follow

Jesus told his original 12…  ”come after me (as disciples - letting me be your guide), follow me and i will make you…”  matthew 4:19 (amp).  following Christ starts at salvation, but continues through the daily disciplines (prayer, devotional bible reading & meditation, worship, obedience).  deitrich bonhoeffer said, “salvation without discipleship is cheap grace.”  unfortunately, i see this all the time… people that have received Christ as savior, but fail to follow Him as lord (the one they trust, obey, and follow daily).  i want to be a disciple that is fully devoted to Him.  a man after God’s own heart.  in pslam 63:8 (kjv), david cries out (in some sweet old-school language), “my soul followeth hard after thee.”

in matthew 16 Jesus says following Him starts with desire “whoever desires to come after Me…”  this is what we need, a renewed desire to give Him our best everyday.  exodus 34:14 reveals that “He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.”  we need to be passionate about our relationship with Him.  back in matthew 16 Jesus goes on to share that anyone who has the desire then has to purpose to live a life of self-sacrifice and obedience.  In Matthew 16:14 (msg) Jesus said, “don’t run from suffering; embrace it.  follow Me and I’ll show you how.” He keeps talking about denying ourselves and picking up our cross.  He warns us that there will be a price to pay - that is why He told His followers “to count the cost”.

this past sunday, we asked people to take a piece of paper, write down what is keeping them from fully following God (passionately) and then nail it to a 8 ft. wooden cross we have at the summit.  it was so encouraging to see the cross peppered with tons of the little pieces of paper - i know God is moving in our hearts as He is helping us change and fix our attention on Him.  take a few minutes (right now) to let go of anything that is holding you back from following hard after Him.

“earth has nothing i desire besides You.  God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  as for me, it is good to be near God.”  psalm 73:25-27 (niv)