Identity and Spiritual Warfare

Eunjin Chang • September 25, 2026

Looking at Matt 4 for answers...

Spiritual Warfare for the True Identity

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.” Matt 4:1-2

 

The Spirit led Jesus into a spiritual realm that encompasses the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The devil is a tempter. His main job is to tempt Christians to see whether they take the temptation and act upon it. The temptation is from the heart. Hence, the Spirit led Jesus up. It is not a physical place, but a place where our soul lodges, our heart. It is where we think, our most secret place, and where light does not shine. It is the innermost place of our soul where temptation takes root. The devil has access to our heart, and he brings temptations we must resist. 

Interestingly, the Spirit led Jesus into temptation in the wilderness. The wilderness temptation preparation was to kill the flesh by fasting. Jesus fasted forty days and nights, causing his flesh to become extremely weak to the point of death. 

 

The Temptation of Jesus’ Identity

“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matt 4:3-4

Afterward, the tempter came to Jesus. The tempter knew that Jesus was the Son of God. But the first temptation Jesus faced was the temptation of his identity. The tempter was testing Jesus’ identity as a man to be of the priority over spirit, as the temptation was to find Jesus’ priorities: whether to eat to live or to continue fasting and die fleshly but spiritually alive by remaining in the fasted state that the Spirit brought Jesus up to in the Father. 

The first temptation wasn't about eating or performing a miracle to turn stone into bread. It was about whether the Son of God, Jesus, knew who he is before he began his ministry. The tempter first attacked Jesus' identity: whether he was from heaven, fulfilling the Father's desires, or from earth, fulfilling the desires of the flesh.

Eating after fasting for forty days and nights is a natural act for anyone not wanting to die. But for the Son of God, the first temptation was to define his priorities. Eating itself is not a sin. Here, Jesus was tempted not to commit sin, but to seek a higher purpose: not the things of the earth, but the things of heaven.

In John 6, Jesus tells his followers that he is the living bread from heaven, and anyone who wants to have eternal life must eat his flesh and drink his blood. There is a dichotomy of wordplay here where the tempter tells Jesus to turn a stone into bread to eat. Jesus is the true living bread from God, and that was the first temptation. The tempter asked whether Jesus would eat bread from heaven or bread from earth.

 

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and b            lood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matt 16:13-19

 

In Matt 16:13-19, Jesus asks the same question that he was tempted with to the disciples. Jesus asks the disciples What do people say about Jesus? Most said he was John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Interestingly, Jesus was not even compared to Moses, the one who gave the Torah to the Israelites. 

Then, why did Jesus ask his disciples when he came to the coasts of Caesarea Philippi? Before they came here, Jesus talked to the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and spoke extensively about the miracles of feeding five thousand and four thousand people. 

Jesus was not asking about who Jesus was on earth. Jesus was asking his disciples about his identity. He wanted to build the church upon his identity, as the church defines who he is on earth after he leaves. Simon Peter answered in Matt 16:16-17, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God! What a marvelous confession of who Jesus was. When Jesus heard this, he said the Father revealed it to Peter, and that based on Peter's confession, Jesus will build his church.

This was an incredible moment in the history of mankind. After the Father gave Peter the confession to make among the disciples and to Jesus, Jesus made an astonishing statement: “Upon this rock I will build my church!” This was the moment that the church was born in the spiritual realm. When the Father revealed to Peter, a fisherman from Galilee with no formal education, that he was the Christ, Son of the living God, the spiritual realm began to move to establish Jesus’ church on earth.

Jesus' identity, revealed through Peter, a mortal man, began the church of Jesus Christ on earth. Jesus gave the keys of heaven to the church, giving the earthly church heavenly authority.

The same Peter that was praised for his confession of Jesus’ identity was, in the same passage, told he was a Satan in verse 23. What an interesting contrast! Jesus was not calling Peter Satan but Peter’s fleshly rebuking Jesus. Then, Jesus gives an astonishing marker of the identity of all of his followers.

 

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Matt 16:24-25

 

The identity of all followers of Christ is denying the very existence of oneself in the flesh and dying with Jesus. Hence, when you lose your life for Jesus, Jesus’ resurrection resurrects the dead flesh to living spirit, a true child of God.

This was the identity Jesus wanted to give all his followers. But to do so, Jesus must show what picking up one’s cross means: to die. To deny such identity, to die with Christ on the cross, is of Satan. Our flesh makes it natural for us to say what Peter told Jesus, that we surely will not die and have no need to die with Jesus. This is the flesh that must be put to death on the cross with Jesus Christ daily. 

 

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Matt 16:23

 

To put to flesh on the cross daily, we must strive to become one with Jesus and to eat and drink of his flesh and blood. Every word from the mouth of God is the eternal Logos, which is Jesus. Jesus tells his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life. This is the true bread that comes from the Father’s mouth.

Jesus discerned the tempter's temptation and won against it by refusing to succumb to fleshly desires. By submitting to the Spirit's desires through Scripture, Jesus clarifies the tempter's identity. It is as if a veneer is being lifted from the tempter's identity, and we start to see clearly who the tempter is. 

Jesus tells the tempter what is written, which shows the authority of the One who wrote it. As if a king decrees a law, it becomes the law of the land. If the subject does not obey the law, then the consequence of the disobedience follows. Jesus understood this legal framework; the tempter was laying a snare upon him. Verse 5 now identifies the tempter as the devil. To Jesus, fulfilling the King's desires trumps his fleshly need to eat and satisfy his hunger. 

When Jesus properly defended against the first temptation using God’s law, Scripture clarifies the tempter’s identity. In verse five, Scripture identifies the tempter as “the devil.” The devil is a title rather than a name. It is a title describing a person who falsely accuses or slanders another person. The purpose of falsely accusing or slandering someone is to bring a case against them in a court of law and get a verdict against them. 

The devil brings false accusations to a court of law because the law is the standard that determines whether a person has committed an offense. The devil’s accusations are false because they rest on a presumption he creates from his perspective rather than the truth. When God created, He gave specific standards. To Adam, he was not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. God gave specific consequences when that standard is broken: Adam would die. 

The devil accuses mankind of disobedience to the standards, or laws, of God. The problem is that mankind cannot discern God's standards because His standards are not fleshly; they are spiritual laws. The Tree of Knowledge represented God’s standard and authority. Because God told Adam not to eat of it, not eating the fruit from that tree was the standard. 

Through transgressing the standard which was set forth by God, all of Adam’s descendants have transgressed God and are unable to keep or understand the standards of God. 

 

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

The standard that God gave to Adam and his offspring is the glory which God wanted to share with them. But because they cannot keep or understand the standards of God, they are at the mercy of the devil, who accuses them day and night of not keeping the standards of God.

 

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Rev 12:10

 

The accusations the devil brings before God are false, but true to mankind. Eating bread after fasting is true to mankind, to live. But it is only one side of the coin. As Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word of God. Yes, we do need bread to live. Jesus is not denying the tempter's accusation. Jesus is showing that man is not flesh alone but has a spirit and must obey spiritual laws and standards to live. The only way to know the spirit's standards and laws is through the Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Jesus is not denying our fleshly needs, but he is placing the spiritual desires before the needs of the flesh. We subject our fleshly needs to spiritual desires through fasting and focusing on the Word of God. This is ironic because fasting causes one to hunger for the fleshly need of food, but to overcome the fleshly needs is to kill the desires of the flesh by subjecting it to denying the thing that the flesh deems a must to death.

Paul illustrated how to overcome the flesh in Gal 2:20 by saying,

 

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

 

You starve the flesh by crucifying the flesh to Christ on the cross, and to do so you must starve the flesh of its basic instinct. Our basic instinct is to sin. But when you starve the flesh of its basic needs, then the Spirit brings forth the Word of God into focus, making our spirit search for the things of God.

Jesus was tempted by the tempter in multi-layered temptation. It was not merely turning stone into bread to demonstrate that he was the Son of God and to fulfill his fleshly needs; it was a temptation of Jesus’ identity, and maintaining that identity meant dying of hunger. The tempter offered Jesus two options: turn stone into bread or die of hunger. But Jesus discerned the temptation on its face, turned the tempter’s two solutions into a non-solution, and instead brought the true standard of God as the solution. The temptation was not a matter of performing miracles of stone into bread and to eat of it to satisfy hunger, but to know the true standard of living, which is to live and to die by every Word of God.

Jesus’ identity as the Son of God was tempted, and Jesus overcame the temptation by the Word of God. 

 

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

John 1:14 

 

Jesus, the Word of God, became flesh. Jesus knew his identity but fasted for forty days and nights because he represented all mankind. As Christians, we identify ourselves with Jesus’ identity. The tempter comes to us, tempting us using the standards and the laws of the flesh.

If a person is sick, the Bible states to seek elders to pray in faith over them with oil. (James 5:14-15) But before anything, almost everyone seeks doctors and medicine. Seeking doctors and medicine is not wrong in itself. But every Christian must ask this one question, “who does this body belong to?” 1 Cor 6:19-20 states,

 

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 

 

Scripture clearly tells us that our bodies are not ours and have been bought at a price. Before we seek anything, should we not ask the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, what we should do? We seek licensed professionals and earthly authorities as the ultimate authority in daily living without even thinking, as if we live in default. When we have pain, we seek painkillers; when we have stress, we seek psychologists; when we have despair, we seek clergy; we seek insurance to feel safe, etc.

Modern society has made everyone seek money, as if it were the solution to almost every problem. To see a doctor or to buy medicine, you need money. Almost every aspect of our daily lives revolves around money. Money itself is not evil, but the love of money is the root of evil. (1 Tim 6:10) When you have lots of money, most problems seem to get resolved. 

Hence, the temptation to turn stone into bread becomes a basic, fundamental temptation that everyone faces. Most Christians pray to God to turn their problems of stones into bread. When Jesus said, "Do not worry about what to eat, to drink, or to wear," he was giving spiritual instructions for life. He was not denying that we need to eat, drink, and dress to live in the world, but that we should discern our standing before God as God's children. It was about our identity and how we ought to seek God. 

Most Christians pray for worldly things, get ecstatic, and share with others when their prayers are answered. However, we must discern whether the answered prayers are like turning stone into bread in the wilderness for Jesus. When God purchases our bodies through Jesus' redemption on the cross, God takes care of them. This belief underlies and governs our prayers before God.

We ought to pray for the spiritual things that are of God, rather than the things of the flesh.

 

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 

Gal 5:17

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:6

What we pray to God represents what is in us. Our prayers to God define who we worship and what we prioritize. Jesus’ temptation to turn stone into bread was not merely a temptation of fleshly needs; it was his identity reflected in the flesh he was limited to: hunger. He faced the same temptations that we face daily. He won those temptations not because he had supernatural abilities or special powers, but because he knew his identity and submitted his flesh to it.

Overcoming his first temptation with the Word of God gives us great insight into how we ought to live. God does not tempt us; the tempter does. We are tempted because we are drawn to our own lust, and it brings forth death. Lust is the temptation that stirs our hearts to turn away from God's Word and the Holy Spirit's calling. We call lust our daily needs and basic instinct. We make excuses and say, "I had no choice," or "this is what everyone says." That is where the tempter comes and begins to accuse us before God. However, God gives us every perfect gift from above: the living bread from heaven, Jesus.

 

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:13-17

 

When we begin to eat of the living bread from heaven, we begin not to lust after the flesh, but to change inwardly. God writes His precepts in our heart through the inner work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, through the flesh and blood of Jesus.

Jesus is the Word of God, and we must overcome the tempter’s temptation with the Word of God, even if it costs us everything. It is our identity in Christ as children of God. We live not by the standards of the world, but by every Word of God as the Holy Spirit interprets to us in our daily lives. Our prayers are answered according to the desires of the Holy Spirit, and even if we do not pray, our heavenly Father gives us every good thing that we need to live according to the Spirit. Trust in this principle defines our identity, as Jesus overcame temptation by knowing who he is.

His identity defined Jesus’ entire ministry. His identity was of utmost concern for him, even at the point of death on the cross. When Jesus said, “my God, my God, why have You forsaken me!” His identity as the Son of God became completely unified with mankind, and he could no longer say “my Father,” as he always had. Instead, he became the representative of all Adam’s offspring and stood before God's judgment. The devil, the accuser, the tempter, saw it and thought he had won.

The crowd jeered and told Jesus to come down if he was the Son of God. (Matt 27:39-43, Mark 15:29-32) This was the same temptation of Jesus’ identity as in the wilderness after 40 days and nights of fasting. Most Christians’ problem is not that they don’t know enough of the Word of God; it is that they cannot discern what the temptation is about. They are not even sure of the essence of the temptations in their lives, and they cannot defend themselves against the adversary, just as the crowd told him to come down from the cross if he was indeed the Son of God. Jesus prayed for them and asked the Father to forgive them. As such, the Father forgave them, and after Pentecost, most of these people’s spiritual blindness was lifted, and they became believers in the Son of God.

The Holy Spirit helps us in our unbelief and inability to even pray to God about what to pray for. Therefore, we must pray in the Spirit when we pray to God, and be grounded in the identity Jesus has given us: a child of God.

 

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Resting in Jesus

By Eunjin Chang • August 3, 2025
For a Christian to be healthy, we must sleep or rest in Jesus. Just like sleep is essential to the health of our physical body, sleep or rest in Jesus is essential to our spiritual walk with Jesus. When Jesus came to the world, he came to do the works of the Father, and he completed them on the cross, when he said, It is finished. The very reliance of the blood of Jesus that he shed for us on the cross gives us the rest that our spirit needs. To sleep or rest in Jesus means to cease all our agendas. Many Christians fall into a trap that once you become a Christian, you must do so many things and not do so many things. Being a disciple becomes a matter of checking off a list of dos and don’ts. However, this is far from rest that Jesus gave us when he said, It is finished, on the cross. The rest comes to us when we die in Jesus. When we follow Jesus as a disciple, Jesus is inviting us to pick up our own cross, deny ourselves, and follow him. Where did Jesus end up? On the cross, and he died for the sins of the world. When apostle Paul stated that he had been crucified with Christ and he no longer lives, he was stating the mere nature of a disciple of Jesus. When Jesus invites us to die with him on the cross, it is not to destroy us or end us. Human nature is to struggle to survive and to have another breath. But to follow Jesus is to deny that very nature. How can it be done? It is impossible with human effort or will, as it is contrary to the very nature of humanity. When one becomes a disciple of Jesus, everyone has one or a few things that they cannot surrender to God. It may be finances, children, or even their own life. However, Jesus invites all of his disciples to give up that one thing that everyone has. Every Christian faces this question at some point in their walk with Jesus. They have eaten and drunk the flesh and blood of Jesus. They have tasted the goodness of the Lord and His mercies. They delight in worship and even give up many things for the Lord and His body. But that one thing, no matter how minor it seems, Jesus asks the question, “Can you give up that one thing for me?” Which is the question of death. The death of our old self. To Abraham, it was to offer Isaac on an altar. To Jacob, it was to deny his ability to cheat, steal, and lie. To the Apostles, it was to give up their life for the sake of the gospel. So many of our ancestors of faith have demonstrated giving up that one thing that matters the most to them for the sake of Jesus. Why would they do that? The most important question of all is, how were they able to do that for Jesus? The answer is simple: daily eat and drink Jesus’ body and blood; daily excrete out what the Holy Spirit is telling us; daily rest in Jesus. This daily trust and obedience provides us with a sense of security and guidance in our walk with Jesus. The death of oneself does not come from human effort nor willpower. It comes from trusting in Jesus even till death. It can only be done when one is deeply involved with Jesus and Jesus’ DNA becomes their DNA. Without questioning, they hear the voice of Jesus, respond, and lay down their lives and their most essential things for Jesus. It is a daily walk with Jesus and having a moment-by-moment relationship with Jesus. Jesus said My sheep hear my voice and follow me. It is interesting to note that when Jesus calls his sheep, it is among other sheep that are not of Jesus’. Jesus calls his sheep to take them through the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus’ sheep hear his voice and follow initially. Then, when the sheep sees Jesus walking away from the green pasture and onto the valley of the shadow of death, the sheep begins to wonder if the voice it hears is Jesus’ or not. But as Jesus continues to call the sheep, the sheep respond by trusting in Jesus’ voice, recognizing it as their own. But as the sheep nears the valley of the shadow of death, the sheep gets close to Jesus, embracing his breath, scent, and sweat. Following him closely, as he fears he might be lost if he does not hear the voice of his true shepherd. Ultimately, the valley of the shadow of death separates the true sheep of Jesus from other sheep. Jesus calls all of his disciples to carry the cross, deny oneself, and follow Jesus daily. Which ultimately leads to death. Death is not to end our essence but to deliver us from ourselves, our old ways of living, and to redefine our DNA to become like Jesus; ultimately leading us to the resurrection of Jesus, as he has said, I am the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is not something that we find when the last day comes; the resurrection that Jesus gives us is the very nature of all of his disciples that must go through to become faithful followers of Jesus. Many modern Christians are what we might call 'zombie Christians'. This is not a metaphor, but a reality. When Jesus calls us to die with him, many reject this calling, believing it to be from Satan. They know deep down that it is the call of Jesus, but they prefer to be deceived in their hearts as it seems logical, reasonable, and satisfies their current values. However, when a Christian rejects the call of Jesus, the life of Jesus leaves that Christian, and that person becomes a 'zombie Christian'. A 'zombie Christian' is a person who knows about Jesus but does not follow Jesus because they have denied the call of Jesus to be his disciple. There are many 'zombie Christians'. Many become like Pharisees, and they are satisfied with knowing about the Scriptures, rather than obeying them. They begin to lose the joy, rest, and light of Jesus in their lives and begin to replace it with religious activities and the endless pursuit of knowledge about Christian life. When the Father speaks, He speaks once, and the Holy Spirit continuously reminds us to obey what the Father has said. However, once you become a zombie Christian, it is difficult to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, nor the voice of the Father. The Holy Spirit continuously prays to the Father with groaning that cannot be uttered because the Holy Spirit is in agony over the disobedient Christian. Just like the Prodigal Son, the Father waits for the son to return. An interesting observation can be made regarding the story of the Prodigal Son, that the father did not go after looking for the son, nor did the older brother. The reason the father did not go after the prodigal son was that the son made the choice, and the father respected the son's choice. But an interesting thing is that the older brother did not go after his brother, even though he could have. The older brother did not know the heart of the father, and when the prodigal son returned, the older son’s response reveals his true intentions. The Father waits for the zombie Christian to return. To return means to realize that their effort and ways of living caused much turmoil and must abide under the ruling of the Father. The Father gives another chance to zombie Christians. But when the second chance comes, the sacrifice that a zombie Christian makes seems greater than the first time. As that person has drifted away from the proper way of living and been replaced by religious activities that have no life. Every disciple of Jesus knows that one thing that Jesus asks us to give up. It is not to destroy us but to trust in the Lord. Just like when Peter asked Jesus to walk on water, Jesus is telling us to walk on water like Peter did. When we die in Jesus, it is the very spirit of Jesus that resurrects us. When we experience death and resurrection through Jesus, that is when we truly find the peace and rest that Jesus desires for us to have, not through religious activities, disciplines, and training. When we realize that our death does not lead to destruction, as the one inviting us to death is Jesus, who is life and resurrection, we trust in Jesus and follow through our death, and we wait on Jesus to resurrect us in his power and spirit. That is when we are truly free from the world and its bondages, and nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus. We become one with Jesus as we suffer with him, and we glory with him. We can become truly victorious in all aspects of our lives, not with our power or abilities, but by what Jesus has done for us in himself. A true crown of glory awaits those who follow Jesus even to death.

Expelling Spiritual Waste

By Eunjin Chang • August 3, 2025
After eating the spiritual food and drink, which are the flesh and blood of Jesus, we must expel waste from our spiritual body. It may seem odd or even strange to talk about expelling after consuming Jesus’ flesh and blood, but just like our physical body, our spiritual bodies need expelling. When a Christian eats and drinks of the flesh and the blood of Jesus daily, they begin to grow deeper in a relationship with Jesus. Without even knowing, their dependence on Jesus grows tremendously, and it brings them many of the authorities that Jesus has. Their lives begin to change in ways that they have never imagined, and they begin to hear the voice of Jesus. Jesus said, My sheep know my voice and follow me. This becomes reality to those who consume Jesus’ flesh and blood daily. When you eat Jesus’ flesh and blood, the very nature of Jesus becomes ours. Just like when you eat a meal, you do not know where it gets placed in your body, but it goes through your digestive system, and it brings you energy where it is needed, and it is used to heal areas that need healing. The consumption of Jesus’ flesh and blood is essential to the growth and becoming like Jesus for his followers. Then, after consuming the flesh and blood of Jesus regularly, how does one go about expelling from the spiritual self the excrements that are created in our spiritual self? Also, what are the excrements that get created in our spiritual self? These are excellent questions, and they require some self-diagnosis. When we become a Christian, we begin to hunger for the word of God and desire to commune with other followers of Jesus. After consuming the flesh and the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins to work within us to remove old values and ways of living. The Holy Spirit essentially changes our very nature, as if the DNA of Satan’s child is being replaced with the DNA of Jesus. As we begin to crave Jesus’ flesh and blood, the Holy Spirit begins to remove our old habits and ways of living. Many begin to discover that after becoming a Christian, their old friends, habits, and joys have changed, and they can no longer enjoy the things they once enjoyed. These are things that the Holy Spirit is doing. In the first few months of becoming a Christian, many testify that their views and desires began to change. However, after a while, they begin to face their fleshly desires and carnality, and they must make a choice. To compromise and live according to their fleshly desires and carnality or to deny themselves and follow Jesus. It earmarks the beginning phase of Christian discipleship, and sometimes, due to misguided motivations, they make the right choices. Because they want to be seen as good Christians to their Christian peers, they make choices that seem right. However, this does not deal with the essential issues, but instead covers them up. Excretion is a daily task, which is to deny oneself daily and pick up the cross. The power to deny and pick up the cross and follow Jesus is not done with our willpower or discipline. Instead, it comes from relying on Jesus’ blood shed for us as he denied himself and carried the cross up to Calvary. Daily, we deny ourselves, our flesh, and our desires before Jesus by believing in the blood of Jesus that he shed for us while carrying the cross. Jesus shed much blood, tears, and sweat while carrying the heavy wooden cross up to Calvary after being beaten and whipped mercilessly. He has carried the cross from the Jerusalem courtyard to Golgotha while bleeding from his broken body. In relying on Jesus’ blood shed for us on the road to Golgotha, we discover the true meaning of denying oneself, picking up the cross, and following the blood-stained footsteps of Jesus. As Jesus was carrying the heavy wooden cross, stained with his blood, tears, and sweat, his legs gave way, and he could not carry on. The Roman soldier began to whip him mercilessly and wanted Jesus to pick up the cross so that the soldier could get the execution over with. However, Jesus did not flinch or move an inch. He was waiting for one person, a new disciple of Jesus, to come and take upon the cross with him. That person was Simon from Libya. Simon was not related to Jesus at all; he was just a spectator waiting for the main event, the Passover meal in the evening. But when he was dragged into carrying the cross of Jesus by force by the Roman soldier, the things that were going through his mind were the very excrement that needed to be excreted out of Simon to be a follower of Jesus. As Simon came in contact with Jesus’ blood, sweat, and tears, he lost his right to participate in the Passover meal as he became unclean. He must have spent a fortune and used up his life savings to come to Jerusalem to eat the Passover meal, but by the force of the Roman soldiers, he lost his right to eat the Passover meal. He must have been furious and angry at the brute gentile Roman soldier for being so ignorant and forcing him to carry what seemed like a death sentence to Simon’s dreams and the climax of his journey to Jerusalem. Jesus wanted Simon not to eat the Passover meal that man prepares for religious activities, but to be part of the real Passover meal and to become a follower of Jesus, when Jesus’ blood, sweat, and tears were imprinted onto Simon as he carried the cross of Jesus, Simon, without knowing participated in the greatest act of servitude and discipleship towards Jesus. Many years later, we discover that Simon’s family assisted Apostle Paul in preaching the gospel during his journey. We do not know what happened to Simon after he threw down the cross upon Golgotha. Still, we can guess that by carrying the cross of Jesus by force, he missed the Passover meal prepared by religious people. Still, Simon truly participated in the authentic Passover meal prepared by the Lamb of God, Jesus himself. Oh, what a glorious moment for him when he learned that the very cross that he carried was the cross of our Lord Jesus! Modern Christians must deny themselves, carry the cross, and follow Jesus. But the very act is not done or possible with our own volition or will. We must rely on the blood of Jesus that he shed for us while carrying the cross up to Golgotha. Just like Simon, we must have the blood, sweat, and tears of Jesus imprinted onto our spirit, and by the imprint of Jesus’ blood, sweat, and tears, we carry the cross that is handed to us. This is how we excrete out the waste that our spiritual person makes after consuming Jesus’ flesh and blood. Many times throughout the day, we go to Jesus to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. After consuming Jesus, the Holy Spirit stirs in our spirit and tells us what hinders our relationship with Jesus. It is natural for a Christian to know what hinders our relationship with Jesus, as our very spiritual DNA begins to change into Jesus’ DNA. It is imprinted in us. As Jesus always pleased the Father and obeyed His will perfectly, Jesus’ DNA that is imprinted in us begins to stir our hearts to know what is pleasing and what is not to the Father. By relying on the blood of Jesus that he shed for us while carrying the cross on the way to Golgotha, our spirit begins to shed our old values, desires, and other things that do not please the Father. When the Holy Spirit brings our attention to a matter, we must stop, listen, and follow the instructions of the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf to the Father with groaning that cannot be uttered.