Bible verses to build your life on

Jesus said: “… whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock…” ~ Matthew 7:24

*** ** ***

First thoughts of the day? Are they: “Lord I will follow You…” ~ study

October 2010

So, what's the first thought on your mind, this morning? :) Okay, breakfast probably :) ~ But, more importantly - how quickly does this thought come to your mind? "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go..." (Matthew 8:19) ~ That's the first phrase in an interesting conversation a man had with Jesus. Curious? Let's look deeper, in today's breakfast thought. ~ :)

***

Okay, so, here's the passage, and I'm taking this from Luke, because Luke records a few more details on it:"Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, 'Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.' And Jesus said t...o him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.' But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.' And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.' But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'" ~ Luke 9:57-62

So, a thought to consider today: do you or I have preconditions for us following Christ today? I mean, 'Good morning Jesus, I want to learn to please you today, but I want this in return' - type thinking? If so, then, we're only offering a partial deal with selfish motives. Still, God in His grace can and does use that type of commitment, but should we really offer the Creator of the universe who gave us everything, only part of our life with conditions?... Doesn't make sense does it? So, think through what your conditions are, and today, I encourage you to work through them more, as I plan to do as well.

Okay, looking deeper in the text - "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head." What an amazing statement! Jesus, our Master and Savior had no home? No pillow? No place to call His 'own'? Wow... that's pretty amazing when you think about it. So, what was Jesus' life like? Isaiah 53 gives us another clue: "He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." (Isaiah 53:3)

Let's review His life really quick - He was born to a virgin, suffered the false accusations that He was the offspring of an immoral affair (John 8:48) His whole life partially because Joseph made it very clear that He wasn't his Son - he was God's Son. Yet many never understood Joseph's words, and falsely accused Jesus of being illegitimate (a very strong taboo back then, especially in Jewish culture). Yet, Jesus was never harsh with those who falsely stated that of Him - absolutely amazing! So, what else? Well, Joseph started Jesus as a carpenter and apparently trained him for a while, but there was a certain point where Joseph was no longer around, probably because he died. Why is this important? Because Jesus was left without a human 'dad' figure most of His life - makes things tougher. Jesus spoke such profound words that He was a curiosity to many, but most (even His disciples) often questioned Him strongly, and didn't stay by His side, especially during the really hard times, like the events leading to the crucifixion. And on the crucifixion, Jesus was insulted, lied about, slandered, falsely accused, abandoned by men, beaten beyond recognition, had His beard torn out, and was in so much agony that He could have/should have died numerous times in His last hours. The worst part? Those beating and abusing Him were His own creation.

Why do I mention this? Because this is the life He lived, never complaining, never grumbling, but willingly accepting and embracing it to please His Father and become a perfect Sacrifice for our sins, and our Example, Master and Savior. Since it cost Him everything to die as payment for our sins, what sin (or self-centered desires) are so important to us that will cause us to hold back parts of our lives from His control and guidance? Hopefully none, and may we continue to grow in gratitude and in following Him in this, because this likely brings conviction on all of us. So, let's let that inspire us to grow closer to Him with more eagerness, more passion today, and the days following!

Well, there's more richness in this text, but I do not have more time to dig into it, at the moment. But, I plan to come back and look at this some more soon. In the meantime, you may consider re-reading the text and intentionally thinking about it throughout your day, as well.

Till next time, Take care with my prayers, your brother and friend, and a growing servant/life-slave of Jesus, SH :)