🫳 Galatians 2:20 | Carry Your Cross

together with

Happy Thursday, everyone!

We talked a lot about crucifixion yesterday, and we aren’t quite done. Today, let’s explore what it means to “carry our cross”.

In today’s email…

• 😥 The cost of following Jesus

• 🫵 A challenge to make it NOT about you

• 🗣️ A resource to guide your kids towards gospel truth

• 🔦 Community spotlight

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

I ___ ___ ________ ____ ______. It is no longer _ ___ ____, but ______ ___ ____ __ __.

And the ___ _ ___ ___ in the _____ I ___ __ _____ in the ___ __ ___, who _____ __ and ____ ________ for me.

Galatians 2:20

TOGETHER WITH AXIS

If you’re a parent like me, your #1 priority is raising children who follow Jesus.

And now, more than ever, there are countless things competing for our kids’ hearts and attention.

That’s why my wife and I personally love Axis. They’re a ministry that creates (free) resources to help parents disciple their kids in everyday moments.

My favorite resource (by far) is their weekly newsletter called The Culture Translator.

Their team spends hours researching the music, movies, TV shows, and social media trends impacting your kid's world. Then they translate it for parents and give you simple conversation starters to help you grow closer to your kids and guide them to gospel truth.

The best part? It’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime if you don’t like it (but trust me, you will like it).

Click here to join us and over 413,000 Christian parents.

p.s. If you’ve already signed up for The Culture Translator, be sure to open their next email tomorrow (it goes out every Friday). It’s going to be a good one!

CONTEXT 📕 

Jesus never sugarcoated the deal.

If his disciples paid attention and if we read the red letters, one thing becomes painfully clear: Walking the way of Jesus is really hard.

Before Paul ever wrote about being “crucified with Christ,” Jesus had already laid it out plainly:

Not exactly a crowd pleaser.

And Jesus didn’t just say it once…

And again in Mark 8:34—different crowd, same call:

He repeats it because it’s not a side note.

That’s how you follow Jesus.

Carrying your cross isn’t about putting up with traffic or tolerating a hard week at work. It’s about choosing the way of surrender, every single day.

It means cruciform living—shaping your life around the shape of the cross.

Aligning yourself with Jesus, who was humiliated before He was exalted.

Who denied himself to submit to the Father.

That’s the savior you follow.

So what might this look like for you?

🛑 Saying no to revenge when the anger feels justified
🛑 Doing the hard work of forgiveness when bitterness tastes better
🛑 Laying down comfort to serve someone who can’t pay you back
🛑 Letting go of the life you planned to receive the life God offers

This is the gospel Jesus embodied.

The gospel isn’t just salvation from sin, after all, but a story we jump into, where we are transformed through sacrifice.

He calls us not just to admire the cross, but to carry it with us.

And that’s where Galatians 2:20 comes roaring in—only now, it’s post-resurrection.

The cross still costs everything, but now it comes with resurrection power.

So pick it up!

Die to the old you and live emboldened by the Spirit.

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

We are still flesh and bone.

Still bound to bodies that ache, emotions that flare, and patterns of sin that don’t go quietly.

But here’s the shift: we are no longer ruled by them.

Our lives are now shaped by the One “who loved me and gave himself for me.”

It’s not about us anymore.

It’s about the Son of God.

This week’s verse reminds us that our lives aren’t ours to manage, curate, or promote. They belong to Christ.

And if He lives in us, even the smallest habits must reflect the humility of the cross.

So here’s the challenge: Fast from self-promotion.

Even if it’s only the next 24 hours, no subtle flexes.

• No humblebrags

• No steering conversations toward your wins

• No spotlight-seeking, even if it’s well-dressed in modesty

Instead, flip the script. Speak life into someone else. Encourage them. Celebrate them. Shine the light in their direction.

Let today be a quiet protest against the old self, and a quiet witness to the One who now lives in you.

🤔 Reflect: Whose approval are you chasing? What would it look like to let that part of you die today?

COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ❤️ 

What a delight it is to have free, informative biblical guidance among the plethora of apps and subscriptions that are shallow. Thank you so much! As a student in seminary, I sorely need these weekly lessons for my personal time with our Lord!

- Mark

I've only started using Malachi Daily, but I can tell that it is going to be such a great help in getting Gospel truth into my heart.

- Linda

Today’s newsletter absolutely stopped me in my tracks. I felt as if God was using every word to speak to me. The sharing of the words, how to pronounce them, their true meaning vs. what we can sometimes make them mean. This is a huge huge huge verse.

- C.L

SHOUT-OUTS 📣 

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ANSWER KEY ✅ 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

And the life 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