Following Jesus

What does it mean to follow Jesus? Let's cut to the chase and not beat around the bush or sugarcoat the obvious. Following Jesus requires self–denial, which is the reason many choose not to follow Him.

Luke 9:23 says, "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

The type of self–denial the Lord demands is a willingness to obey His every command. Suffering, as well as service to others is included. Now, let's face it, we live in a self–centered culture, and that means we look out for number one. We are not willing to sacrifice ourselves to make sure that others come before us.

Yet, this is what true Christianity is all about.

Lip service is weak and not considered the crux of true discipleship. The "cross" represents suffering—a reality that many of us cannot and will not accept in our lives.  Perhaps that's the reason many are "soft–core" Christians—we roll with Jesus as long as we don't get hurt in the process.

Nevertheless, what does it mean to follow Him?

Total and unwavering commitment.

Be blessed

Go Hard

Bro. Sid.

On Church Ground

Here is the funniest phrase I have ever heard. “If I weren’t on church ground, I would…” I have heard so-called churchgoers say the church ground kept them from cussing and fighting, as if the premises had something to do with their behavior. In other words, they felt justified in acting crazy because they were not near the building. It is amazing how people respect an edifice, but will not respect the One the edifice represents.

           

What does it mean to be on church ground? Does it mean standing in the parking lot? The vestibule? The family life center? The administrative offices? The fellowship hall? 

Some churchgoers believe this. However, we must understand Christians are the church. When we are away from the building, we are still in church. 

           

Have you ever heard someone shout, “Thank you Jesus” and “I’m looking for a blessing,” and in the next breath use 4-letter words? At that moment, I assume they forgot they were on church ground. These actions reveal attitude. Imagine how they act away from the church building. 

           

As they ride closer to the church, the worship face surfaces. Church folk switch appearances faster than chameleons. The same way these lizards alter their skin color is the same way church folk shift to the facade. In church, they are saved, sanctified, Holy Ghost filled and fire baptized. But wait until the service is over and wait until the venues change.

           

For example, did you know restaurant servers do not like working on Sunday afternoon? Why? They know how church people act. I am embarrassed to say we often look for reasons not to tip the server. We want God to fill our cup until it overflows, but we make the server leave our tables empty handed.

           

On church ground we are spiritual, but in the restaurant we are stingy. Church folk fight the server to get a free meal, and then have the audacity to leave a tract on the table with no tip. Our conduct away from the house is the reason no one visits the house. If God has blessed us, why do we find it hard to bless others?

           

In Deuteronomy, God instructed Moses about payment (cf. Deut. 2). He told him and the children of Israel not to meddle with the children of Esau, because He was not going to give Esau’s possession to them (cf. Deut. 2:5). The word meddle means to stir up strife and contention.

           

This is exactly what church folk do when they pick a fight with the server. Instead of paying for the meal—as God said in verse 6—church players scam the meal. God said, “Ye shall buy meat of them,” not steal it! Do you see how we act? We will raise hell with the restaurant, but still consider ourselves God’s beloved children. 

           

So, what about church ground causes the actors flip? Maybe they fail to realize God is omnipresent. The Almighty is everywhere at the same time.

           

While expressing His displeasure of false prophets, God said, “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD,” (cf. Jer. 23:24). 

Since the LORD is always present, church ground should not be the only place we live holy. A lukewarm church makes for an angry Lord (cf. Rev. 3:16).

Be encouraged

Go Hard

Bro. Sid

So, Who Do You Listen To?

"The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God's words. You don't listen and respond, because you don't belong to God" (cf. John 8:47, NET Version).

Strong words, aren't they? As we can see, Jesus never pulled any punches when addressing false disciples. In fact, this statement He makes comes on the heels of Him laying the wood to His attackers – (cf. John 8:44)

The first phrase reads, "You people are from your father, the devil and you want to do what your father desires..." (NET Version).

There it is. Whoever controls the ear controls the conduct.

My friends, we are either children of God or children of the devil. 

There is no other option. 

In his book Always Ready, the late Dr. Gregory L. Bahnsen said, "Neutrality is an immoral attempt to serve two lords." We will either listen to the devil or we will listen to God. And our response will either be disobedience or obedience. Sorry, but the Word of God does not make it any plainer than that.

How do we know we belong to God? When we love Him and when we obey His Word. It is an impossibility for one to love and to obey God but to hate His Bible at the same time. We cannot be His disciples when His Word is not the priority in our lives.

The devil's children simply go through the motions, pretending to belong to God. Let that not be us.

Listen to Christ. Obey His Word. 

He is the Word.

Blessings. 

Persecution is Real

Greetings my fellow disciples and family in Christ. Once again, I pray that all is well with you. Today's focus touches on our desire to live godly lives. With that comes a word that many in contemporary Christendom work hard to avoid.

Persecution.

In 2 Timothy 3:12, the Bible says, "Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (KJV).

Let's face it. We live in a world that hates Christ. The world hates Christians. So, living in this hostile environment—a place that isn't our final home, by the way—what makes disciples believe that persecution will never drive down their street?

It hunts us.

It stalks us.

True disciples are to deny themselves and to follow Jesus—it's the first rule of discipleship (cf. Matt 16:24–28; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:22–27). When we desire to live godly in an ungodly world, we should expect resistance.

Remember, the servant is not greater than his/her Lord. So, if they hated Jesus, they will hate us. In that, do not deny Him....because we do not want Him to deny us (cf. Matt. 10:32–33; Matt. 7:21–23).

Be encouraged.

Go Hard.

STUDY!!!

Greetings fellow disciples. I pray that all is well with you. Wanted to talk today about a subject that many in contemporary Christendom find daunting. It's called study. Did I say that? Yes, I did.

Unfortunately, those who consider themselves followers of Christ barely have a surface understanding of the Word of God. It is critical that we develop solid study habits, if we are going to use the Word of God effectively in evangelism. Let's see what the Apostle Paul tells Timothy.

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (cf. II Timothy 2:15). 

The NET Bible translation gives us a simple way of reading this. It says:

"Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately" (cf. II Timothy 2:15).

The Christian community is filled with messages. Many of these messages, which include useless clichés, clearly reveal a limited understanding of the Word of God. It's unfortunate, but the majority of the faith–based community is Biblically illiterate. Not good for evangelizing a world that DESPERATELY needs the unadulterated Word of God.

What do we do? The Bible makes it clear. Let us make every effort to show God that we are hard workers when it comes to consuming and to sharing His message.

We can do it.

Blessings.

Time Will Tell the Story

In response to a great deal of strong and negative feelings about God and about Christianity, I felt it necessary to remind us that as disciples of Christ, we WILL suffer persecution. No question about it. We live in a world that is anti-God, anti-Christ and anti-Christian. And if Jesus Himself suffered at the hands of His persecutors, so will we (cf. John 15:20; 17:14; II Tim. 3:12).

Nevertheless, I have good news. And this news is the very reason I refuse to argue with bullying skeptics about matters concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, His Word and His people. The good news is this: Time Will Tell the Story. No matter how much skeptics argue against the historicity and reliability of the Bible, there is ONE thing they ALL cannot escape - DEATH. 

I had the not so distinct pleasure of reading rants against God (i.e. He is not real, no such thing, so on and so on) this afternoon through comments made in response to a judicial ruling against a Christian bakery. There were also vicious attacks against Christians. But disciples of the Lord, hold on to our hope. The Bible promises that Jesus will vanquish all of His enemies. They can argue until they're blue in the face about Jesus being a farce, but once again, there is ONE thing they ALL cannot escape - DEATH. 

So, instead of us arguing and trying to convince people who seem to be already convinced, why not just wait? Time Will Tell the Story. Every person will take his or her last breath ONE day. And on that day, each and every person will learn whether God is real or not. 

Time Will Tell the Story.....so be encouraged and keep serving our Master. 

Blessings.

What is Ministry?

My brothers, sisters and friends....what is ministry? Very interesting and challenging question. I also have another question. Does society and even the church have a warped view of what ministry truly is? I believe that is a distinct possibility.

According to Bill Hull's The Complete Book of Discipleship, the term ministry means serving others in the name of Christ. Hull's definition is absolutely correct. So then, why do a great number of people - who claim to be Christians - want to be served instead of serving?

Jesus made it clear when He (the Master) washed His disciples feet (cf. John 13) - the lowest kind of servanthood in Palestine - that service is a prerequisite for discipleship. Perhaps that may be the reason so many care not to be disciples.

My friends....as we go about our daily activities, let us make a conscious effort to take advantage of opportunities to serve others.

It is the true meaning of ministry.

Blessings.