Friday, January 4, 2013

Cost



In Luke 9:57-62 we see The Cost of Following Jesus:

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus challenges the distracted disciple (and us) to:

Stay focused. - closely attend to what business He puts before you
Stay straight – just watching the stick as you plow, stay focused on Him.
Be committed.  Following Jesus is a long term commitment. We must notice our tendencies to get distracted and determine in our hearts to follow Him and go anywhere He wants to use us at.
Find out what is important and stay with it. Stay consistent to Him all your life. Once you do your whole life will change and those around us will want to know more about Jesus

Don’t live in the past - Keep your eyes on the prize! - Philippians 3:12-14 - 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Are you willing to accept the challenge?


Be wise today and always stay focused on the prize.