Life has a way of quietly recentering itself around us, even when we love Jesus and attend church regularly. In Luke 9:23, Jesus cuts through all illusions about following Him with three clear requirements: deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him. Denying yourself means vacating the throne of your heart and no longer being the final vote in your life. Taking up your cross daily involves accepting that following Jesus will repeatedly require you to die to something inside you - pride, comfort, resentment, or selfish desires. Following means attaching your life to the living person of Jesus Christ, allowing His voice to carry more weight than culture and His authority to outrank all other influences.