Devotional Life
Follow Me
Following Jesus is a journey that takes a lifetime
It is a journey that brings change every day
Some days are easier than others
But the point is this, our minds need to be renewed
Our minds need to be changed, transformed
Because who you are is controlled by what is in your mind
Devotional time is time to hear the Shepherd’s voice
A time to change your thinking from a worldly view point to an eternal view point
If we think in heaven the way we think in the world
Will heaven be heaven?
Our devotional time will change the way we think
Following Jesus means changing your mind
Follow Me
Sadly, there is a mindset that
we can buy a ticket to heaven.
No one thing will get you into heaven.
Remember the rich man who came
to Jesus and asked the question…
What must I do to get into heaven?
Jesus first told him to keep the commandments.
And the man said he had kept them all his life.
Jesus did not question the man’s integrity.
In fact at this point Mark 10:21 says…
Jesus looked at him and loved him.
It would seem Jesus and the rich man
were on the same page until Jesus says…
"One thing you lack," he said.
"Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow Me."
Mark 10:21
The hardest words any of us will ever hear…
“Come follow Me”
The one thing is everything!!!
Following means you will not stay where you are at.
It also means the path you take is not your choice.
The path will not be determined by your money
or what seems right in your own eyes.
Jesus many times spoke these words…
“Follow Me”
In Luke 9 Jesus spells out the
meaning of “Follow Me”.
Then he said to them all:
"If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself and take up
his cross daily and follow me.
The only thing we can take with us
when following Jesus, is our cross.
Jesus demonstrated the importance
of the cross to get to heaven.
Jesus not only denied Himself the life
He could have had on Good Friday…
Jesus denied Himself of the life He
could have had every day of His life.
This is why Jesus says to all of us…
He must deny himself and take up his cross daily.
Jesus contrasts the life you can have in
the world verses the life of following Him.
Without a lot of detail Jesus says…
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when
he comes in his glory and in the glory
of the Father and of the holy angels.
V.26
Jesus sums it up with…
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words
As you and I get up in the morning
and follow through with our routine
of getting ready for the day…
All the time of preparation or lack of
preparation to take on the world will
not prepare you like the Word of God.
The visual or seeing Jesus so you might
follow Him only comes from His Word.
It is the preparation of our minds
that bring about eternal change.
We are all different, male and female,
beautiful and not so beautiful,
big and small, ethnic background.
But none of that matters.
What matters is how you think.
Your devotional time is not a time to
make you feel good by reading poetry.
Your devotional time is a
time to hear God’s Word.
Hearing God’s Word will bring you
to the cross you are to carry every day.
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,
and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17
For you and I to have faith to
believe God’s Word, we have to die.
Our choices are hung on the cross so
that we can follow God’s choice for us.
Following Jesus is a journey that takes a lifetime.
It is a journey that brings change every day.
Some days are easier than others.
But the point is this…
Our minds need to be renewed.
Our minds need to be changed, transformed.
Because who you are is controlled
by what is in your mind.
Devotional time is time to
hear the Shepherd’s voice.
A time to change your thinking from a
worldly view point to an eternal view point.
If we think in heaven the way we think in the world…
Will heaven be heaven?
Our devotional time will change the way we think.
Following Jesus means changing your mind.
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him
when he comes in his glory and in the glory
of the Father and of the holy angels.
Scripture Reading
Luke 9:23-27 NIV
23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
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