How is Your Devotion?

How often do we grasp the weight of being a follower of Jesus? Do we realize that Christianity isn’t just a religious system where we go through some motions in order to appease God, but a system of belief. A belief that should effect how we conduct ourselves in this life.

Sarah was recently speaking with a Mormon lady. Sarah was asking if they were worshipping or not. The lady said no they weren’t because this year with tourism there is too many people that go to temple on vacation and the sanctuary is bursting at the seams so they just aren’t holdings meetings.

Muslims are devoted enough to pray 5 times a day. They will fast during the day throughout Ramada and make a pilgrimage to Mecca in their lifetime.

How devoted are we as Protestants? Do you pray every day? Do you read your bible every day? Do you forsake the gathering of the brethren or take it for granted? These aren’t things that the bible spells out saying that their is a punishment if you don’t, so we don’t, we become lax in our faith.

What is required is a relationship, which comes through reading the word, praying, spending time with other believers. What does your devotion look like?

Read Luke 9:51-62

The Secure Disciple

I Will Follow

How often do we make the same statement or believe that we can and will follow?

Peter thought that he could,

John 13:37–38 ESV

37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

Israel believed they could also

Exodus 19:8 ESV

8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

Just after this they were given the ten commandments, and they realized, they couldn’t do all that the Lord has spoken.

Peter thought he wouldn’t fall, Israel thought they wouldn’t fall. What about you? Are you saying the same thing, “no matter what I will follow?” What does your walk look like right now when things aren’t hard?

You Will Have to Leave Your Security

Even the animals have places to lay their heads, the son of Man, He doesn’t. Jesus didn’t know where He would sleep, what His next meal would be. He was a homeless guy heading towards Jerusalem to face His execution. There was no security.

For us

We might be called to leave our security. You will be faced with decisions for Jesus that bring you out of your comfort zone.

Where is Your Home?

Part of our problem is we forget that this earth isn’t our home.

Just as Jesus made it clear that He had no place to lay His head. (He was on a mission and focused on His eternal home) We must not get so comfortable here in this life that we are no good for the kingdom.

The Tarrying Disciple

Leave the dead to bury their own dead…wow this is really harsh.

He was speaking with Jesus, not at a funeral. So his parents weren’t dead yet.

His parents weren’t dead yet. Bury in Greek is thapto which could mean bury, but the word also means to care for until they die.

This man is doing the right thing honoring his parents. However Jesus is saying “the importance of the mission supersedes importance of burial rights.”

What Are You Waiting For?

We make excuses. I need to finish school first; college first. I need to get established in my job. I need to get a alternate source of income before I can be a missionary. It’s the pastors job to visit people. Why do I need to study Theology?

Jesus is telling this man that he needs to go proclaim the kingdom, no excuses for waiting.

John 4:35 ESV

35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

Stop making excuses, you need to go and do the work of the kingdom.

The Reluctant Disciple

Does Jesus think it’s wrong to go say goodbye to your family? No

Elisha was able to say goodbye to his family in 1 Kings.

The issue isn’t saying goodbye, but Jesus knows our hearts. He knows that this man doesn’t really want to say goodbye to his family.

Puts His Hand to the Plow

This is one who sets out to do the work.

People think this speaks of not being able to plow in a straight line when you look back, and that’s partially true.

Old plows were small and light. Light enough where you could even carry them a fair distance. Them being light they wouldn’t dig into the dirt very far and were more fragile and couldn’t handle large rocks and boulders.

The person driving the plow had to be paying attention and had to be driving the plow into the ground, paying attention to the work at hand or the plow wouldn’t be digging in.

A man who looked back while plowing not only would he be plowing with crooked lines, but he wouldn’t even be doing the job he was assigned to do.

This is a harsh rebuke, no one wants to hear you aren’t fit for the kingdom.

This is a rebuke for someone who partially wants to serve Jesus, but they are so concerned with the other affairs in this life or what is going on that they are ineffective in completing the job that Jesus has called them to do.

Philippians 3:12–14 ESV

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Do you have the goal in sight, pressing on towards it with all you have, not looking behind?

Or are you a worker who has lost your perspective and is now ineffective in accomplishing what it is that Jesus has called you to do? Have you not even put your hand to the plow yet?

We need to snap out of our dream like states that this world has lulled us into with comfort. We need to stop making excuses as to why we aren’t reaching people like Jesus has called to. We need to focus on the job that He has given us, the job that He has created us for. We need to be the faithful disciples that our Lord and Savior deserves.