"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the
same shall save it" (Luke 9:23,24).

Denial of self is quite different from self-denial. Thousands have denied themselves food or things
they enjoyed immensely for the sake of their health or life. But this is not a denial of self. In early
centuries of Church history men sometimes lived in seclusion on the barest of diets_and still
found there had been no denial of self. To deny self is to put Christ on the throne of one’s life,
to make His will the governing factor, to constantly live in the spirit of "not I, but Christ" (Gal.
2:20).

"Let him … take up his cross daily"_this is the trial. A man might heroically do it once for all,
and he would have plenty of people to honor him, but it is very difficult to go on every day
denying oneself and no one knowing anything about it. But if you spare the flesh in this life, you
will lose your life in the next. If you lose your life here, you will get it elsewhere, above and
beyond this world.