Tag Archives: obedient

Would You be My Disciple? 011415

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In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “If anyone would be My disciple, let him 1] deny himself, and 2] take up his cross 3] daily, and 4] follow me.”

What does that mean?  Some say it means that each person has a special personal burden to bear in his life as he follows Jesus.  I’m satisfied that it means something qualitatively different from that.  What happened to Jesus when He ‘took up His cross’? He died.  In this verse Jesus calls us, you and me, to die to our sinful selves, daily, and follow Him.  That’s what ‘take up your cross’ means.  Are you ready?

In Galatians 2:20, Paul says: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith [trust] of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”   What does this verse have to do with being humble?  Well, how much more humble can you get than being crucified?   This verse is all about surrendering, humbling your self, and letting Jesus live His life in you; so that His faith [trust], His love, and His humility come to dwell in you.

It’s like in Philippians 2:5-8, where Paul says, “Let this mind [this attitude] be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being found as a man, .  .  .  humbled Himself and became a servant [slave], .  .  .  and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”  The whole passage starts out with, “Let this mind [this attitude] be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”  What attitude? Humility, servanthood, obedience, self-denial; willingness to die to our sinful nature, daily (over and over), and follow our Lord.

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The Pure in Heart and the Peacemakers: 010815

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Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [and daughters] of God.

“Blessed are the pure in heart.”  Is there anybody out there who is really pure in heart?  I don’t know.  But I do know I have met very few.  And the few I’ve met have been little old people who have long ago given up thinking they’re somebody; given up any illusions of how great they are; surrendered their whole hearts to God; and God has poured a full dose of His purity into them.  Pure, unadulterated, whole, entire, love.  All about God, none about them.  That’s humble.

“Blessed are the peacemakers.”  Why them?  Why does God bless them?  Maybe it’s because in order to be a peacemaker, you have to know how to be humble.  You have to attribute the best motives to both sides, in order to find the middle ground of peace.  Maybe it’s because you can’t be the “ruler” and expect either side to genuinely agree to peace.  Maybe peace only comes from God (really), and if you’re going to “make peace”, you’re going to have to get your self and all of the self-ish stuff out of the way, because that’s the only way God can or will use you to “make peace”.  Did you ever think about the word “selfish”?  We always think it means an attitude of possession, usually of property, stuff, things.  But “self-ish” really is a lot more about me having my way.  Not just about stuff, but more about control.  My ball, my game, my goal posts, my way.  If you don’t do things my way, then I’m not going to play with you anymore.  I’m just going to pack my stuff and go home.  Not much humility in that, is there?

Like it has been said before, if you want to be like Jesus, you have to be humble.  Jesus was the same Person about Whom Paul said, in Philippians 2:5-8:  “Let this mind, [this attitude] be in you that was in Christ Jesus, .  .  .  who, being found as a man,  .  .  humbled himself and became a servant [a slave]  .  .  and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”  So if you want to be pure in heart, so pure that you see God; if you want to be a peacemaker, so that you’re called a son [or daughter] of God; then you have to Be Like Jesus; and part of what that means is to be humble.