28 Days: Day 22

SCRIPTURE

• Mark 10:17-22
• Luke 9:23-25 (NIV) ²³ Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵  What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

OBSERVATION

The thing about being a disciple is that it will cost us.  There is a difference between being a believer and being a disciple...there are many believers today in the church – they confess that Jesus is God and have asked God to forgive them of their sins, but that is where they stop.  A disciple goes further – he/she has submitted themselves to God and given Him the right to tell them what to do, where to go and what to say.  In other words, they have allowed God to change them from the inside out.  That change does not come easy, it hurts, but it is worth it if we stick it out. 

Being a disciple costs us our time, it costs us surrendering our agenda and plans and being willing to follow Jesus’ agenda and plan for us.  Being a disciple is a covenant relationship not just good intention.  Understand that a covenant relationship is a binding contract that cannot be broken, and when we covenant with God to be His disciple we mean to see it through to the end. 

UNDERSTANDING

Sunday we talked about three responses to when God calls us to be about His business…

• Here I am, I am not going.
• Here I am, send someone else.
• Here I am, send me.

I believe that in order for us to live the surrendered life of the disciple who says, “Here I am, send me!” we must be pursuing God in such a way that we have ongoing encounters with Him in His presence.  Are you pursuing God?  A disciple pursues the Master. 

I also believe that when we recognize our sin and God’s holiness and come to realize how much He has showered His grace on us then we find our hearts changing from I have to give up my life to “I get to give up my life for the one who has given all for me!”

LIFE APPLICATION

Who are you?  Are you a believer or a disciple?  Obviously, God’s desire is for you to be a disciple.  Are you willing to pay the cost?

God I pray that your people will say yes to following you.  I pray that their answer will be yes before they even know the question.  God may they trust you in such a way that they discover your best is better than anything could ever imagine and think for themselves.