Luke 9:23-24 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24Â For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.Â
The cross was never the end — it was the doorway to new life. When Yeshua (Jesus) rose from the grave, He didn’t rise alone. In Him, we too were raised into a new identity — no longer bound by the old nature, but alive in the power of resurrection. The same Spirit that rolled away the stone now lives in every believer who has placed their faith in Him. As Paul wrote, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection” (Romans 6:4-5).
The resurrection is not only a past event — it is a living reality that defines who you are right now. The same power that shattered the grip of death now flows through you, because heaven sees you in Him. When the Father looks upon you, He no longer sees your past, your failures, or your striving — He sees the life of His Son beating within you. The tomb was emptied so that your life could be filled — filled with His Spirit, His righteousness, and His divine purpose. When Yeshua rose, you rose with Him; when He stepped out of the grave, heaven declared a new identity over you. The old you — marked by sin, shame, and self-effort — was buried forever, and in its place, a new creation emerged. Heaven now beholds you as robed in His righteousness, radiant with His glory, and restored fully to His image — a son or daughter alive with resurrection life, seated with Messiah in heavenly places.
But resurrection life is not lived out just once; it is embraced daily. Yeshua said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). The call to take up our cross daily is not an invitation to suffering for suffering’s sake — it is an invitation to continual transformation. Each day we choose to crucify the flesh, to silence the voice of the old man that longs to live again, and to walk in the identity purchased for us 2000 years ago.
The apostle Paul declared, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This is the essence of resurrection living — to die daily to the self that once ruled us and to live daily by faith in the One who now dwells within us. Each surrender becomes a resurrection moment, where the old falls away and the life of Yeshua rises stronger within.
Beloved, resurrection life is not reserved for the future; it begins now. The same Spirit that raised Yeshua from the dead empowers you to overcome the pull of the flesh and to walk in the newness of life. Every morning is a resurrection invitation — to leave the grave of yesterday behind and to walk in the light of His victory today. You are no longer defined by what was buried but by what has risen.
Every choice to forgive, to love, to obey, and to trust — every moment you die to self — resurrection power flows again. You were never called to live by willpower but by resurrection power. The grave could not hold Him, and it cannot hold you.
Beloved, take up your cross daily and follow Him — not as a heavy burden, but as the pathway to life. In every surrender, there is freedom. In every death to self, there is resurrection power. This is your identity now — crucified with Him, raised with Him, alive in Him. Walk in resurrection power. Live in resurrection identity. Rise daily in His life — for the same Spirit that raised Yeshua from the dead now lives in you.