Follow

 Matthew 16:24 ESV

 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 


The way to eternal life is narrow. We can't take any baggage with us. We have to stoop low to get through the doorway to life.

We have to deny ourselves all the trappings of this life. We can't idolise anything in God's place. We came naked into the world and we'll leave with nothing but faith in Christ to deliver us, hopefully.

Jesus is telling us to be prepared to die for him. I don't think he's just on about martyrdom. I think he's on about daily dying to our selfish, fleshly lusts.

We're to follow Jesus. Disney tells us to follow our hearts. The Bible tells us to surrender to the Lord.

'Lord God Almighty, may we surrender selfishness and follow you, forsaking all else. For the honour of your name, amen'.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Confession

 Ezra 10:2 ESV And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.  God's people were at a low ebb. Although they were restored to the promised land, they were still in thrall to their Persian occupiers. Instead of committing to God, they had adulterated themselves with the unbelieving people around them. We might wonder what this has to do with us. Even in the new covenant era, we're commanded not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. In other words, it's wrong for a Christian to marry a pagan. Ezra had led his people in a powerful prayer of repentance. It seemed to have had the desired effect. The people reacted well, as this verse begins to reveal. The people confessed their sin, but they didn't wallow in it. They don't nurse the hurt and indulge the misery. They were hopeful God would have mer...
Read more

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave...
Read more

Light

  'Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. ' Psalms 119:105 https://www.bible.com/bible/116/PSA.119.105 What is God's word to us? A dusty old tome? Irrelevant to our modern age? This verse reveals what it was to king David of Israel. The Bible was to David literally a bible as it were, a definitive guide, to life, the universe, and everything. It isn't just some philosophical work, it's very practical as to how we ought to live. It also shows what to do when we realise we don't live up to God's commandments. When we realise we've sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we need to come to the Son of David for forgiveness. By His wounds we are healed of our spiritual sin-sickness. Even David had to look forward to God's promises of salvation to come. We look back and see that Christ is the Light of the world. We have light shone on Him by His word. It shows us our need of following Him. 'Lord God, may we glorify Yo...
Read more