Are You a Believer or a Bluff… a Player or a Spectator… a Follower or a Fan?
Good Morning Friends,
Relationships are not always easy to define. We have acquaintances and friends and family and coworkers and business relationships and teams and choirs and churches and study groups and mission partners. Sometimes we have contracts that spell out the relationships listing what we do and what is expected of others. But what about our relationship with Jesus? Could we best be described as moralistic, therapeutic deists? Are we only looking for a free meal and comfort? You may not want to hear this but really our relationship with God is to be more like a marriage and for a marriage to happen there has to be a point of decision where the bond is defined and consummated. We are to have a passionate desire to love God. Short of that we miss the mark. Defining our relationship with others and especially Christ is something most people frankly avoid. People segment their lives. The result is a decline in church attendance and belief in God. So if you are a couch potato Christian, listen up, for Jesus time and time again in the Bible brings people to the point of making a decision about their commitment. And surely Jesus will do that for you as well. So today we ask: Are You a Believer or a Bluff… a Player or a Spectator… a Follower or a Fan?
Scripture: Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:57-62 (NRSV)
A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.'” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Luke 18:18–30 (NRSV)
“I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Revelation 3:15-17 (NRSV)
Message: As you read through the Gospels you will find example after example where Jesus will put people in a position where they must choose risk over comfort. Jesus is pretty clear that he is not satisfied with the status quo and is ready to interfere with our lives and institutions that in a way that may at first disturb a person. You see Jesus is not satisfied with someone being raised in the church if they are never raised up in Christ. He wants total transformation. So understand this, the objective of the gospel is not to make you a well-behaved person who attends church. Jesus wants desires to turn our lives upside down. Jesus didn’t come to inform, inspire or change us but to transform us. And that means making Jesus’ story our story. Friends, only when we quit fighting for the controls of our lives and surrender everything to him…only when we die to self and live for him do we find life that that is truly life. We must not just say yes to Jesus’ invitation but say “no” to our lust for the world. This is not about comfort friends. In Luke chapter 9. Verse 23 Jesus says that if we want to follow him we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. This is not about tweaking our personality or fine-tune our manners or smoothing out our rough spots. The threat is that we call ourselves Christians but do not follow Jesus. So is your relationship with Jesus one of convenience or commitment? Are you all in? Do you have a passionate desire for God?
Pray we not put off a full relationship with Jesus. Pray we not avoid relationships that can transform us. Pray we are completely committed to a relationship with Christ. Pray we are committed to being thankful. Pray we have a passionate commitment to service. Pray we are committed to trust. Pray we have the faith to take the next step on our walk with Jesus. Pray we understand that believing and following and loving go together. Pray we accept Jesus’ invitation to follow knowing that it will take us out of our comfort zone. Pray we passionately pursue Jesus. Pray we realize that there is a challenge to the status quo. Pray we not just follow the rules but follow Jesus. Pray we pick up our cross and follow. Pray we each day surrender our self and follow Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 