Theme: Driven
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Cannons - Phil Wickham, All Over the World - Matt Redman, Today is the Day - Lincoln Brewster, The Stand - Hillsong
Read: Luke 9: 57-62; Luke 14:25-35
Think: Pastor Paul helped us think about what drives us and motivates us both in life and in our spiritual journeys with Christ. Jesus spent a lot of time on that topic himself as he taught and preached to the people who often gathered to hear Him.
In Luke 14 we read an account where big crowds of people joined Him as He traveled toward Jerusalem. Maybe a lot of these casual followers considered themselves to be His true disciples, but Jesus gave them a new paradigm to weigh their commitment to being His disciple:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14: 26 - 27
Those are strong words! Nothing, not even your love for your father or mother or even your own life is to take precedence over loyalty to Jesus. Whoa, doesn’t that seem kind of radical? In a word: absolutely!
His disciples - both back then and us today - have to acknowledge that if God is really our primary life focus, possessions, popularity power and position have to take second place. And reordering those priorities will come at a cost… personally, professionally, and financially. Jesus calls us, His followers, to be absorbed in a single, exclusive thought and passion—Him!!!
And though the cost is great, the payoff is greater. We reap a life that is full of purpose, power, and joy and best of all, an eternity spent with the Father. Seems to me the return is well worth the investment…
Do: So here’s the challenge: examine your heart. Are you passionate about Jesus Christ? Is it your goal to put Him first in all things and honor Him in your everyday life?
Pray: God I choose (again) today to put you first in my life. You are my passion, you are the One I live for both now and forever. Help me to lay aside anything that I’ve allowed to creep in and take the place that is rightfully yours in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.