WHAT JESUS REALLY WANTS

To get the most out of today's devotion, do the following in order:

1. READ THE PASSAGE - Mark 10:21 (NKJV)  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 
2. READ THE DEVOTION - My Utmost for His Highest, September 28 (Link will open in a new window)
3. READ MY THOUGHTS

Ok.  The instructions are above.  Have you followed them?  Yes?  Good.  My thoughts springboard off of today's devotion by Oswald Chambers.

Total abandonment to, total reliance upon, total trust in Jesus Christ - that is the demand of Jesus upon our hearts, minds, and lives.  No mere human is worthy of such devotion, or able to rightly make such a demand upon another.  Marriage is about as close as we can come, but it falls short.  Neither husband nor wife can be as fully trusted, perfectly able, or eternally strong enough to successfully NEVER let us down.  And so we need someone above that - and Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God, is the ONLY one with the character, power, and knowledge to be trusted to our entire being, our soul, and even life itself.

So what keeps you, o soul, from giving to Christ your total "self"?  What doubts, fears, or worries keep you from giving your whole being to Jesus?  

• Do you fear other people?  Could it be that you worry they might mock you?  Will your popularity ratings drop dramatically?  Could persecution be in your future?  
• Do you fear the loss of material comforts?  Do you need your electronics, nice bed, air conditioning/heating, automobiles, and nice house?  Do you need a pantry full of food?  Do you need the latest tools, gadgets, and the like?  Would following Jesus with total abandonment mean the loss of these things?  
• Do you fear emotional rejection?  Do you need constant approval, someone to always be by your side?  Do you need someone else to be your purpose for living?

If Jesus said to you, "It's me or other people."  What would be your choice?

If Jesus asked you, "Do you trust me to provide your needs?"  What would be your answer?

If Jesus asked you to rely upon Him for your emotional well-being, could you?  Would you?  

Would abandonment to Him give your life a purpose higher than even life itself?

Place yourself NOT in the "Holy-Roller Self-Righteous Church" of the rich man who has kept every part of the law, and in the mean time, kept himself from abandoning everything to have a dependent relationship with Jesus Christ.  Instead, join the "Abundant Abandoned Living Church" that lives with and serves Jesus without obstacles!

And that's Just A Thot for today.

Your comments are welcome, and encouraged.  Please share today's devotion with anyone who might be blessed by it.

ARE YOU A DISCIPLE OF JESUS?

Acts 9:26 (NKJV) And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.

When Saul (later, Paul) first became a Christian, the Believers in Jerusalem could not believe it!  They were afraid of him.  After all, he was one of the chief persecutors of Christians in that area.  He had Stephen stoned.  He was, by admission, the chief of sinners.  But he was also, among the people of the land (not the Christians), considered to be one of the best Jews there were.  He was educated at the feet of the brightest - Gamaliel.  He led others in the fight against this new Christian movement.  He was one of the most zealous fighters for keeping the "traditional way of life" of all.  Who could believe that he had been converted into a Believer in Jesus Christ? 

What did it take for them to accept that he had become a disciple?

The answer to that question is the point of our Thot for today, and it lies in the word "disciple." 

What is a disciple? 
A disciple is a person who is under the tutelage and discipline of another.  The key word is "discipline."  It means learning to think, act, and value the way the teacher thinks, acts, and value what he values.  A disciple of Jesus was disciplined to bring his life under control of the Holy Spirit, and to reject the ways of the world as a governing power over one's life. 

Are you a disciple of Jesus? 
Disciples of Jesus don't just subscribe to a creed of ideas they like and agree with; they practice living the way Jesus lived.  That doesn't necessarily mean walking everywhere, dressing in ancient middle-eastern clothing, and the like.  It DOES mean learning to care for others, relate to the Father, and serve Jesus with a whole heart.  It means doing good for others rather than serving self.  It is a transformation of heart and mind that cannot help but change the way one acts and the things one does. 

If you are a disciple of Jesus, you will let the Bible be your guide, studying it to get to know it; you will spend time each day in prayer; you will love the church (Christ did, and teaches us He died for her, so we should love her as much); you will submit to the authorities in the church and out (unless any require you to go against God); you will care for others, even when that's hard to do.  These things are all actions that come from the heart, not the head, if you are a disciple.  If you are a disciple, you won't be able to keep from sharing your faith with others.  If you are a disciple of Jesus, you will not quit on Him; if you do, it will only be temporary - you won't help but come back to Him and His church and His way of life.

Are YOU a disciple of Jesus?

Is there enough in your life to convince others that you are a disciple of Jesus? 
Like Paul (Saul), at first, your life needs to change.  This takes time.  The moment you ask the Lord to be your Savior is a great moment.  But it's not the evidence people need.  God is convinced - He judges the heart.  But the rest of us cannot see the heart.  We can only see the outside.  We, the people (we, the church) need evidence that you've changed.  That evidence comes by a changed way of living and doing things.  Does that evidence show up in your life?  How? 

This is a great challenge for all who take it seriously.  Those to whom we profess to be a Christian will be looking for that evidence (the believing and the unbelieving alike). 

If you haven't had time to show it, do you have someone to vouch for you while you start to show it?  Is there someone who witnessed your conversion?  Your Baptism? 

We all make mistakes.  Being a disciple is not about getting it perfect.  It's about a life change.  Do you clearly want and do things more in line with the will of Jesus?  When you don't, are you saddened, humbled, and willing to make the changes needed?  Or do you quit.  For the disciple of Christ, quitting is not an option.  One cannot quit being what one is.  If you are now a child of God, you cannot quit being a child of God.  You have only one course of action - be a child of God!  That is what a disciple is.  He is not a student at a school that he can dis-enroll in.  He is a new creature - and he practices living a new way of life.

Be the disciple, Christian, that you are.  Don't live in such a way that others cannot tell that you are a Christian.  God may just do something through you that changes the world.  He did with Saul (Paul). 

And that's Just a Thot for today!


May you be blessed in your discipleship today!

IS CHRISTIANITY A FORM OF BRAINWASHING?

I was watching an episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" the other night when the sleazy criminal wife-beater was furious about his wife going to a battered women's camp.  He said they "brainwashed her" there.  It got me to thinking about that term, "brainwashing."  As if the healing process were somehow a bad thing.  As if the immoral thoughts of the criminal were somehow better than the right thinking that comes from seeing the truth.

It's a funny thing when the world thinks of Christians as being brain-washed - until you read the Bible.  It sort of admits to it.  But don't stop there.  The truth is, everyone was born in sin, and learned to think sinfully.  Our understanding was darkened, our concept of God was distorted, even twisted.  Our messed-up brains need to be washed!

Titus 3:3-7 says that we were once messed up.  We did and though all sorts of mean, hateful things, desiring things that may be good for us, but fulfilling those desires in twisted, warped, and unwholesome ways.  Then Jesus came because God loved us and sent Him to us so that we might be saved from the penalty, power, and one day the presence of those wicked things we were living and doing.  He "wash[ed] us" by making us new creatures and renews us through the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).  Then, after we've been made new, clean, and justified by the blood of Christ, we offer ourselves to Jesus in eternal gratitude.

In Romans 12:1, that eternal gratitude should be expressed by offering ourselves as living sacrifices - living for Jesus and sacrificing our own wants to meet His.  Not only is that giving Jesus every part of us, it is the example Jesus set as He did ONLY that which His Father in Heaven wanted.  True love serves, and does not take.  When Jesus loved us, He served us by meeting our sin-need.  Then, in thanksgiving, we love Him back by giving ourselves to meet His every desire for us. 

Romans 12:2 says that to do that, we must forsake this world - not following its ways, and be changed by the renewing of our minds - continually letting our minds be renewed by the Word of God, lest the old habits return. 

So, I suppose it's a really good thing to finally be able to think straight, thanks to the Lord.  Now, dear friends, will you consider letting YOUR minds be washed by the Word of God and be made a new Creature through Jesus Christ? 

And that's Just a Thought for today!  Have a blessed day in Jesus Christ!