Worthy of Jesus - None of Self and All of Thee

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38 NKJV)

    Over the past several weeks we have looked at what it means to:

• let go of the past (parental teaching/religion) if it isn’t according to God’s truth
• look to the future by helping your children to seek God first and foremost in their lives
• deny your own self and be fully committed to obeying God, willing to make any changes needed to be right in His sight
• take up your cross by committing yourself so wholly to following Jesus that you do not return to your former life (ideas, notions, practices, etc.)  

    If you are content to simply know what you have always known, do what you’ve always done; if you are willing to surrender your leadership to your children’s wishes, wants, and desires without regard for where their wants may lead them, if you are unwilling to deny even yourself (your own self-centered wants, wishes, and desires) nor commit yourself wholly to following Jesus for life, then Jesus says that you are not worthy of Him. If you are doing these things you aren’t following Jesus – you aren’t even on His pathway – you’re creating your own (Romans 10:2-3) and man-made pathways will never get you to heaven (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25, Matthew 7:21-23).

    Instead, let us have a disposition like Paul, who willingly submitted to God’s truth when He heard it, and followed Jesus’ path:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)

    Paul took up his cross, died to selfish interests and pursuits, and used his time and ability to magnify Christ in all he did. He declared God’s greatness, he spoke the gospel Truth and he lived by it! When we read some of Paul’s epistles (consider Philippians) we quickly come to realize the joy he truly felt, even though in prison, even though nearing physical death; Paul was overjoyed in following Christ and being faithful to God and obedient to His commands. That is why he kept telling others about Jesus, no matter where he found himself!

    We can do what Paul did! He encouraged us all to do just that when he wrote “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

    Are you ready and willing to trust God enough to let go and follow Jesus? Are you ready to let conviction win over convenience? Are you prepared to love your children enough to love Jesus more? To guide them by example to always seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)? Are you pleased to put God ahead of yourself, take up your cross never to return to your former, sinful ways, and commit yourself wholly to following Jesus through study and practice (James 1:25)? Then you are worthy of Christ!!

You can do it!! So can I!!

From wherever you are right now – BEGIN!!  

 

Taking Up Your Cross Requires Endurance

“…he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38 NKJV)

    We spoke last week of what it means to take up your cross: committing yourself wholly to Christ, understanding you will never return to your former life.

    While under Roman rule people would have watched those carrying their crosses to the place of crucifixion. Some, without pity, would have mocked and ridiculed those who were bearing their burden. When Jesus instructs us to take up our cross and follow Him we understand that in following Him we will be mocked just as He was (Mark 15:16-20), ridiculed just as He was (Mark 15:29-32), and hated just as He was (John 15: 18-21), and still we will continue to follow Him.

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world. Just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14 NKJV)

    The world will judge you and criticize you for following Jesus, because in following Him you are no longer living “in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God”(1 Peter 4:2). Those who happily accompanied you in your former activities will “think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation” (1 Peter 4:4, read verse 3 for definition of dissipation), and then what will they do? They will speak evil of you; they will mock you and your cross, they will ridicule you simply because you have chosen a different – and better – way.

    Jesus endured it and so can you (Matthew 10:22)! Jesus has already walked the path we are on. He knows and He understands (Hebrews 4:14-15)!

“…when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable to God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in His steps: “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we , having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24 NKJV)

    Jesus left us a perfect example of how to endure suffering at the hands of the world (consider also Matthew 5:44-48), and not only that but He gave His very life in obedience to the Father so that we who have died to sins (Romans 6:1-14), having taken up our cross to follow Him, might live for righteousness!

    To be worthy of Christ you must be willing to die to sin and live for righteousness – Jesus provided all we need to do exactly that! He provided the means through fulfilling God’s plan (Matthew 1:21, Romans 6:22-23, John 17:4, 19:30), He left us an example to follow, and He is ready and able to help us as we walk in His steps (Hebrews 4:16, John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5-6)!!

    God has provided all through Jesus. Be willing to take up your cross and follow Him, be willing to do whatever is necessary to be worthy of Him – no matter what the world says – trust God and continue to follow Jesus!!

You can do it!! So can I!!

Want to Be Worthy of Jesus? Take Up Your Cross

“…he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38 NKJV)

    Taking up one’s cross was a significant and instantly understood concept in Jesus’ time. Under Roman rule, death by crucifixion became a terrifying reality for those convicted; when one had to take up his own cross it was known by all that he would not be coming back.

    Jesus tells us that if we are not willing to take up our cross and follow Him, we are not worthy of Him.

    Are you willing to take up your cross, turn away from your former life, never to return to it, to follow Jesus?

“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62 NKJV)

    Jesus wants us to commit wholly to Him. He wants us to have a willingness to die to self, to die to the world and its ways, to “put to death the old man of sin” (Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 6:3-8), and walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4) by carefully following His example in righteousness and obedience (Ephesians 5:1-21, 1 Peter 2:21-24, 1 John 2:3-6).

“”But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to destruction, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39 NKJV)

    If you are still considering the cost of following Christ, if you are still trying to figure a way to keep a foot in the world while ‘exploring’ a life with Christ, I beg you to let go and simply trust that God’s way IS the best way. What He has in store for His children in this life and beyond this life is SO much better than anything the world could ever offer us! God’s way is lasting and eternal, the world can only offer momentary pleasure – don’t forfeit your soul for a moment’s pleasure – find lasting peace, contentment, and joy in following Christ! Let today be the day!! 

    If you have taken up your cross and are following Christ – keep going! Don’t look back! What is ahead of you is SO much better than anything you left behind! Do all that is necessary to stay the course, keep your hand to the plow, and walk worthy of Christ! We are not of those who look back nor draw back to the old ways that lead to destruction. Let’s keep pressing forward, growing in resolve to follow Jesus!!

You can do it! So can I!

 From wherever you are right now – BEGIN!

  

Want to be Worthy of Jesus? You Must Deny Self

“…he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38 NKJV)

    We have learned that to be worthy of Christ we must love Him more than those with whom we share the closest earthly bonds: our parents and our children. We have learned that we must choose conviction over convenience, choose to focus on the eternal to keep ourselves from getting lost in the temporary “want du jour”.

    Christ desires that we neither settle for nor give in to what is not according to God’s will and truth. It can be hard to let go of our past (parental upbringing) and to maintain a constant regard for our future (bringing up our children) but Christ tells us to prove to Him that we are worthy of Him by doing just that! And not only that, we must also prove ourselves in the ultimate test – likely the MOST difficult of all – to love Christ more than our own selves.

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24 NKJV)

    Are you willing to set aside your own notions/ideas of what you think is right and take the time and effort needed to truly know and understand what is right in God’s sight by reading and studying His word, and only His word? Are you willing to put your whole trust in God and His awesome ability rather than trusting only in your own abilities to gather wealth, health, wisdom, status, etc.? Are you willing to put aside your own wants and desires in order to be available to help others in need (Romans 12:10-13, Philippians 2:3)?

    Each moment of each day you are blessed with is an opportunity to prove that you are worthy of Jesus. Each time you can choose Him over the world (1 John 2:15-17), choose to obey His commands (John 15:9-14, 1 John 5:3), use your time wisely (Ephesians 5:15-17), see opportunities to do good and do it (Galatians 6:9-10), meditate on good and proper things instead of giving the reins over to worrisome, anxious thoughts (Philippians 4:6-8).  

    Denying self is a life-long, daily battle, but we can grow stronger and more able when we consistently choose conviction over convenience, the Word over the world, and the eternal over the temporary.

One day or Day One? – You decide!!

 Let today be the day!!

Parents, Don't Get Lost in the Temporary

    Don’t lose yourself in the temporary.

    Continuing our thoughts from last week, it is important that we, as parents, do not lose sight of our ultimate hope for our children: that they walk in the Truth (3 John 4). We want them to choose to do what is good and right in God’s sight, respecting the Bible as His Word, and honouring Him with their lives.

    We cannot lose ourselves in the temporary.

    The “want” of the hour may not matter tomorrow. The “absolute, must-have” item of the day will soon be forgotten and likely be replaced with something new. The “but everyone is going” event will pass… but the minutes, hours, days of pleading and begging may feel like an eternity and it can be easy to give in ‘just this once’ simply to bring about peace. Is that the kind of peace you want though? The short-term peace that lasts only until the next “Please, please, please, please, please!” erupts?

    Don’t lose yourself in the temporary.

    Maintain your focus on Jesus, concentrate on the eternal, and establish long-term peace for your children (and your home) by teaching them to look beyond the current and constantly changing fads of the world to what is real and worthy and never changing (1 Peter 1:23-25, Hebrews 13:8). When we provide our children with insights into God and His loving commands, showing them His manifold wisdom in providing boundaries and granting us immense freedoms to live a beneficial life we will be providing them with the means to build a faith, a focus, and a fruitful life before God, one of long-term peace and contentment.

    Not everything that our kids want is good or needful. Let’s ask for wisdom (James 1:5) to stay focused on Christ and remember our ultimate hope for our kids. Let’s love our children enough to love Christ more (Matthew 10:37) and together, follow His example in obedience to God, and serving others with love and good works.

“Be strong and of good courage…”

You can do it! So can I!!

Let today be the day!!

Loving Our Children Enough To Love Jesus More

"...he who loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:37 NKJV)

    Parenting can be tough. We are blessed with the stewardship of raising our children yet there are times when they resist the raising; when they push the boundaries we've set for them and try to establish their own rule. Attitudes and eye rolls suddenly enter stage left, doors get slammed, feet stomp, and volume increases (in their earpods as they try to drown out our voice of instruction). Now is not the time to give in to their demands - this is no hostage situation, this is a normal Tuesday night! - now is the time for wise, prayerful parental decision-making (James 1:5)!

 

    As Christians, we must always be focused on the big picture of life. As we raise our children we must keep in mind our ultimate hope for them: that they would come to respect and reverence God, happily follow His commands, and lead a faithful life before Him because if they have a true love for God in their hearts, all their other future decisions (how they treat others, where they work, whom they marry, how to raise their children, etc.) will guided by and made with respect to God and His Word.

 

    No matter what our kids ask/plead/beg/bargain/barter for we must keep our big picture hope for them in our minds and ask ourselves, "Is what they are wanting going to lead them toward God or away from Him?"

 

    It can be easy to fall prey to their emotional pleas simply to have peace but we must love Christ more than our sons and daughters because in doing so, we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and show our kids, through word and action, that God's way truly is the BEST way!  We will replicate God's boundaries in our homes and live joyfully in the freedoms God has granted us (Galatians 5:22-23), allowing us to reflect God's love and prove His wisdom to our children.

 

    Are you ready to stand for Christ, even if it means having to say "No" to your children? Do you love your children enough to love Christ more?

 

You can do it! So can I!

 

Let today be the day!

Being Worthy of Jesus AND Honouring our Parents

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me…” (Matthew 10:37 NKJV)

    Continuing our thoughts from last week, we need to understand that Jesus’ words were never for the purpose of tearing families apart, His teaching is quite the opposite, even reiterating the commandment to ‘honour your father and mother’ (Matthew 15:4).

    So, how do we reconcile this statement, so that we can be worthy of Jesus?

    Jesus knew that His teaching and preaching of the kingdom of God would divide families. He knew that people would need to make a choice to keep doing what they have always known or to trust Him, believe Him as the Son of God and begin to follow His way.

    The same is true for us today.

    No matter what we have been raised to believe (or not believe), if we hear the truth of God’s word (Romans 10:17) found only in the bible, we will need to make the choice to either stay with what we have known or to leave that behind and put our whole effort into following Jesus. This may require us doing what is different from our parents, but it’s a choice that needs to be made.

    Jesus said if you choose to follow Me, you are worthy of Me. If you choose to follow what you’ve always known, you’re not worthy of Me.

    So how do we honour our father and mother when we have to follow a different path from them?

    Love and honour your parents enough to share the good news of Jesus with them! Be an example to them (Romans 12:1-2), take opportunities to tell them of the Truth found in God's word. Invite them to church services, to bible studies; show them God's pathway. Just as you had a choice to make, they will too. It may not be comfortable at times but keep loving them, keep trying to guide them to the Light with kindness, patience, and prayer. 

    For those who have been “raised in the church”, whose parents have followed Jesus’ teaching from its pure source, the Bible, it is our responsibility to make our faith our own – to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:2:12). We need to not rely on our parent’s faith, nor their reputation of faith, but to study and build up our own solid faith.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV)

    No matter our background, if we have heard God’s word, we have a choice to make: Stay with what we have always known OR love Jesus enough to wholly follow Him. Oftentimes, it comes down to convenience or conviction and Jesus wants us to be convicted that He is the Son of God and that He truly does have the words of eternal life (John 6:68-69)!

       Are you making the choice of convenience or are you willing to choose a live of faithful conviction? Jesus desires you to be worthy of Him, please do what is necessary to choose Jesus! It is worth every sacrifice and every effort (Matthew 19:29)!!

Let today be the day!!

Worthy of Jesus

    Are you worthy of Jesus?

    Of course, your immediate response may be, “No!” quickly followed by the question, “Can anyone ever be worthy of Jesus?” To which I will respond, “Yes, we can! You can, I can; we all can! We CAN be worthy of Jesus!” If the Lord wills, over the next few weeks we will see how to be worthy of Him who gave His life for us!

    Consider this statement made by Jesus:

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me…” (Matthew 10:37 NKJV)

    To be worthy of Jesus, one must love Him more than their father or mother.

    What does that mean?

    Well, what if your father or mother followed a religion different from what is found in the Bible? What if they were devout to it and expected the same of you? Religions like Jehovah’s Witness and the many variables of the (Dutch) Reformed use pressure tactics like ostracization to shame people who leave, causing embarrassment to the father and mother whose child lacked commitment. Parents wishing to avoid excommunication for their child may use all manner of appeal to keep them in attendance: “If you love us you will stay!”, “If you love us you would understand how important it is!”, etc. etc.

    Jesus says that we must love Him more than our father and mother. To be worthy of Jesus we must do what is necessary, even if it means disappointing our parents to obey Him and follow His commands as found only in the Bible – there is only ONE gospel message (Galatians 1:6-10, Romans 10:17), found only in the Bible, and not in any creeds of men (which many religions are founded in and many denominations follow more closely than the Bible) – we must be willing to love Jesus more than all the earthly pressures that may be imposed on us by our father or mother.

    If you have found the one true gospel and you have chosen to obey it even though it is different from what your father or mother believe or what they raised you to believe, you have proven yourself to be worthy of Christ! I pray that you may still have time and ability to help your parents to see the one true gospel, that their eyes may be opened to its Truth, to God’s Truth!

“Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” (Psalm 119:18 NKJV)