Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”. ~Matthew 16:24 (NIV)
Jesus is the one mediator between God and man, and He says the only way to be His disciple is to follow Him. He says in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (NIV) There is no relationship with God our Father except through Jesus Christ His Son. Jesus expects us to follow His example daily by submitting our will when it contrasts God's perfect will which is revealed in God’s word. We are exhorted to live a life of obedience to the Father, just as He did during His time on the earth. When Jesus took up His cross, He was headed to Calvary to sacrifice His life. He was going to do God’s will instead of his own and that is what He is telling us we need to do every day and in every decision we make. When was the last time you sacrificed what you wanted and chose to do what God wanted you to? That can be a tough question. How about yesterday when you knew the Lord was prompting your heart to tell someone how much you appreciated them, but you didn’t think you had enough time to do that and get everything else done? Or how about when you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was God’s will for you to give sacrificially but you reasoned in your heart that you weren’t going to be able to do what you needed to do if you stepped out and gave without fear of loss. God can redeem our time and God can get us anything we need. We have to believe those truths if we want to be able to be led by God in this earth.
Following Jesus means sacrifice, and He didn’t mislead anyone about that in His word. But He did say God would be our rewarder, just as God was for Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” (NIV) Is your heart fully committed to God and His ways verses your own? Not only our strength for service, but our blessings are directly related to our level of submission. Jesus prayed in John 17 that those whom God would give Him would be positioned with Him and see His glory. We see the answer to that prayer in Ephesians 2:6 where we are told “and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (NIV) We have been empowered to live on a higher level in Christ. Not by anything we have done, it was a free gift. Isn’t it about time you used that gift to glorify the Lord with your life? Don’t waste another day being the greatest hindrance to the blessings and power of God that has already been given. That power is what we need to be overcomers. It breaks habits and heals hearts and fills us with peace and joy. We can blame circumstances and others, but the truth is that we are the only ones who are able to give Jesus the steering wheel to our lives. So, give it all to God today: your past regrets, your present problems, your future ambitions, your fears, dreams, weaknesses, habits, hurts, and hang-ups. Remember nothing under His control will ever get out of control.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ~Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
What is God prompting your heart to do today?
Write an answer
Write an answer
Comments