitudes, and desires, and pick up the calling on your life – to live as a son or daughter of the King of kings, who’s called you to a higher purpose.

Reflection

• When you’re having a bad day, do you tend to turn towards God for help or turn away and try to handle things on your own?
• In your morning routine, what simple practice could help you make a daily commitment to follow Jesus?
• What habits, attitudes, or sins are you still carrying that God may be inviting you to lay down today?

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for the reminder that you are journeying with us day by day. Every time we wake, we are faced with new mercy and a fresh invitation to lay down our sin and follow you. Help me to deny myself, my own desires, and instead follow you. I pray that the strongholds of my past wouldn’t hold me back as I accept your call to be your disciple. Remind me again of this joy as I wake tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.