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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to

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Speaker 1: have you listening. Today's topic is about selflessness and sacrifice.

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Speaker 1: We'll return with the devotional after a brief message from

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Speaker 1: one of our sponsors. We must Die Daily, written and

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Speaker 1: read by Emily Rose Massey, that I may know him

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Speaker 1: and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings,

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Speaker 1: becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible,

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Speaker 1: I may attain the resurrection from the dead Philippians, Chapter

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Speaker 1: three verse As a mom and a wife, I am

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Speaker 1: given countless opportunities to set aside my wants and sacrifice

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Speaker 1: my love, time and attention to the needs of my

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Speaker 1: husband and children. Pouring yourself out like that on a

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Speaker 1: daily basis can sometimes be physically exhausting. I find myself

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Speaker 1: praying for supernatural strength often. Yet at the end of

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Speaker 1: the day, even though I'm tempted to wander where my

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Speaker 1: meed time is, my heart is always full. This is

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Speaker 1: when I begin to see more clearly what the apostle

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Speaker 1: Paul meant when he said I die daily. The biblical

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Speaker 1: principle of dying to yourself has always been true, but

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Speaker 1: I didn't always live it. Or even understand it. Becoming

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Speaker 1: a stay at home mom has challenged me in more

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Speaker 1: ways than I can count in the area of putting

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Speaker 1: others before myself, and I am always learning and finding

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Speaker 1: that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive.

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Speaker 1: As Jesus disciples, we are called to follow him. That

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Speaker 1: was Paul's mission in life to imitate Christ, and it

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Speaker 1: is what he and the rest of the Apostles literally

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Speaker 1: gave their lives to preach to the world through their

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Speaker 1: words and actions. We may not ever get the honor

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Speaker 1: to literally die for Jesus Christ because of our faith

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Speaker 1: in Him, but by God's race, we can imitate his

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Speaker 1: selflessness every day. The apostle Paul emphasizes his great desire

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Speaker 1: to join Christ and his suffering and become like Christ

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Speaker 1: and his daily dying of self, that I may know

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Speaker 1: Him and the power of his resurrection, and may share

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Speaker 1: his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by

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Speaker 1: any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians,

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Speaker 1: Chapter three, verse ten, intersecting faith and life. To be

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Speaker 1: able to imitate Christ and enjoy this kind of fellowship

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Speaker 1: with him, we must look to Jesus as our example.

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Speaker 1: Even though Jesus was God in the flesh, he still

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Speaker 1: leaned upon God the Father for everything he said and did.

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Speaker 1: While he walked this earth. Jesus would rise early to

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Speaker 1: pray and seek God for his will for the day.

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Speaker 1: In addition to seeking God in prayer, Jesus obediently submitted

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Speaker 1: himself to the will of the Father, even unto death.

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Speaker 1: Each day we are faced with the temptation to satisfy

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Speaker 1: our flesh and go outside the boundaries of God's perfect will.

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Speaker 1: We discover what that will is when we read the

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Speaker 1: Bible and study it for ourselves to learn God's ways.

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Speaker 1: We are not perfect, but thankfully Jesus was, and because

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Speaker 1: of his sacrifice on the cross, we have been given

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Speaker 1: the precious gift of the Holy Spirit. As born again believers.

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Speaker 1: The characteristics of Jesus's death should be the characteristics of

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Speaker 1: our lives, humility, sacrifice, and glory to God through disciple making. Ultimately,

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Speaker 1: Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve others.

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Speaker 1: Mark chapter ten, verse forty five. Jesus ministered to thousands

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Speaker 1: upon thousands of people during his time here on earth.

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Speaker 1: John chapter twenty two tells us that if all the

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Speaker 1: things that Jesus did were written down, the entire world

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Speaker 1: could not contain the books that would be written. Dying

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Speaker 1: daily definitely isn't easy, but it is worth it because

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Speaker 1: Jesus promises us that whoever loses his life will find

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Speaker 1: it and find it a ba undantly Matthew chapter ten,

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Speaker 1: verse thirty nine. John Chapter ten, verse ten. But remember,

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Speaker 1: we cannot die daily in our own strength. Friends. The

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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit is who empowers us to choose God's way

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Speaker 1: through the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter five, verses

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Speaker 1: twenty two through twenty three. With each passing day, by

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Speaker 1: God's grace, we mature and cultivate a life worth dying for,

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Speaker 1: a life found in Christ alone. Living like Christ, dying

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Speaker 1: is a continual process of humility and sacrifice. May God

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Speaker 1: empower us to die daily and choose others above ourselves.

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Speaker 1: Our flesh wants nothing to do with denying it of anything.

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Speaker 1: We don't want to experience suffering. But it is in

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Speaker 1: those moments of dying to self that you become more

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Speaker 1: like Christ. What are difficulties and trials that you're currently facing.

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Speaker 1: Ask the Lord to help you embrace those trials and

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Speaker 1: sufferings so that you may grow closer to Him. Let

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Speaker 1: us seek to look like Christ's dying by learning how

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Speaker 1: to be humble and sacrificial. Instead of resisting those difficult times,

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Speaker 1: ask the Lord to help you find great opportunities for sanctification,

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Speaker 1: to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus, and

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Speaker 1: lean into His grace through the trial. For their reading

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Speaker 1: Second Corinthians chapter four, Verses ten through eleven. Luke Chapter nine,

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Speaker 1: Versus twenty three through twenty seven, This twenty three through

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Speaker 1: twenty seven. Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you

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Speaker 1: liked what you heard today, we want to make sure

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Speaker 1: you know about our sister podcast, your Daily Prayer. When

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Speaker 1: so your days begin in conversation with God. If you're

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Speaker 1: looking to grow in prayer or start your day with

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Speaker 1: your heart focused on the right things, search for your

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