Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Oh Friends, Sabbath time is here again! Be sure to get your weekly dose of fellowship, fun, physical relaxation and spiritual renewal, else you won’t have the wherewithal to withstand the enemy and do your job as a follower of Jesus. Today I want to share a quote from one of the famous British poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley, which says: ‘Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.’ And isn’t that the truth Friends? Just consider songs like Amazing Grace and the many other sad but sweet hymns in our arsenal. Also check out the Negro Spirituals, the Blues and Soul tunes that derive their emotion from hurt, pain and sadness, but are very catching to the heart and soul. I guess there’s just something in sadness that brings out a sweet, soulful melody in us. In some ways it’s reminiscent of Jesus’ words: ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ Unless we give up what we don’t truly need, or bear the burdens we need to, we can’t be a disciple of Jesus. It’s obviously not easy to give up certain things or to withstand certain hard circumstances and trials, but in the end, as Jesus so faithfully promises, it will all pay off in greater rewards. That’s the sweet part mih people; walking in step with Jesus, using His immense strength to bear our burdens, carrying our crosses like stalwarts, without murmur or regret. Don’t be fooled Friends, even with the Spirit’s help, it’s no easy task. Jesus outlined the requirements in the verse before the Bit: ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26) Wow! What a price to be Jesus’ disciple! But it’s certainly worth it my people. Jesus obviously never meant for us to literally hate those he referred to, but in relation to one’s devotion to Him, everything else in our lives must take second place. In other words, He must always be Numero UNO, Number ONE! Neither does it negate Jesus’ other teachings re LOVING one’s enemies, honouring your parents and such things. It simply means that your relationship with Jesus must be paramount in your life. Absolute loyalty to Christ is a necessity, although as the scholars wisely point out, in many societies, including ours and that of Jesus, following Him invites an either or situation that our Bit appears to set up, which wasn’t what Jesus really meant. Yes, it does mean having to give up some things and some people that don’t fit into the spiritual lifestyle, but that’s the same with anything on which we are completely focused. So it should not really detract from our LOVING and caring, but just keep us steadfastly focused on the Saviour. And note too Friends, Jesus did not tell the requirements only to his disciples, but to the multitude that followed Him. (Luke 14:25) He’d said almost the same thing privately to the disciples when talking about terms of discipleship. ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whosoever will (desires to) save his life will lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (lost)? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:23-26) Ah Friends, a true believer’s life is not an easy one, but it is a good one, and please remember that the eventual rewards in heaven, living with the Holy Triune, do justify the earthly pain. It’s as Bruh Paul proudly declares to his protégé Timothy: ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim.3:12) But please don’t let that turn you off my brethren, for persecution in our society today is negligible, compared to what the early Christians suffered, and what some believers still suffer in heathen lands. Instead, stand tall and strong and do the work for which we’ve been called. Be proud like the apostles were when they were flogged by the Jewish elders for preaching Christ crucified, and were also warned, in no uncertain manner, to stop preaching it. But they paid the elders and their warnings no heed and were back in the temple the next day, preaching the good news of the gospel, ‘rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.’ (Acts 5:41) That’s enough for today Friends. I don’t want to turn you off by making it seem that there is so much hardship inherent in being a follower of Christ, though there is some. (smile) We will continue this topic tomorrow, God willing of course. And why wouldn’t He, since we’re only trying to SPREAD His Word, LIVE our Faith and LOVE Him as his Son, our Saviour directed us. Till then, Much LOVE!…come follow, follow Jesus…it’s the best life…
Oh Friends, Sabbath time is here again! Be sure to get your weekly dose of fellowship, fun, physical relaxation and spiritual renewal, else you won’t have the wherewithal to withstand the enemy and do your job as a follower of Jesus. Today I want to share a quote from one of the famous British poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley, which says: ‘Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.’ And isn’t that the truth Friends? Just consider songs like Amazing Grace and the many other sad but sweet hymns in our arsenal. Also check out the Negro Spirituals, the Blues and Soul tunes that derive their emotion from hurt, pain and sadness, but are very catching to the heart and soul. I guess there’s just something in sadness that brings out a sweet, soulful melody in us. In some ways it’s reminiscent of Jesus’ words: ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ Unless we give up what we don’t truly need, or bear the burdens we need to, we can’t be a disciple of Jesus. It’s obviously not easy to give up certain things or to withstand certain hard circumstances and trials, but in the end, as Jesus so faithfully promises, it will all pay off in greater rewards. That’s the sweet part mih people; walking in step with Jesus, using His immense strength to bear our burdens, carrying our crosses like stalwarts, without murmur or regret. Don’t be fooled Friends, even with the Spirit’s help, it’s no easy task. Jesus outlined the requirements in the verse before the Bit: ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26) Wow! What a price to be Jesus’ disciple! But it’s certainly worth it my people. Jesus obviously never meant for us to literally hate those he referred to, but in relation to one’s devotion to Him, everything else in our lives must take second place. In other words, He must always be Numero UNO, Number ONE! Neither does it negate Jesus’ other teachings re LOVING one’s enemies, honouring your parents and such things. It simply means that your relationship with Jesus must be paramount in your life. Absolute loyalty to Christ is a necessity, although as the scholars wisely point out, in many societies, including ours and that of Jesus, following Him invites an either or situation that our Bit appears to set up, which wasn’t what Jesus really meant. Yes, it does mean having to give up some things and some people that don’t fit into the spiritual lifestyle, but that’s the same with anything on which we are completely focused. So it should not really detract from our LOVING and caring, but just keep us steadfastly focused on the Saviour. And note too Friends, Jesus did not tell the requirements only to his disciples, but to the multitude that followed Him. (Luke 14:25) He’d said almost the same thing privately to the disciples when talking about terms of discipleship. ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whosoever will (desires to) save his life will lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (lost)? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:23-26) Ah Friends, a true believer’s life is not an easy one, but it is a good one, and please remember that the eventual rewards in heaven, living with the Holy Triune, do justify the earthly pain. It’s as Bruh Paul proudly declares to his protégé Timothy: ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim.3:12) But please don’t let that turn you off my brethren, for persecution in our society today is negligible, compared to what the early Christians suffered, and what some believers still suffer in heathen lands. Instead, stand tall and strong and do the work for which we’ve been called. Be proud like the apostles were when they were flogged by the Jewish elders for preaching Christ crucified, and were also warned, in no uncertain manner, to stop preaching it. But they paid the elders and their warnings no heed and were back in the temple the next day, preaching the good news of the gospel, ‘rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.’ (Acts 5:41) That’s enough for today Friends. I don’t want to turn you off by making it seem that there is so much hardship inherent in being a follower of Christ, though there is some. (smile) We will continue this topic tomorrow, God willing of course. And why wouldn’t He, since we’re only trying to SPREAD His Word, LIVE our Faith and LOVE Him as his Son, our Saviour directed us. Till then, Much LOVE!…come follow, follow Jesus…it’s the best life…
SCRIP-BITS 