Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Matthew 26-28
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 10:34-39
Jesus: Do not imagine that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I have come to turn men against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. You will find you have enemies even in your own household. If you love your father or mother more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you love your son or daughter more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me on the narrow road, then you are not worthy of Me. To find your life, you must lose your life—and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
How would you like to hear those words as one of Jesus’ twelve disciples? Talk about negative motivation. Follow Me and not only will you have authorities opposing you, but your own families will turn against you. The message you share will break apart families causing sons and daughters, fathers and mothers to turn against each other. Because of their faith in Me, I will disrupt the religious norms of society and touch the heart of people’s faith. And by following Me, you will be right in the middle of it, because you are compelled to share My message.
Jesus’ words really get to the heart of our devotion. Who or what do we worship? Will we worship Him or someone or something else? He only accepts first place. Remember the second commandment God gave Moses on Mount Sinai? “You are not to make any idol or image of other gods. In fact, you are not to make an image of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You are not to bow down and serve any image, for I, the Eternal your God, am a jealous God.” That any image, include any person. Sometimes that’s our biggest problem. We begin to put our spouse or our parents or our kids ahead of God.
You say, I’d never do that! But then we take them out of church to go to those soccer games. So, what’s more important? We decide to hit the lake instead of helping our invalid, widowed neighbor since that’s the only day we have off. So, what’s more important? We choose silver over service, gold over God’s glory, pleasure over piety. We don’t pour precious metals into molds and bow down to them as they sit on altars. But we have our idols as surely as the pagan nations of the Old Testament. We just disguise our better. Or so we think.
If you’re going to follow Christ, He must take first place. Period. He must be more important than everything else in your life. Are those other things bad? Not necessarily, but when they become more important than God, they become your idols. When your kids’ welfare becomes more important than God, your priorities are confused. But I guarantee you that if God is first in your life, He will help you ensure the welfare of your kids much better than you could alone. When you job becomes more important than God, your priorities are confused. Does that mean God doesn’t want you to have a good job? No, but when He is first He will help you with the right job in the right place so you can carry out His will for your life.
Following Christ means doing what the Father intends, not what we intend. It means giving up control of your life to His control. It means letting Him be Lord. Dying to self and letting Him become your Master. It means doing everything you do in ways that please Him, not you or others. When you do, it will please some and cause others to hate you, but in the end, isn’t it God you want to please anyway? If He will judge our actions and our hearts, isn’t He the one we need to listen to and obey?
Jesus promised His disciples (that includes those of us who follow Him now) trouble in this world. He promised suffering and hardship. He promised misunderstanding. He promised the world would hate us. But listen to His words again. “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me on the narrow road, then you are not worthy of Me.” He knows we will face all these things. He made the prediction. He made the promise. So if He knows we will face these things, He also knows how to help us stand in the face of these things. Since Jesus has already overcome death, hell, and the grave, He can help us overcome the problems we will face in this world.
Knowing this, what should we do? Stay on the narrow path. Keep sharing His message. Stay on the course He sets for you. Don’t worry about the opposition that comes your way. Recognize that our hope of eternal life in Him far exceeds the short duration of suffering we may endure here. Just keep on doing what He asks you to do.
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