Following Jesus

[irenic-inkwell]

A friend shared this short devotional with me and I decided that I would share it with the Christian Forums that I visit in my travels...

FOLLOWING JESUS

If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.  Matt 16:24

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth.  'Follow Me' Jesus said to him; and Levi got up, left everything and followed Him.  Luke 5:27-28

We have left everything to follow You!  Mark 10:28

To follow Christ is to go where He leads, without question or demurring.  It may be to a life of trial, suffering, or sacrifice -- but no matter; we have nothing whatever to do with the kind of life to which our Lord calls us.  Our only simple duty is to obey and follow.

We know that Jesus will lead us only in right paths, and that the way He takes slopes upward and ends in eternal glory!

Each new day on which we are about to enter is unopened, and we know not what shall befall us; but if we follow Christ, we need have no fear.  So let us leave the old day with gratitude to God for its mercies, with penitence for its failures and sins -- and let us enter the new day with earnest resolve in Christ's name to make it the holiest and most beautiful we have ever lived, as we follow Him.

My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish -- ever!  No one will snatch them out of My hand!"  John 10:27-28

[ded2daworld]

Thank you for sharing the devotional. :Peace2:

[irenic-inkwell]

Thank you for sharing the devotional. :Peace2:

Thank you for the thank you.  ded2daworld is a very noteworthy username... I will add it to my notebook and meditate on what it means to be dead to the world.

[Ross]

Dead to the world IMO gives recognition of the depth of the work of Christ with NO personal effort.
Hence Paul say stuff like;
" It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me."
Also probably why we are told to take up the cross daily reminder of the work of Christ, not us.

[ded2daworld]

Dead to the world? Like a dead person, do they get upset if someone makes fun of them? Do they care about the latest celebrity or church gossip? Do they want bigger cars, bigger houses, more luxuries if they are dead? It is being dead to the pleasures the world has to offer. Not just not having them, but not desiring them. Not coveting anything that belongs to someone else including their wives. :Peace2:

[sheila]

Hebrews 11;36some facedmockings[making fun of] andfloggings,while still others

were put in prison.  They went aboutinsheepskins andgoatskins destitute,persecuted

andmis-treated- the world wasnot worthy of them

    Psalms 35;16 like theungodly they maliciusly mocked..they 'gnashed their teeth' at me.

   so we can see mockery is as'gnashing of the teeth' Matt  24;51  He will cut him to peices

and assign him aa place with the hypocrites,where there will be weeping and gnashingof teeth.

      and thus, the scriptures show a she-bear that killed children that mocked a prophet

     and that it is 'ungodly' to mock...and in fact a persecution...just as Ishmael did unto

     Isaac.  They 'mocked' Jesus too.  they beat Him and asked 'who hit you"

    words of mocking can be a verbally beating of the children of God IMO. declared inthe

scriptures about the wicked servant who insteaaad of feeding thechildrenof God,beat them.

somany haveexpierenced abusesuch as this at Babylon's hand..and have beenas sheep

skinned and thrown about without a shepherd. The sheep recognize His voice andanother

shepherd they will not follow.

  Jesus stated...when they persecute you in one city flee to another...so He has no overt desire

that  His sheep be persecuted  and if remedy be available for releif from it..they should avail

themselves ofit.

    we must not call evil good and good evil..........

Jesus said, 'every word man speaks against Father or the son is forgiven, but he who sins

against the Holy spirit shall  not be forgiven.Acts 5 howis that satanhas sofilled

your heart that you have lied to the Holy spirit?

  there is always afuture for a man of peace. and divine irony is never malicious .....but

  in Proverbs 1;26  Wisdom says... since you ignored my advice and would not accept

my  rebuke ,I inturn will laugh at your disaster;I will mock when calamity overtakes you

   thus wisdom laughs at folly

   

   
   

 

[irenic-inkwell]

Dead to the world? Like a dead person, do they get upset if someone makes fun of them? Do they care about the latest celebrity or church gossip? Do they want bigger cars, bigger houses, more luxuries if they are dead? It is being dead to the pleasures the world has to offer. Not just not having them, but not desiring them. Not coveting anything that belongs to someone else including their wives. :Peace2:

Dead to the world IMO gives recognition of the depth of the work of Christ with NO personal effort.
Hence Paul say stuff like;
" It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me."
Also probably why we are told to take up the cross daily reminder of the work of Christ, not us.

Ross  and ded2daworld:  thank you for your gracious, helpful replies.  I will use your Bible verses and thoughts as I continue to meditate on the Word especially as it is related to our following Jesus and being dead to the world.

[marie glen]

..amen.. to be "crucified with Christ"... progressively dead to self and self interest.. and as when Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, John and his brother James.. Matthew.. "come and follow me"

We follow Him in proclaiming the victorious gospel/"good" news of the Kingdom (which came, was at hand, is here, and is coming)

...and when we do so, there will be persecutions.. in the world we will have persecutions/tribulation but be of good cheer He has overcome the world (and death and its cause, sin/imperfection)

I read this thread yesterday, and found myself thinking of it and pondering upon it during this morning's quiet time & devotional.. I also found myself pondering the "armor of God" of Ephesians chapter 6:13-18 and about the spiritual gift from the Spirit of God, of "discerning of spirits", and was thinking of some phrases..

"in the grip of a foul spirit.." read that somewhere a long time ago..

..thought of a 'dictatorial spirit'.. a spirit of the air / way of thinking that says "if you don't agree with this, you are this" (insert assumption)

example: if you do not agree with the doctrine of everlasting hell, you are insert assumption
example: if you favor any restrictions upon abortion, you are against women, and, or women's rights

We perhaps could do this sort of thing with any political, or perhaps any doctrinal issues..? a dictatorial spirit..?

So of course that's when I started thinking about the armor of God.. have to go read that for some review..

.."in the grip of a foul spirit.." read that somewhere long ago in a novel, you know, one of those old english type one's after the pattern of Jane Eyre and the like.. have you ever felt yourself "in the grip of a foul spirit".. I have! ..menopause! difficult enough without continually added responsibilities sqeeezing out or preventing some devotional times! has produced that sort of spirit, thinking and feeling at times, causing me to recognize that phrase "in the grip of a foul spirit" which of course years ago i read as a clever poetic turn of words.. but now..? and for a long time now?

And it will result, sooner or later, hopefully sooner! to go around with this thought in mind "go away" or "stay away from me, in the name of Jesus"! and thankfully, it does work.. and continues to work, until some time/days later when I forget to be vigilant.. I feel in the past, early years of my believing, that I had battles with spirits / dark entities / fallen angels so intense I came away feeling like I had been beat over the head with many hefty two by fours (spiritually). It's my belief this is the source of persecutions, whether it is 'psychological' or that is occurring within our self, or whether it is outside persecutions from people or the world.. or health issues, financial issues.. all the same source, those dark entities.. dark thoughts.. fallen winds of fire.. those 1/3 which sided with Lucifer.. same spirits at strange work producing serial killers, wars.. despots.. genocides.. and they will use any handy thing to prevent or try to prevent any one of us of proclaiming the victorious gospel of Jesus, or to take the shine off our witness..

I believe this is why Jesus said the adversary was a murderer from the beginning.. because when Cain slew Abel.. same source..

Not that that that makes Cain innocent! He still slew Abel..!

But thankfully, "because of Adam all die, because of Jesus all live.." Romans 6:(18?)

I'm thinking if we will "pick up our cross and follow Him" His adversary(s) becomes our adversary and it behooves us "to put on the full armor of God"...
Thanks (all) for a very thought provoking thread :gsmile:

[irenic-inkwell]

from My Utmost for His highest  Oswald Chambers  for Sept 19

ARE YOU GOING ON WITH JESUS?

Luke 22:28
You are those who have continued with Me in My trials.

It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations?  Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do.  Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus ...  We wear His name, but are going on with Him?  "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more."  John 6:66

The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they wil continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us.  ...    It is God Who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations.  They are HIS, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us.  ... Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?

Are you going on with Jesus?  The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on "outside the camp" Hebrews 13:13.  The way is lonely and goes on until there no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow--but only the voice saying, FOLLOW ME.



from Morning and Evening, Spurgeon for Sept 18

John 10:27
And they follow Me.

We should follow our Lord as unhesitatingly as sheep follow their shepherd, for He has a right to lead us wherever He pleases.  We are not our own, we are bought with a price -- let us recognize the rights of the redeeming blood. 

...

Often might our Lord say to us as to Peter, "What is that to thee?  Follow thou Me."  John 21:22  Wherever Jesus may lead us, He goes before us.  If we know not where we go, we know with Whom we go.  ...  The journey may be long, but His everlasting arms will carry us to the end.  The presence of Jesus is the assurance of salvation, because He lives, we live also.  We should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He leads us ALL end in glory and immortality.

Precious Jesus draw us, and we will run after Thee.