Greetings:
Being a servant of Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit, I write to you all, being led to write this so we may remember the true Christian life with its many struggles, as well as the joy of being with God. Because in this day and age, many are being led astray, trying to find purpose in the lusts of the flesh and the eyes, distractions, and power not from God. Many are calling what is evil "normal" and what is sin "righteous", twisting the Words of God. Many are breaking out into the ways of the devil while trying to maintain a life with God (which is impossible). And many are conflicted, tempted in an unseen battle that affects not only them, but their future to come. 
Do not be afraid, but know that God is with us always, for even in these temptations, there is a hope. Even in the dark, there is the Light. God's people have not left you, and neither has God.

Prayer:
Lord God, we worship You and give You thanks for all You have given to us. That You have blessed our daily food and freely given to us Your Grace and Love, which is overflowing and abundant. We ask that You may protect us from all evil and sin and Satan, as we ask You to forgive us from our sins, for though we are ashamed of our sins, we are not ashamed to repent. Reveal to us the sins we still keep in the dark, and overcome them with us as we journey to follow You, for You are our Lord and our God. Help us surrender to You, and let us be with You, forever and ever. In Jesus's Name we pray, Amen.

The Struggle of the Righteous:
Unto the passage Luke 9:23, Jesus says to His disciples, " 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.' " This is a simple verse in itself, but holds many fundamental truths to being a true Christian, which can be broken down into three parts; denying oneself, taking up one's cross daily, and following Christ. To deny oneself, really, is to intentionally surrender. Surrender to the will of God and not to the will of man, and to surrender completely to where it is no longer the will of us being the most important (like comfort, satisfying the flesh, etc), but God's. To deny oneself is to remove ourselves from the lusts of our flesh and the eyes, and be transformed by God so we are no longer in the old wine skin, but the new. This is not action done by us, but rather through an acceptance of God's power and Grace, that He may be the One working through us, and through active self denial we may be more in line with God and His will. The Greek word used here for "deny" is aparneomai, meaning "to disown", implying that we are not just saying "no" to our old flesh, but disowning and refusing to acknowledge the old flesh to be part of us at all, once we are washed by the Holy Spirit. We are then called to disown ourselves (that is our old flesh) and surrender our whole being to God, so it is no longer by the sinful will of the old flesh we live, but by God, and with God, and in God that we truly live to the end of time. However, through this denying of ourselves, our old habits would definitely try to claw its way back. This is where the struggle comes in, the constant battle of the old flesh and the new, the struggle of righteousness and evil. Temptations may arise and the old, comfortable identity may try to deceive us back into what we know is evil, or what doesn't align with Scripture. In this case, pray, and most definitely surrender to the will of God. For "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 

 Then, Jesus goes on to reveal the second part of becoming His disciple, which is to take up one's cross daily. Where denying oneself is by surrendering to God, picking up one's cross daily is done by sacrificing our own desires, crucifying it by the Cross and dying to it rather than dying with it. In the first century of the Roman Empire, the idea of carrying one's cross is humiliating, and actually carrying it is the pinnacle of suffering. But indeed, to be Christian is to endure hardships and suffer through sorrows and at times illnesses without complaint, imitating our Lord Jesus Christ. For we are chosen and called to be righteous, and these struggles such as pride, selfishness, and laziness which become our crosses are to be sacrificed in order to lead to spiritual growth, putting to death the sinful passions through fasting, almsgiving, and reading The Word. On Jesus's walk to be crucified, another very important example comes up in the example of Simon the Cyrene, when Jesus was physically tired (because of His human nature) from the Cross. Thus, the Roman soldiers had Simon the Cyrene to help carry the cross for Jesus. Jesus allowed this, and shows we are not only to sacrifice ourselves by carrying our own crosses but also aid one other with their crosses, and in Simon's case, he went on to physically carry Jesus's cross. So learning from Simon, we are to humble ourselves and sacrifice ourselves for each other (whether that'd be time, resources, energy, or just being present with them), and though this would be a struggle, it is one for the righteous, to whom the reward of carrying our cross and each others' is great indeed in Heaven. Jesus further goes on to mention we are to carry our cross daily, meaning it's not a one time thing, but every day when we wake up, we are called to sacrifice, even to the point of death for Jesus Christ and for each other. 

Finally, we are to do all things through God in the hope of following Jesus Christ. This verse from Psalms comes to mind, which says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." The verse brings to mind that we must, no matter what, keep Christ at our heads and His Kingdom in sight in whatever we are to do. Even if we work, our work is in vain when not done with faith, and even if we are to surrender and sacrifice, when not done to follow Jesus Christ which is the ultimate goal, we do it all in vain. So knowing this, we are to follow Jesus Christ, denying ourselves like Christ denied Himself, and carry our cross daily, working not in vain but in the desire to follow Christ our Lord. 

Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to deny ourselves and sacrifice ourselves to become disciples of Jesus Christ, for He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." This is the truth, and the hardship that comes with to denying oneself, which is certainly uncomfortable, and carrying our cross daily, which can range from crucifying our passions leading to spiritual battles to downright painful. This is the reality of the Christian life. Because the truth is, the Christian life is not comfortable. It is not for those unwilling to put their own body on the line for the sake of the Kingdom of God, or for those unwilling to take risks for God to work through you. It is harsh, and very hard to live every day indeed, for we can not do what our old self pleases and delights in, but what our old self despises. However, there is a beautiful hope, for though the righteous suffer and struggle, we are not without the inner joy and peace and most importantly; love, from our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says in the Book of Romans, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

God be with us all, knowing these struggles are those of the righteous, and knowing Jesus's Love and the joy that comes with the struggle is worth all the pain. Thus, we all pray continuously that we may not be led astray by the lusts of this world, but be on the path of righteousness through repentance and reconciliation with our Lord God. Keep staying humble, keep praying, and living a life in God and sacrifice. Take one step at a time, be gentle, be weak in Spirit and find strength in God. 
Love, for He first love us.

And may the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.