The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? – Jeremiah 17:9.

Then he [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9:23.

Discipleship – Lived Daily

Fritz represents the Air Force Academy football team, making remarkable catches. But he doesn’t play wide receiver or running back. A prairie falcon, Fritz regularly accompanies the team as a mascot, staging halftime shows that delight the crowd. Plunging from the top of a stadium at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, Fritz can pluck a leather pouch out of midair. A group of cadets raise, train, and show the falcons. While a number of necessary factors enter into the training, there is one that guarantees success: daily discipline for the birds. Should the trainers relax the regimen for even a week, the birds would return to their wild state.

With good reason Jesus taught the need of daily self-denial in our Christian life. Without it, we run the risk of returning to a more familiar, less demanding lifestyle. While we live in the flesh, the danger of reverting to our undisciplined, unspiritual state demands daily self-denial. As in the falcons, our past always lurks closer than we think. Only as we train daily do we keep it at bay.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated. Used by permission.
*Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved.