Jesus WILL Call You to Follow Him Without Reservations While You Incur Earthly Cost Inherent in Being a Jesus Follower

Jesus WILL Call You to Follow Him Without Reservations While You Incur Earthly Cost Inherent in Being a Jesus Follower

MESSAGE SUMMARY: Jesus asks us to follow Him, but it’s not like He is physically here on earth with us to show us the way. We must discern His intended way for us by listening to His voice and reading His Word and by aligning ourselves with the Holy Spirit who is leading us. Part of what Jesus is teaching us in Luke 9:51-60 is to stop making excuses and reasons for not following Him. Jesus calls us to follow Him now and without reservations and incurring those earthly cost inherent in being a Jesus Follower: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’”.

Christians are not just believers in Jesus; Christians are followers of Jesus. In Matthew 10:37-39, Jesus significantly refines the context and implications of His call to us as His followers: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.". Our calls from Jesus to follow Him may, often, be moment by moment. As Jesus said to the First Century Christians: follow me today! Is Jesus the Lord, or is Jesus your Lord? You must consciously make the decision to follow Jesus because He will call you.

Jesus said: “Follow me.”. Who and what are you following?

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, fill me with the simple trust that even out of the most awful evil around me, you are able to bring great good — for me, for others, and for your great glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.      Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 91). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Today’s Affirmation: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Luke 9:51-60; Matthew 10:34-42.

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WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers Are Given the Incredible Gift of the Holy Spirit - “your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way’”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/  

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