Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,517
“As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62 NASB’95)
“I will follow you, but…” is not an acceptable approach to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. This has to be unconditional surrender, not only as it is convenient for us, or only as it fits with our busy schedules, or only if whatever other excuses we might have for why, although we claim that we want to follow him, we can’t really do it, at least not yet, which means it will most likely not ever happen. For either we mean business with God or we don’t. Either we want to be his disciples or we don’t. It is one or the other.
Now, in the first situation, the person professed that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. But Jesus knew what was in the person’s heart. He knew whether or not the person was just saying it or if he really meant it. So Jesus let him know the cost of following him, and then it doesn’t say what happened next. But the indication is, I believe, that the person did not end up following the Lord when he came to realize what all he would have to give up, and what it would really be like to follow Jesus wherever he went.
The second man was called of Jesus to follow him, but the man wanted to delay it until he buried his father. We don’t know for certain that his father was actually dying and that a funeral for him was imminent, for it could have been that he meant for Jesus to wait until the man’s father grew ill and died, which could have been years from then. The point was that he was not ready to follow Jesus, and he put his father before Jesus. But Jesus told him to let the dead bury the dead and for him to proclaim the kingdom of God.
The third individual declared that he would follow the Lord, but he wanted to go say “goodbye” to those at home first. Jesus saw this as another one who lacked the commitment to lay it all down to follow the Lord, and so again he let the person know the cost of following Jesus. When we make that commitment to making Jesus our Lord, which means he is now master over our lives, and we now belong to him, and he is the one directing our paths, there is no looking back. We either go with God or we don’t go with him.
We cannot be half-hearted followers of Christ and be his true followers. We cannot follow Jesus, in truth, on our own terms, by our own rules, according to our own schedules. Believing in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives is not just a free ride into heaven while we go on living by the flesh, doing whatever we want to do, choosing when and where we will surrender to the Lord and follow his lead and go with him wherever he sends us. And I am not saying that as soon as we believe in Jesus that we are perfect.
The point is that when Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross it was to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him we will now die with him to sin. And he was resurrected from the dead on the third day in victory over darkness so that we will now live for him in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. Now he owns us and our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, but our lives are now committed to the Lord to doing his will for our lives.
So, if we profess faith in Jesus Christ but then we keep living however we want, our lives are not surrendered to Christ. If all we want is just a free ride into heaven, well, it isn’t going to happen. Yes, Jesus paid the cost for our freedom from sin, but we must die with him to sin and now follow him in obedience to his commands, empowered by God. We cannot just claim to believe in Jesus but then go right back to living life as we had always done before. For if we do, we are not fit for the kingdom of God.
So, please understand that faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, and which is persuaded of God, and which is gifted to us by God, and which is not of our own doing, means self-denial, dying to sin (in practice), by the Spirit, and walking with the Lord in obedience to his commands and to his directives for our lives, for how he wants us to live, and for what he has planned for our lives. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we profess.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Fit For the Kingdom of God
An Original Work / April 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“I will follow you, but…” is not an acceptable approach to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. This has to be unconditional surrender, not only as it is convenient for us, or only as it fits with our busy schedules, or only if whatever other excuses we might have for why, although we claim that we want to follow him, we can’t really do it, at least not yet, which means it will most likely not ever happen. For either we mean business with God or we don’t. Either we want to be his disciples or we don’t. It is one or the other.
Now, in the first situation, the person professed that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. But Jesus knew what was in the person’s heart. He knew whether or not the person was just saying it or if he really meant it. So Jesus let him know the cost of following him, and then it doesn’t say what happened next. But the indication is, I believe, that the person did not end up following the Lord when he came to realize what all he would have to give up, and what it would really be like to follow Jesus wherever he went.
The second man was called of Jesus to follow him, but the man wanted to delay it until he buried his father. We don’t know for certain that his father was actually dying and that a funeral for him was imminent, for it could have been that he meant for Jesus to wait until the man’s father grew ill and died, which could have been years from then. The point was that he was not ready to follow Jesus, and he put his father before Jesus. But Jesus told him to let the dead bury the dead and for him to proclaim the kingdom of God.
The third individual declared that he would follow the Lord, but he wanted to go say “goodbye” to those at home first. Jesus saw this as another one who lacked the commitment to lay it all down to follow the Lord, and so again he let the person know the cost of following Jesus. When we make that commitment to making Jesus our Lord, which means he is now master over our lives, and we now belong to him, and he is the one directing our paths, there is no looking back. We either go with God or we don’t go with him.
We cannot be half-hearted followers of Christ and be his true followers. We cannot follow Jesus, in truth, on our own terms, by our own rules, according to our own schedules. Believing in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives is not just a free ride into heaven while we go on living by the flesh, doing whatever we want to do, choosing when and where we will surrender to the Lord and follow his lead and go with him wherever he sends us. And I am not saying that as soon as we believe in Jesus that we are perfect.
The point is that when Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross it was to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him we will now die with him to sin. And he was resurrected from the dead on the third day in victory over darkness so that we will now live for him in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. Now he owns us and our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, but our lives are now committed to the Lord to doing his will for our lives.
So, if we profess faith in Jesus Christ but then we keep living however we want, our lives are not surrendered to Christ. If all we want is just a free ride into heaven, well, it isn’t going to happen. Yes, Jesus paid the cost for our freedom from sin, but we must die with him to sin and now follow him in obedience to his commands, empowered by God. We cannot just claim to believe in Jesus but then go right back to living life as we had always done before. For if we do, we are not fit for the kingdom of God.
So, please understand that faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, and which is persuaded of God, and which is gifted to us by God, and which is not of our own doing, means self-denial, dying to sin (in practice), by the Spirit, and walking with the Lord in obedience to his commands and to his directives for our lives, for how he wants us to live, and for what he has planned for our lives. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we profess.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Fit For the Kingdom of God
An Original Work / April 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
