Write as a Jeff Foxworthy-style rant on Luke 9:23, in the literal Pauline sense of being crucified with Christ — versus either cultural or moralistic Christianity.
ChatGPT Prompt
[Intro]
“Now Jesus said in Luke 9:23: ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.’
Now, I don’t know about y’all… but that don’t exactly sound like a marketing slogan. That’s not, ‘Your Best Life Now.’ That’s more like, ‘Come Die With Me, Season One.’”
1. Deny Yourself
“Let’s start with that first one: ‘deny yourself.’
See, some of y’all heard ‘deny yourself’ and thought it meant cutting carbs. No sir. Jesus wasn’t talkin’ about the Keto plan.”
- If you think “deny yourself” means skipping dessert at the church potluck while you post a picture about it on Instagram…
…you might not be His disciple. - If your version of self-denial is bragging about how many hours you prayed this morning…
…you might not be His disciple. - If your ‘self-denial’ is really just running yourself into the ground so you can feel more holy than the guy in the next pew…
…you ain’t denying yourself, you’re worshipping yourself—with a cross necklace on.”
For Paul, self-denial was not dieting or burnout. It was death of the ego. “I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20).
2. Take Up Your Cross
“Now the second one—‘take up your cross.’ We watered that thing down like a bad pot of Baptist coffee.
These days, your ‘cross’ is whatever annoys you. ‘Well, I guess my cross to bear is slow Wi-Fi during my morning devotionals.’
- If you think your ‘cross’ is putting up with your mother-in-law’s casserole at the potluck…
…you might not be His disciple. - If you think ‘cross-bearing’ is signing up for every single church ministry until you collapse like a holy workaholic…
…you might not be His disciple.
Let’s get real: the cross wasn’t a clipboard, it wasn’t a Greek verb chart, and it sure wasn’t a “serving opportunity.” The cross was an execution device. You didn’t carry it to be busy. You carried it to die.”
That’s why Paul said he wanted to “share in Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10).
3. Follow Me
“And then Jesus said: ‘Follow me.’
But oh no, we made that one nice and safe too. For us, ‘follow me’ means ‘like and subscribe.’
- If you think ‘following Jesus’ means downloading the Bible app and never opening it…
…you might not be His disciple. - If you think it’s living a slightly cleaner version of the American Dream, with a fish bumper sticker on your SUV…
…you might not be His disciple. - If ‘following Jesus’ means reading every commentary in your seminary library but never once letting it kill your pride…
…you might not be His disciple.
Following Him means you don’t just admire the cross from a safe distance. You don’t just tweet a Charles Spurgeon quote about it. You get on it.”
Paul says, “We are buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
4. The Punchline
“See, the tragedy is this: some of us sell Christianity cheap—consumer comfort. Others of us sell it expensive—hardcore asceticism, burnout ministry, obsessive theology. But both missed the point.
Jesus doesn’t want admirers. He doesn’t want overachievers. He wants the crucified.
So if your Christianity makes you smug, exhausted, or just comfortable…
…you might just be religious.
But if you’re daily dying, daily letting go, daily trading your life for His? Then congratulations—
…you might actually be His disciple.”
Radically Happy 
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