Your Serve

“And a scribe came up and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’”
(Matthew 8:19,20)

“Jesus has many who love His kingdom in heaven, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting.

All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of the bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. Many admire the miracles, but few follow Him to the humiliation of the cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them.”

–Thomas a Kempis

Adios

Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.
(Luke 14:33, The Message)

“This is faith: a renouncing of everything we are apt to call our own and relying wholly upon the blood, righteousness and intercession of Jesus”

— John Newton

What’s In Your Wallet?

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 
(Matthew 13:44)  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Christ is a jewel more worth than a thousand worlds, as all know who have Him. Get Him, and get all; miss Him and miss all.

–Thomas Brooks

Whatever

 

“And they immediately left the nets and followed Him.”
(Matthew 4:20) 

“Lord, I am willing
To receive what You give,
To lack what You withhold,
To relinquish what You take,
To suffer what You inflict,
To be what You require.”

–from an ancient hymn
quoted in Jerry Bridge’s Transforming Grace, p185

The Plumbline

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…”
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Every doctrine that is not embedded in the Cross of Jesus will lead astray.
–Oswald Chambers

Another Religion

“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
(1 Timothy 4:16)

I once had another religion, mincing, lisping, baited breath, proper, hunting the Bible for hidden truths, but no obedience, no sacrifice.

–C.T. Studd (1860-1931), English missionary to China, India and Africa

Fool’s Gold

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
(Matthew 6:21)

The people of Israel sacrificed so that they could enjoy their golden calf. They donated their wealth and they even got up early in the morning to eat and drink and play (see Exodus 32:6). I’ve met church people who complain about missionary offerings (“Are they begging again?”) but never think twice about spending thousands of dollars to enjoy a “Christian vacation” or purchase another “adult toy.” People who would find it difficult to get up early for a prayer meeting have no problem getting up for a time of “fun.” Individuals sacrifice for the things they really love.

–Warren Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis, p89

Fasting for Life

“But this kind does not go out but by prayer and fasting.”
(Matthew 17:21)

When we fast, we are intentionally relinquishing the first right given to the human family in the Garden—the right to eat. We say no to food because we are intent upon others receiving a far greater nourishment. We are committed to breaking every yoke and setting the captives free. Our fasting is a sign that nothing will stop us in our struggle in behalf of the broken and oppressed.

We are depriving ourselves for the sake of a greater good. Our fasting has weight with God and effect upon others…Our fasting is part of our wrestling with God. It is part of the birth pangs we endure in order to see new life come forth.

–Richard Foster
Prayer: Finding Your Heart’s True Home, p226

What Lauren Said

“But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: he one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
(1 John 2:5,6)

The purpose and love of my life is Jesus Christ. I don’t have to argue religion, philosophy, or historical evidence because I KNOW Him. He is just as real, if not more so, as my ‘earthly’ father.

–Lauren McCain, 20, on her MySpace website
(Lauren was one of 32 Virginia Tech students killed last month)

Can You Say That With A Straight Face?

“For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.”
(1 Corinthians 4:9)

“In the splendid palace chapel a stately court preacher, the cultivated public’s elite, advances before an elite circle of fashionable and cultivated people and preaches emotionally on the text of the Apostle, ‘God chose the lowly and despised’–and nobody laughs.”

–Soren Kierkegaard
Spiritual Writings of Soren Kierkegaard, Orbis Books, 2003, p. xix