When Jesus spoke to the people He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," He said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Luke 9:23
Then He said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny hinself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Luke 5:11
So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.
Where are you willing to go with Jesus?
What if you had achieved great wealth while following Jesus and suddenly He said: "sell everything, give it to the poor and follow me to a different place now," could you do this?
Are you sold out to Jesus?
Could you leave your job in an instant if He said: "we are going this way now, quit your job, leave your things and follow me."
Do you trust Him enough to do that?
Is your treasure on earth or in heaven?
What if your bills weren't getting paid and the house and car were being foreclosed on, would you still follow Him?
How about if you were whipped, flogged, beaten, and thrown in jail as some of the disciples were, would you still follow Jesus?
I wonder sometimes if our idea of following the Lord means that life will be in perfect order and there will not be struggles and trials. That's not what the Bible says in James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
Jesus' closest followers, His disciples were stoned, whipped, flogged, beheaded, crucified upside down, beaten, sometimes wrapped in chains and locked behind prison bars. In the middle of these types of situations they encountered angels and visions that reassured them that God was near. Don't quit on God when things get tough. Just keep following Him and He will direct your path. He never promised following Him would be easy, but He did promise to light the way that we should go.
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