September 11, 2013 OBEYING JESUS Luke 9:23-26 And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and [the glory] of the Father, and of the holy angels. I remember going to a Youth Retreat and hearing one of the speakers repeat over and over again our last day of camp was this: “If you are going to obey Jesus, you will have to disobey yourself.” Even Paul the apostle in Romans 7 admitted that there were times when he wanted to do that which was the opposite of good – that sin would raise its ugly head and win a battle in his life. He said there was a basic law: even when I want to do what is good and right, evil is right there with me. I may delight in obeying Christ but at the same time there is a war being waged with sin and evil desiring to have the upper hand. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the devil to win. I genuinely desire to follow my Lord, but how often I give into temptation and allow Satan a chance to gain ground on the battlefield. Our own human efforts can do us in (even though there is necessary effort involved in spiritual discipline). Our own minds and feelings can lie to us. As Vassar says it, “Our hearts are heretics.” We can think wrong thoughts about God and about ourselves. We must daily die to ourselves and our own feelings. We must follow our Savior and live the life He has called us to live. That is the only way to gain our very selves as Jesus taught in Luke 9. In order to live the life of a disciple you must side with Jesus against yourself. Pray for our students to deny themself and find the way of sacrifice (and of joy) of giving all to Christ Jesus and following Him as Lord. Pray for Faithfulness “‘ Let love and faithfulness never leave [our students],’ but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts” (Proverbs 3:3).
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:07:17 +0000
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