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Thus, the process of abiding In Christ begins with submission to His daily disciplines. This makes the four things that God has asked of us of utmost importance. Let us look at the first three in review: To date, we have learned that God wants us to search the scriptures-daily; God wants us to take up our cross and follow Him-daily and God wants us to exhort one another-daily!

Today we will look at the fourth and final discipline that God has indicated should be done every single day. It is Paul's well known self confrontation "I die daily."

God wants us to die-daily! Understand that taking up your cross daily and dieing daily are two different daily disciplines. They seem similar and both involve the sacrifice of self, but they are for the benefit of two different beings. One benefits human beings. The other benefits the Supernatural Being.

To take up your cross every day is to suffer, be rejected and be slain for the sins or the sakes of others. But to die daily is not something we do for our sakes. Or something we do for the sakes of others. It is something that is done for "Christ's sake". The Christ life is primarily dependant upon one daily discipline that if overlooked will hinder Christ's ability to live through us. That discipline is for us to die.

In the passage in Hebrews where Paul pronounces that he died daily he was discussing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact he discussed the resurrection for nearly 30 verses before he bluntly proclaimed "I Die Daily!" Why doe he, while discussing the resurrection of Christ in such great detail, refer to his death rather than his resurrection?

It's simple. Paul didn't say "I resurrect daily", for he didn't resurrect. He may have died, but it was Christ who resurrected. He proclaimed in Galatians 2:20 though he was dead, he had come back alive. But it was not he that lived, but Christ that lived IN Him.

The life that IS Christ is dependant upon a life that is NOT Me! He doesn't want a better me, He wants a deader me. For me to live IS Christ and to die is gain. If I don't die and get out of the way, then Christ is limited in His ability to draw people unto Him through me. I hinder the work of the Savior for I am engaged in the work of Steve.

So we see that the Christ life is dependant on me dieing and Christ living. Thus for Christ to live His life through me every day, then I must be willing to die every day. With that truth understood we can see that real problem we face when we refuse to die is that we fail to give Christ His role to live.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY: "Good morning Father, today I find myself a bit disappointed in my recent struggle. I see my efforts to put you first in my life should be replaced with putting you in charge of my life. Not first and I pick the seconds and the rest. But first and you pick everything else. Lord, again I come to you asking you to forgive me for my yesterday's many failures. I confess my selfish stubborn ways as a hindrance to the work You are trying to do through me and I ask you to empower me today with your Spirit of Wisdom. I pray these things in the blood stained name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!"

A QUESTION FOR TODAY'S MEDITATION: "If you do what you've always done, then you will remain what you have always been."