DAY 127 OF 365: WALKING THROUGH THE WORD DEVOTIONAL

Title: FOLLOWING JESUS CHRIST

Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee

Luke 18:28

How do the sick get healed without the healer’s touch? How does a captive break free without a deliverer? How does a lost soul find its way unless directed to follow the right path? Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Way, the Truth and the Life.- John 14:6. To be saved is to choose to walk in the Way (Jesus); it is to see and accept the Truth (Jesus); and it is to receive and live the Life (Jesus). Anything short of this Jesus is religion and doesn’t save.

Behold, O man, thy salvation. Salvation is the acceptance of the Person of the Lord Jesus as the Way to God, the overall Truth there is, and the only Source of the superior Life (the very life of God- Divinity – in ordinary man) – John 1:12. And He beckons for you to come to Him.

But, dearly beloved soul, in the saving of thy soul, do remember this: the saving of thy soul is tied to thy walk down the WAY after the steps of the Master Himself. For every man He met, He called after Himself. “Follow me and I’ll make you”, He told the first set of unrefined men by the Sea of Galilee that faithful day. In time to come He would show the world what happens to men who walk after Him: they reflect His glory. – Matt. 4:19, Acts 4:13

And in your walk after Him, the tool of His making would be the object of His darkest hour, the Cross. In plain language, allow me to submit to you that being a Christian isn’t going to be an easy journey. It cost the Master His life and it will cost you yours. Everything you’ve ever known, loved and been accustomed to will be touched. He will pierce and operate your heart, until there is no throne but His, no Lord but Him, no passion but His, no yearning but His. For if you must follow Him, then you must be like Him.
Matt. 8:19-22, 10:38, 16:24 & 26, 19:21 & 28

This is a price many find difficult to pay. Many have turned and continue to turn down this eternal proposal for the passing pleasures of this world which is only for a season. But, sincerely beloved, what is the price for your soul? Can the passing confrontations and persecutions of the now be compared to the joys of eternity? Will you choose to enjoy this world and its gains at the expense of your eternal destiny simply because you didn’t want to inconvenience yourself following Jesus? – Rom. 8:18, Matt. 16:26.

Rejoice in thy sufferings for His sake, O saint of the Most High. Rejoice that your name is written in His Book. Rejoice that your soul is secured in Him. Rejoice that whether you ride the best cars here or not, you will ride upon the wings of the wind with your God. Rejoice that He lives in you and counts you worthy to suffer for His sake. It is a temporary situation not your eternal destination. He has prepared the crown of your victory for you.

But again, count the cost for following the Lord down the path of your salvation. One sure promise for us from our Master is the assurance of His presence with us, that as we go through each challenging moment, He will be with us (by His Holy Spirit) assuring us, cheering us, fueling us, strengthening us. He hasn’t failed and won’t. For as many as believe, they’ll finish well, because He will be our strength and our song, and at the end, like John Bunyan’s Pilgrim, we will cross the river to go into the City prepared for us from the foundations of the earth.

Beloved, let us press on to pay the price and take our walk with Jesus more personal and more seriously today, and may Jesus operate our hearts until we become the very reflection of His glory, love and power. Amen.
Be blessed.