Do You Really Want to Follow Jesus?
Good Morning Friends,
We live in a time of casual Christianity. Casual Christians are willing to believe in a Jesus who is their Savior but not willing to act in response to Him as their Lord. They want the crown and not the cross.
Scripture is clear. We cannot come to Jesus on our terms, but only His. Do You Really Want to Follow Jesus?
Scripture: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:24 (NRSV)
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6 (NRSV)
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
Philippians 3:12-16 (NRSV)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
Message: If we want to be disciples of Christ we have to put something down so we can pick something up before we follow. We have to deny ourselves, not of food or provisions but of who rules our lives. Dying to self does not mean martyrdom but it does mean giving up resentment and rebellion against God and it does focusing on a thousand opportunities for doing something good along the way. We are all on a journey and if we follow Jesus we are actually pursuing a life of impact…one that actually matters in the stream of holy history. Decisions that bring us into closer obedience help us to live lives of consequence. We are to use our lives to celebrate His presence. We are to cultivate His character in us. We are to participate as brothers and sisters of faith demonstrating Jesus’ love communicating the Word made flesh. We must avoid being captivated by culture, manipulated by critics and motivated by praise. We are to persevere through the frustration of life’s problems, the debilitation of temptation and the intimidation of the world. We are to keep our eyes on the prize of God’s amazing grace. We are to run the race…fight the fight…knowing that this is hard…hard…hard work that we cannot do without the grace of God.
Pray we have the faith to follow Jesus as a disciple. Pray
we follow Jesus’ lead of grace. Pray we realize how much light, freedom and hope exists when we follow Jesus.
Pray that we would kiss convenient Christianity goodbye. Pray that we repent of laziness and apathy. Pray that we embrace the radical call to service that Christ gave us…inconvenienced for the sake of the Gospel. Pray we discover the abundant life for which we were made. Pray that we follow Jesus on paths of righteousness. Pray that we are followers of the Way of love. Pray we have a focus on the right goal. Pray we become radically unimpaired.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 