We love
the idea of following Jesus instead of actually following Jesus. We try to make God into our own image. We love the idea of exercising, because we
know it’s good for us. Some of us even
have a tread mill, but like the discipline to use it. It’s the same way we follow Jesus. It takes discipline to live as Jesus lived.
We can
follow Jesus by telling others He loves us and He loves them. We know from the Bible that He loves us, pursues
us and will never leave us. He knows
everything about us – our bad and our good.
We are to imitate Him by loving people, even those who are hard to
love. We are to be peace makers and love
all kinds of people like He does. We may not love what they say or do, but we are to love them. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs
according to the promise.” – Galatians
3:28-29.
We need to listen to Him. We hear
His voice through the Holy Spirit. Jesus
sent His Spirit to be with us after His resurrection. The Holy Spirit is always with us to help and
to guide. The Bible is the source of
spiritual nourishment. We see Jesus in
the Scriptures in many ways. If you
doubt, talk with God. He is big and can
take it. Take those doubts to God.
We all
struggle with guilt at times. That is
from the enemy. One of the biggest
weapons of Satan is guilt and he loves for us to feel guilty. Satan loves to remind us of our past failures
and he wants us to keep thinking about them and how we missed up. It then builds a stronghold in our
minds. Guilt robs our faith and
confidence in Jesus. If you have
repented of your past sin, then forgive yourself. Jesus has forgiven you so release yourself
from that bondage and be free! Again take
those doubts and struggles to God.
We
compare ourselves to others. We
shouldn’t do that. We are all different
and make up the body of Christ. You as
an individual are special to Him. “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
—Theodore Roosevelt. When we compare
ourselves to someone else, it takes away our joy. We need to compete less and appreciate
more. We need to be more grateful. Comparison doesn’t actually help accomplish
anything. Striving to be who God made
you to be will give you meaning and satisfaction. God says we should not be envious. “Each one should test
his own actions. Then he can take pride
in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.” – Gal 6:4
So what
does it mean to follow Jesus? Does your
day revolve around Jesus? Do you start
your day seeking Him? Do you serve Him
daily in some way? Are you constantly
thanking Him? Do you take time to pray
often? Do you look for ways to show His
love to others?
To
truly follow Jesus means He has become everything to you and you do not follow
anything else. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and
take up their cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9:23. That is not easy. We can’t do this by our own strength. Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to help
us. The Pharisees were good examples of
those who tried to obey God through their own strength. Following Jesus means to strive to be like
Him. That’s a tall order, but notice I
said “strive”. Life is not easy and everyone
is not easy to love. But stick close to
Jesus and ask Him to help you love like He loves.
To
truly follow Jesus we must have the desire to follow Him, the faith in who He is, and
accept His offer of eternal life. This
is a personal decision, a choice everyone is offered and must choose for
himself. This doesn’t mean we will never
have trials, but God can show His might, mercy and grace through the worst of
times.
Have
you decided to follow Jesus?
Is your
commitment to Him and Him alone?
Are you
willing to be a real follower of Jesus?
I hope
this has given you something to think about.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to
see you here next time.
__________________________________________
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