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Following Jesus Abandoning All

Following Jesus is often synonymous with abandoning other things…things we don’t want to abandon. He calls us to do just that.

Abandoning maybe family, maybe friends and maybe romance interests, who are just headed down a dark path away from Christ.

Abandoning our politics with its idolatry about the government.

Abandoning grudges and bitterness in exchange for forgiveness and mercy.

Abandonment of the pursuit of money. for the constant pursuit of Jesus Christ. Which can subtract from our net worth.

Abandoning the hoarding of money to the giving of money away.

Abandoning constant leisure and pleasure for suffering for his name’s sake.

But…If we can keep our eyes fixed on Him, it’s not so hard. He makes it tolerable and sometimes easy.

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Equal In The Kingdom

Within the kingdom of Jesus Christ there is equality, the people are on equal footing from the greatest to the least of us.

There is not dependence of the least on the great in regards to knowing the Lord. All have equal access to the Lord Jesus in his kingdom. We may need just a little discipleship in regards to seeking and hearing and being led by him. But just a little is all that is required.

“FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF I SRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’ FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”” – Hebrews‬ ‭8:10-12‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Hearing the Lord can come natural to a real Christian. Jesus said once “My sheep hear my voice”, he meant that.

So then it implies that wherever this is not the case where the least (not so great) must depend on the great people, the talented and gifted and wealthy, upper class people.

Wherever the people from a higher religious caste are needed to guide the lower caste. Saying this is the word and will of God for you today or for this week. The extent that this is the case is the same extent to which that group is not from, or not operating within, the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The rules and norms of some other kingdom with some other king are in effect (at least partially) among that group.

It’s a real tragedy that this still happens. It seems we took a massive step backwards after the first century within Jesus Christ. We built a very pagan and worldly religious system around Jesus Christ, then called it “church”. We still do this today.

But the fact that this post and many like it are being written by a nobody in the body of Christ. Someone squarely from the least wing of the church makes me feel optimistic that Jesus is still increasing and still being heard.

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He Discipleship Us

I think that one of the best and most unique things about Jesus Christ is that he personally disciples his followers.

I remember ~5 years ago he told me to do a thing and in doing that thing he also told me to give up all thoughts of something (something I thought was good) that I had wanted for years. It was confusing and painful. But it led to an entire new universe of insight and newness in my closeness and understanding of the Lord. It was almost like a personal revival…at the age of 40.

I know people who’ve attended church for a lifetime, hearing sermon after sermon, pastor after pastor yet have not been discipled by the Lord. I know people pastoring who’ve made no obvious change or progress in 20 years to what they preach or their knowing of the Lord. They seem stuck in 20 years ago spiritually.

I know Christians who have no idea what discipleship even is, they think and are taught that discipleship is adding skills at putting on a church show. And when in this mindset, they show no sign of change or progress or spiritual maturity.

We cannot control if or how Jesus disciples us, we can just submit to one prompting after another. When he says “follow me” or “do this”, or “don’t do that”, we simply and quietly follow. Regardless of how confusing or painful or how it causes people to misunderstand and unfriend us.

There are major breakthroughs and leaps possible for us, but again only to the extent that we surrender and follow just him.

Psalm 32:9 reads “Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which MUST BE CURBED with bit and bridle, or it will not STAY NEAR you.”

STAY NEAR to Jesus even when it distances you from people you admire and like and perhaps might want to follow around instead.

Click here for more on discipleship.

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