The previous devotions looked at the job description for believers: to follow Jesus. Matthew 16: 24 says that we are to come after Him, deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him. The last of four devotions in the series, we will look at what it means to follow Him.
Nuggets
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If taking up our cross is complete surrender to God, we need to make sure we are imitating Jesus.
We have to increase the Christ-living-in-us part.
Our actions in following Jesus are built on our love for Him.
God has given us laws and commandments by which we are expected to live.
We have to go all in.
Devotions in the What Does It Mean? series
Some people would say it is really hard to follow a dead person. Luckily for us, Jesus isn’t dead. He is very much alive in heaven.
But it is hard to follow someone Who isn’t here. How are we to do that?
Repent and Turn from Our Sins
"And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Mt. 10: 38 ESV)
If taking up our cross is complete surrender to God, we need to make sure we are imitating Jesus.
We aren’t follows of Christ until we have admitted we need Him as our Savior, believed He is the Savior because He is God’s Son Who died to pay the price for our sins, and prayed the prayer to ask Him into our lives. For some that is hard; for others that is easy. But that isn’t the end.
While we are turning to God, we have to turn from our sins. Acts 2: 38 says, “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (CSB).
Mark 7: 21-23 gives a list of some of the sins Peter was talking about: “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (ESV). These are the sins God will forgive us of — if we ask.
We have to keep turning from our sins. “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2: 13 CSB).
God has to change our desires from that which is sinful to His laws and commandments. We aren’t going to want to do that ourselves.
This transformation is a process, not a switch that is flipped.
It is called sanctification.
Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature and morals through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal requickening in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
- Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
- Perfectionmeans we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
It isn’t easy, but God is right there with us, supporting us. Isaiah 40: 29-31 says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (NIV).
God knows the struggles we face in trying to live for Him. He will constantly renew our strength when we ask.
We Have to Become A Disciple
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2: 20 ESV)
We have to increase the Christ-living-in-us part.
How do we do this? We read His Word — pray to Him — spend time with Him. Yes, it takes time. It takes commitment. It takes messing up, starting over, and doing better.
We search for Him and seek Him.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
But remember the He-gives-us-strength part? God will help us. We’re aren’t in this alone.
We Have to Love God and Others
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command" (Mt. 22: 37-38 CSB)
Our actions in following Jesus are built on our love for Him.
We can’t follow God in most aspects of our lives but keep that one sin because we love it so much. We can’t pick and choose which laws and commandments to follow. They are all there for us to work toward following.
We also have to love others. “The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22: 39 CSB). We have to be seen as loving, not judgmental.
We follow Jesus by interacting with others as He did here on earth. He did not judge people — that is for the second coming. In fact, He said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (Jn. 3: 17 CSB).
Instead of judging, we have to “… encourage one another and build one another up …” (I Thes. 5: 11 ESV). That doesn’t mean we should let others go sinning on their merry way. Acts 22: 15 says, “since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard” (CSB). We should want them to have what we have.
We Have to Meet His Standards
God has given us laws and commandments by which we are expected to live.
No, we will not always follow those laws and commandments. But every day it is a choice to try to live as He has called us to do.
It can be a hard choice sometimes. Maybe that is why the Bible says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt. 6: 34 NIV). We should focus on how we are going to live for Him today.
We Have to Let God Be Lord of All
We have to go all in.
Remember, we said we had to go all in. That means all — all of our relationships, how we support ourselves, how we conduct ourselves — everything.
I had never read here next verses before (at least not that I remember). But I love what they say.
“You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands. How wonderful are your gifts to me; how good they are! I praise the Lord, because he guides me, and in the night my conscience warns me. I am always aware of the Lord’s presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me. And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure, because you protect me from the power of death. I have served you faithfully, and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead. You will show me the path that leads to life; your presence fills me with joy and brings me pleasure forever” (Ps. 16: 5-11 GNT).
- God is most important.
- God provides.
- Start the praise, and keep it going.
- God is always with me — no matter what — and that brings joy and peace.
- God will show me what I need to do to follow Him.
Making the Connections
I feel like I have been saying a lot of the same thing in this series. You need to deny yourself so you can take up your cross. You take it up with the intent to follow Him. They are all interconnected. You turn toward while you are turning away.
But a lot of times, don’t we want a step-by-step guide? Do this, then do this, then do this. Insert A into B then connect to C. We want everything spelled out so there is no wishy-washiness. We want things cut and dry.
We want milestones. This is not only so we can see the step-by-step progression, but so we can also gauge our success in accomplishing them.
How Do We Apply This?
Hmmmmm. Accomplishing them? Are we trying to put ourselves back in control? Drat!
We have to make the decision that God is in control, and just head that way — toward Him.
Father. You have asked us to live by Your guidelines. We struggle doing that in today’s world. We know, however, that You will give us strength to overcome these struggles because You have overcome this world (Jn. 16: 33). Renew our strength to live for You. Amen.
What do you think?
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