Matthew 16: 24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (NKJV)
The first step is to deny yourself: To give up your own interests and desires and to surrender yourself completely to God. So that He can use you as it suits Him and not according to your will and desires. To take up your cross and follow Jesus also means to lay down your past completely. It also means to forgive people who sinned against you and your family.
Ask yourself the first question: What does it help if you own all the world's treasures, but you do not have a place in heaven, can anything be that important?
The purpose of Christ death and resurrection was to save you and to eradicate your past. You should do the same with your past, leave it behind, in order to take up your cross and follow Jesus.
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