The Simple Life

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”"    Mark 8:35-38 (ESV) Jesus does not give us opinions. His message of living with a greater purpose than ourselves is clear. His warnings are stark and He cannot, has not, and will not lie. I was created for a much greater purpose than comfort, wealth, power, and popularity can deliver. I was created to die. Nothing is alive apart from something dying in order to give it life. Life has never been about life, but about death, and this death is what brings about life. Perhaps the greatest deception Satan has wielded is that of life being

 ”And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”"   Mark 8:34-38 (ESV) The cross was the purpose Jesus came. He created me with a purpose, and today I have a choice to ignore His purpose for me by listening to this temporal bundle of feelings and emotions, or to deny myself and purposely align myself with God and His purposes for me. If I am to follow Christ, I must deny myself, pick up my cross, and follow. I will either listen to God a