How are you,
my friend? We have been looking at following Jesus and two very important
things stood out. One it is not a negotiation and two, who is Jesus to you? Jesus
asked the disciples in Luke 9:18, “Who do people say I am?” and Peter
said that Jesus is the Messiah sent from God. Jesus went on and talked about
the things that He must endure and go through. Jesus talked about His death and
resurrection.
If we look at a few things that we discussed in the last two
weeks. Jesus said that you must take up your cross and follow Him. Jesus said
that there is a cost to follow Him and if you are not going to die to yourself and
put Him first then you cannot be a follower of Jesus.
Jesus said that you must hate the things that comes before
Him. As we remember Jesus said in Luke 14:26-27, “If you want to be my
disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else - your father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even your own life. Otherwise,
you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow
me, you cannot be my disciple".
If something creeps in and becomes a threat that puts Jesus
second, you must hate that and put Jesus back as number one in your life. Jesus
denied His place and humbled Himself and became a servant to demonstrate His love
for us.
Following Jesus
is not a negation and it means that you become less and He becomes more. He did
not come to destroy you, He came to save you. He came so that we can have life
and life in abundance. So, what are the things we have to give up when we talk
about dying to self.
In Luke
9:62 we read, But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow
and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
Remember what Paul said. He said he dies daily and he does
not look at what is behind him, but instead he looks forward at what lies ahead.
The battles remain in our minds. Taking up your cross is about
taking up the life that God has designed for us. The fact remains that Jesus says
in Matthew 22, Jesus replied, “You must love the LORD your God with all your
heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest A
second is equally important: Love your neighbour as yourself. The entire law
and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
He says all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. Your
mind must not be a garbage site. It must become a holy place that is filled
with the Word of God. The bread of life and instead of allowing the enemy to distract
you and derail you, you must meditate on the Word and make it your thoughts and
the words that you speak.
We read in 1 Peter 1:7, “These trials will show that your
faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though
your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains
strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour
on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world”.
It is in our trials and in our battles that our minds can
become vulnerable to the influences around us and as Peter says your faith is
more precious than gold and when it remains strong it will be a reward.
My dear friend, again I ask you – Who is Jesus to you? Where
do you put Him in your life and how valuable is your relationship with Him?
Have an awesome day.
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