Daily Devotional
Word of the Day
Prepared to Follow Him
Pastor Scott
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
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If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
If you were Levi or Matthew, and Jesus walked up and said, "Come and follow Me," what do you think you would do? Do you have plans for your life? Do you already have your retirement figured out? "Well, I'm going to retire at ‘this' age. I have investments. I have ‘this much' time and ‘this much' energy to put into these projects. Down the road I'm going to do ‘this,' then down the road, I'm going to do ‘that.'" "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Luke 12:20). Where are our treasures? What are our affections? Are they above where Christ is seated on the right hand of God? Natural plans are not bad in and of themselves. What we are asking is this: are we honest with ourselves about whether we have embraced the cross or still call the shots in our lives? Do we think we know God's will for your life five years from now? I don't know for sure what's going to happen this afternoon.
Father is bringing us an opportunity to examine our hearts to deal with some of these issues. The issue is not whether we have liberties, but do we have idols in our life?" The issue is about who has control of your life. Whose will are you seeking? Once we come to grips with that, our hearts are no longer deceived. Father is then able to conform us into the image of Jesus. The issue is not how much time is given to the Lord, spent up at church or spent praying. These are all good things, but not the real issue. The real issue arises when conflict requires a choice to be made between the world and the kingdom. The cross is choosing to serve your brother and sister when you don't want to, and when everything in you would rather go do something else. Then the world is crucified to you, and you are crucified to the world. "If any man will come after me [when that conflict arises], let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). It is the choice against our personal treasures of mothers, fathers, houses, lands, and even our own lives. It is choosing to acknowledge His lordship on our job, relationships, and daily activities. When you are committed to say, "If the Lord wills...", I will.