"Let him deny himself. This self-denial is very extensive, and implies that we ought to give up our natural inclinations, and part with all the affections of the flesh, and thus give our consent to be reduced to nothing, provided that God lives and reigns in us. We know that blind men naturally regard themselves, how much they are devoted to themselves, how highly they estimate themselves. But if we desire to enter into the school of Christ, we must begin with that folly to which, Paul (1 Cor. iii. 18) exhorts us, becoming fools, that we may never be wise; and next we must control and subdue our affections."John Calvin"They must not be indulgent of the ease of the body; for "Whosoever will come after me for spiritual cures, as these people do for bodily cures, let him deny himself, and live a life of self-denial, mortification, and contempt of the world; let him not pretend to be his own physician, but renounce all confidence in himself and his own righteousness and strength."Matthew Henry"As the Jew denied the Messiah (Acts 3:14), so his follower denies self, will not have himself as his ruler or his aim. He determines no to live according to his own inclinations, but to do and bear whatever may be necessary in the course he has undertaken. He must resolve not to live not for pleasure, but usefulness; not for inclination, but duty; not for self, but for God."John Broadus"The disciple must say to himself the same words Peter said of Christ when he denied him: 'I know not this man.' Self-denial is never just a series of isolated acts of mortification or asceticism. It is not suicide, for there is an element of self-will even in that. To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all that self-denial can say is: 'He leads the way, keep close to him.'"Dietrich Bonhoeffer
May we learn what it means to truly deny ourselves - God bless.
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