Luke 9.57-62, And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Again, I ask, will you be passionate? Will you take diligent heed to... love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, keep His commandments, cleave unto Him, serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul?
Repeatedly in this passage it is said, Lord, I’ll follow thee, but first... Lord, I’ll do what you say but... There should be no reservations. No stalling. No strings attached in following Him. "I really feel the Lord wants me to go to Bible college but..." No, do what He asks. "I think God wants me to be a missionary but I also..." No, nothing is more important that what He wants. "I’ve been convicted about some things but..." No, just do it. "I will witness to others, but..." "I’ll do what He wants after I’m in college." "I’ll read my Bible... after this." "I feel the Lord asking me to be more focused on Him, but I don’t want to not be with this guy..." No, stop with the excuses. Don’t let something distract you and cause you to quit before you really even get started. Make. Him. Preeminent. Take diligent heed to keep and to do all that He desires and commands. So, will you be passionate? Will you take diligent heed to... love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, keep His commandments, cleave unto Him, serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul? Even if... If friends don’t like you, talk to you, or sit with you, are you still going to come to church? Are you still going to love people, or just become bitter, leave? If some guy starts giving you the attention you always wanted, are you going to sacrifice your relationship with the Lord for a relationship with him? If the life He has for you means living with extremely little monetarily, are money and things more important to you, or would you keep being faithful? If you lose the very things/people most precious to you, will you still be faithful? If you must sacrifice every dream and goal you wanted for your life, are you still going to do what He asks? If what He wants from you requires you to stretch yourself far beyond your comfort zone, would you learn to be uncomfortable for the cause of Christ? If a situation with your family never gets better, are you going to allow it to turn you away from God, or to seek Him more deeply? If holding to Him means mockery, backlash, and being shamed by others, even those you loved most, would you still stand for Him, even if it meant standing alone? If the plan He has for you leads to death by genuine persecution, would you still go? If you don't understand? If it's hard? If it hurts? If that *one thing* became reality, what would you do? The more important and real something is to us the more it'll take to keep us from it. When faced with real opposition, people won’t stand up for something if it's just a bandwagon belief. People won’t die for something they don’t actually have faith in. And you’re like, yeah... obviously, I’m going to do what I’m supposed to. I’m fine. (1 Cor. 10:12) "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." (Luke 22. 31-34, 40, 61-62), “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me...And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation....And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” I recently read the four Gospel accounts one immediately after the other and never has this passage made such an impact on my life. Repetition is good for us. There are no words for it. This is THE greatest disappointment. The takeaway thought is this, If PETER failed, who physically walked with Jesus. If Peter denied Christ. If Peter distanced himself. If Peter held to his comfort over following Christ, you think you would be so different? How much more should we take diligent heed to be faithful in all things. He said he was willing to go to prison or death, but when faced with such things, he kept his distance. What is the thing that will cause you to fail/quit? Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: This is a challenge to be passionate. To cleave to Him. To be diligent. Even if.
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Lizzy parkerMarriage.
Motherhood. Ministry. Missions. Archives
January 2023
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