Jesus said to the crowd], “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

The first sentence in Jesus Mean and Wild is this: “God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life.” This is partly what I’m getting at. The life of faith is a life of abundance and joy, but also sacrifice and self-denial. In fact, sacrifice and self-denial are the paths to abundance and joy.

This is a life-long process in which we increasingly give up more for Christ and give more of ourselves to him. At this point in your life, where is Christ calling you to another level of self-denial and sacrifice?

–Mark Galli
This is part of Mark Galli’s guided journal, “Discovering the Untamable God,” a 12-week journey through the Gospel of Mark. Twice a week, you’ll receive a new journaling prompt encouraging you encounter the wild, untamable Jesus of the Gospel of Mark and let his radical sayings and actions transform your life. Use these prompts in your own journal or in group discussion. If you’re joining this journal mid-way through, you can start journaling at any time, and stay subscribed at the end, when the journal will restart and you can receive the prompts that you missed.