Friday, February 10, 2012

Jesus said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24)

You will face times when following Jesus will cost you something

When you face these moments, you will know...and nobody else may understand...
You have to get out of that relationship, you have to stay in that relationship...
You have to move or quit your job or change companies...
You have to change schools or change majors or drop some friends...
You have to go there or do this…I don’t know what it will be for you...
But you will face times when following Jesus will cost you something.

This isn’t...I do something for God and God will do something for me...
This isn’t...I obeyed Jesus on Monday and by Thursday I was glad I did...
No...this will be one of the hardest things you choose to do...
And there may be no measurable benefit in this life...
In fact, you may feel that you are giving up everything...
Jesus shows us by the kind of language He uses...it may feel like "death"...
It may feel like you have given something up that you will never ever recover from.

Every time we experience a little bit of “death” as we give up something to follow Jesus...
A little bit of "death" relationally as we get out of those relationships...
A little bit of "death" reputationally as do what God says at home or work...
A little bit of "death" financially as we begin to do what God says with our money...
Every time we experience a little bit of “death” as we give up something to follow Jesus...
You are giving up something that you will probably lose eventually…
To gain something that cannot be taken away from you eternally.

And that's a good trade.

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excerpt from "CHURCH: the big idea"--part 18 free download at pathwayonline.org