Luke 9

Then He said to them all: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” Luke 9:23-25 NIV

To deny yourself is a challenging, but essential component of what the Christian life is supposed to be like.  We, as Christians, should live to serve His purposes, and not the other way around.  Although it is hard to avoid at times, thinking about what God can do for us is completely selfish.  We should feel compelled to let go of selfish ambition, worldly possessions, and desires of the flesh, as these make it impossible to turn away from self-centeredness.  Our thoughts and actions should focus on what we can do for Him and His Kingdom, at the expense of our own needs and wants.   Living this way comes with yet another amazing promise from God:  “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33).   If you struggle with self-centeredness and worldly desires tend to have a strong-hold on your life, ask Him for the strength to change your heart for Christ.  Only then can you fully experience the freedom that Jesus died to give you.

As the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for Him; but the people there did not welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then He and His disciples went to another village. ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭51‬-‭56‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Here, James and John expect Jesus to behave like the angry, vengeful, genocidal God they thought they knew from Hebrew traditions and scriptures.  Yet, Jesus behaves in the exact opposite way they expected and even rebukes them.  This indicates that vindictive retribution is of an un-Godly spirit.  Jesus is trying to teach them (and us) that punishment for the sake of vengeance, is not part of His character.  “The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion” (Numbers 14:18).  It is true that there were times in the Old Testament, as there are times today, where God disciplines people for their actions.  Godly punishment is sometimes necessary for correction and redirection of a person or an entire nation.  It does not arise from revenge, and serves to better the person(s) being corrected:  “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”  (Hebrews 12:11).