Following Jesus is not easy. For one, it involves faith
and obedience, which is something we can really be short on at any given time.
Many proclaim, “I’m a Christian!” But anyone can make the claim and there be no truth to the
statement—or maybe just a glimmer.
When we really make up our mind to be a “follower” of the Messiah, it takes guts
and commitment. It doesn’t come in a neat little package. In fact this one
decision can blow all your hopes and dreams to smithereens. “I got a new
thing for you!” He might say. “It’s going to take faith and obedience. Are you
still willing to follow Me?”
It’s easy to think we are following Christ, until something
is required of us. Then, it takes on a whole new dimension. Jesus himself
explains how this comes to be, “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the
word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself,
but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately he stumbles.” Matthew 13:20-21 (see
the parable of the sower)
A modern day woman at the well, would accept
Christ as her Savior and immediately find herself faced with a choice! To
stay with the man who is not her husband or not to stay? This is a hard
decision to make when you don’t have a point of reference as to God’s
faithfulness. How, are you going to pay your bills? Where will you live if you
are the one who has to leave? What happens to the woman who lives in a country
that is impoverished and she will have no means to support herself or her
children? What happens to the Muslim woman, whose family or husband will try
their best to kill her?
Through my years of ministry, I have found
it to be more commonplace that women in other countries and religions accept
Christ with a pure and strong heart versus many who live in America and other
places who are used to luxury. We might have to get up off our butts and go to
work, or ride public transportation versus drive a car. We may not be able to
get our nails done, or go to the gym and shop. I’m not saying “All women!” But, this
can be the norm in many situations.
If you took a minute and read the parable of the sower, then you saw how the cares (wants and desires), of this world—choke and steals the Word from
us too. Because the Word is what gives us the way to follow Christ and a clear
picture of what God desires of us, we muddle along without it.
It has taken sometime for me to really
understand this…but love always cost something.
Christ paid a price for us and we pay a
price to follow Him.
“If you love Me, you will obey my commands.”
That means we have to do it His way. It doesn’t always take a big leap of faith
to do something He requires us, but it always takes love and obedience.
What happens when you are young and want to
be married and God says, “I need you to be single so you can serve me in
the way I have chosen for you.”
What then?
Well, some answer, “Yes Lord!” even though
there might be a bit of disappointment at first. And there will be those who
want what they want and say, “No, I got this.” And go about the business of
working things out for themselves.
When I came to the decision that I would
never have sex again outside of marriage it was one of the best decisions
(apart from making the Messiah my Lord and Savior.), I ever made in my
Christian walk. Why? Because it saved me!
It saved me from a heartache I was not meant
to endure.
There was a time I really did desire to be
married, and being 42 with a 20 year old daughter and a 2 year old toddler, the
pickings looked slim. I mean, who would want that baggage? Well, I met a
“Christian” man 3 years older than myself who did. He had no children of his
own and had been divorced for years.
What a blessing from God. Not!
Because I chose to do things the proper way,
and protected myself (day dates and outings and no real alone private time), I
was able to pay attention to the things the Holy Spirit began to show me. You
see sisters, I had no soul ties to him, which can cause us to make excuses—I
could see the truth. We were in the process of marriage counseling with my
pastor when it all fell apart and the engagement was called off. Was I
disappointed and hurt? Very much so. But, I could also see how God had my very
best interest at heart.
God was merciful in shutting things down for
me, but I have seen others where He allows them to go their way and suffer the
consequences. Does this mean He loves some of us more than others? Of course
not. The key is obedience and being willing to do it His way. That was the
difference for me.
Things are not always so clear cut in
following the Messiah. Stepping out on “faith” can be huge, because we can’t be
sure how or where we will end up. But then again—that is faith.
If you are not reading and studying the
Bible, then you can’t possibly be sure what it is God wants for you. Our
soulish desires often control us and we easily accept it as God giving the
green light, when He is not.
We have problems in our lives and we buy and read books on the promises of God, thinking this will change
things. When in truth, we are not really following Christ in our everyday
lives. It’s like becoming a doctor—you can’t go from high school to performing surgery
without all the in-between work. We can’t stand on God’s promises, if we are
not living in obedience and doing all the in-between work.
Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, but
sometimes we read too many books about the Bible versus the Bible itself.
I have a 30 Day challenge for you girls.
Read only your bible for the next 30 days. And make it a study on following
Christ.
15 “If you love me, keep my
commands. 16 And I
will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be
with you forever.” (John 14:15-16) This is a good place to start just in case you
aren’t sure. What are His commands? What is the job of the Holy Spirit? What
does it mean to be a new creature in Christ? What does it mean to pick up His
Cross daily? The answers to these questions can change your life forever if you
will take them to heart—and obey.
Some of you are afraid to take a step in the
right direction—don’t be! Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. As long as we put
God first in anything we do, He is going to protect us. Yeah, you might get off
track, but He will let you know before you fall off a cliff. Trust me—I am a
living witness!
Following Christ is an action. It takes
love, heart, commitment, faith and obedience. But as you study and learn more about the
job and position of the Holy Spirit, you will see He is all that and more!
Until next week...
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