Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm Kirsten Holmberg, and I titled our reading, Choose Wisely.

Astronaut Chris Ferguson made a difficult decision as the commander of the flight crew scheduled for a journey to the International Space Station.

But that decision didn't have anything to do with the mechanics of flight or the safety of his fellow astronauts.

Instead, it pertained to what he considers his most important work,

his family. Ferguson opted to keep his feet planted firmly on Earth so he could be present

for his daughter's wedding. We all face difficult decisions at times, decisions that cause us to evaluate

what matters most to us in life, because one option comes at the expense of the other.

Jesus aimed to communicate this truth to his disciples and a crowd of onlookers regarding life's most

important decision, to follow him. To be a disciple, he said, would require them to deny themselves

in order to walk with him. They might have been tempted to spare themselves the sacrifices

required of following Christ and instead

seek their own desires. But he reminded them it would come at the price of that which matters much more.

We're often tempted to pursue things that seem of great value, yet they distract us from following Jesus.

Let's ask God to guide us in the choices we face each day, so we'll choose wisely and honor him.

Today's Our Daily Read Devotional Scripture reading is from Mark, Chapter 8, verses 34 through 38.

Then he called the crowd to him, along with his disciples, and said,

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it.

But whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul?

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,

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