Follow Me

Disciples of Jesus must be followers of Jesus

Matthew 4:19   Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Matthew 16:24  Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.

John 12:26   Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

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Some people are "directionally challenged" I love those people that need help with getting somewhere. It makes me happy when I know the way and there is somebody that needs me to show it to them.

Jesus knows the way and he loves to show it to his disciples, he knows where he is going and he wants to take us along. If we would just obey his command to "follow me" then he will be the light for our path so that we will never get lost.

John 8:12 Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

I like to lead, I don't follow too well, this is something that has caused problems in life. So many times when I was in charge of what direction that I was going to go in usually took me down some dirt roads with some big potholes.

I need to follow the light of the world and be sure to stay off of those roads that lead away from the light.

Jesus forgive me for those times when I was in control and I decided to chart my own course instead of following you.

Disciples Of Jesus Are Called To Give

Giving helps me to preach the gospel without using words.

 John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

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Jesus gave his all, literally, there was nothing that he held so tightly that he was not willing to give up for the advancement of the kingdom. He gave it all away his hands were wide open up until the day that they were nailed to the cross.

Just how much generosity do I have? How much am I willing to give so that Christ will be seen in my life? The less sacrifice attached to the message the less meaning it has to those that we are trying to reach.

"He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he can not lose" - Jim Elliot

The giving potential of a follower of Christ is rarely maximized, I am pretty sure that I can do more to help those that are in need so that they will have to say to themselves "Why does this guy keep on giving so much?"

Help me to share the good news Lord by giving sacrificially so that people will notice you in me.

Jesus Disciples Are Servants

Just like their Savior

Matthew 20:26-28  But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,  27  and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.  28  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many."

Matthew 25:34-36 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.

35 For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.'

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How come the only time that somebody needs help is when its inconvenient? Can't they pick a better time to need help?

Serving is hard because the main sacrifice that you have to make is to give up some of your time or some of your pride. Either the chore is something that you don't want to be seen doing or it's something that is going to cut into your schedule. Jesus and his disciples didn't have a daily calender and there wasn't any place that Jesus wouldn't go. 

I need to serve sacrificially until somebody ask why I am doing it so that I can share about the one that gave himself for me.

Thank you Lord for your sacrifice. Help me to let go of pride and make room in my schedule to follow your example and become a servant.

Related articles

• Celebrate, Encourage, Recruit and Train (charltonscullard.blogspot.com)

Jesus Wants His Disciples To Be Loving

Most people are under-loved, so we need to get to work.

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

1 John 5:2 We know we love God's children if we love God and obey His commandments.

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The most attractive thing about Jesus is that he did not exclude anybody, it didn't matter what everybody else thought about a person, Jesus love for people looked beyond what they did and how they behaved.

That is so difficult for us to do, our ability to love comes from the ability of the other person to measure up to our standards. God told us to love with no strings attached, was that person nice to me? Do they behave and look a certain way? No, well love them anyway.

The only way that we can accomplish loving all of those people that we can't stand to love is to love God first. Jesus love for people was the result of his love for God, if we begin with loving God then he will help us to love what he loves, the more that Jesus disciples love God the more they will love people without exception.

Jesus Makes The Difference

Philippians 2:1-2  Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 

The only way that people are going to be attracted to God is for them to be loved. Who in the world would be drawn to a God that might not like them? A God that might reject them. Who would be attracted to a God that has hateful, unloving children?

Love is the bait that attracts unbelievers, I need to love until someone ask why, I need to display God's extravagant love in my sphere of influence.

Help me Lord to love without strings attached so that people are drawn to you.

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Jesus Disciples Are Called To Forgive

Live to forgive and you will change your world.

Matthew 18:21-22  Then Peter came to Him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?"

22 "No, not seven times," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven!

Colossians 3:13  Make allowance for each others faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

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It's the gift that keeps on giving, it never wears out or goes out of style, the one gift that we needed the most. As much as we love this gift we are also supposed to re-gift it and let others have some. The best forgivers in the world should be the people that have experienced Jesus forgiveness but it seems like they may be the worst at it.

The Bible is very clear that if I do not show mercy in the same measure that it was given to me then I am in a very serious situation. If I really understand how much i have been forgiven through no merit that I achieved then i should always remember to do the same for others. 

Forgiveness doesn't change the past but it unlocks the future, past unforgiveness will weigh a person down and keep them in bondage but Jesus unlocks those chains. Forgiving as Jesus did will change the world.

If I truly love as Jesus loves then I will be forgiving at all times, without any restraint and there certainly shouldn't be any strings attached, Jesus gave up his rights and canceled the debt. That makes it seem silly that we cannot forfeit our rights and fully forgive those that are around us. How much have I really been wronged? Not much in comparison.

Help us to be world changers Lord by unlocking the freedom found in forgiveness, help us to give up our rights and allow our brothers to make mistakes.

Related articles

• "The Paradox of the Cross" (harvest.org)
• Perfect Gifts: Forgiveness (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)
• Forgive The Offenders (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

A Disciple Has Purpose In Living

Jesus gives us a rich and satisfying life.

 John 10:10-11  The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 

11  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep.

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Just like the servicemen and women that enter the battlefield for the purpose of saving lives, we need to enter the battlefield of the day-to-day grind of daily living and share the gospel with those who need to hear it—so that we can save lives too.

Jesus lived life passionate for God so that he could reproduce disciples that are passionate about God he definitely lived a life worth dying for. Just how committed are we to the task that he has assigned to us?

It would be enough to keep me from annihilation or hell but Jesus said that his purpose is to give me a life of eternal joy, peace and satisfaction. If I do not live for the mission that he has called to to then my life will be very unfulfilled.

Help me to remember that the purpose for living is not so that I can be selfish, I have been called to a higher purpose that makes life worth living and worth dying for.