Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Numbers 5-8
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Mark 10:29-31
Jesus: That is true. And those who have left their houses, their lands, their parents, or their families for My sake, and for the sake of this good news will receive all of this 100 times greater than they have in this time—houses and farms and brothers, sisters, mothers, and children, along with persecutions—and in the world to come, they will receive eternal life. But many of those who are first in this world shall be last in the world to come, and the last, first.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
We love Jesus’ words to His disciples here, don’t we? If you give up things for Him, He’ll return them 100 times over. Sounds like great news for those “name it and claim it” believers, doesn’t it? Give up your house and get a hundred back. Give up an acre of land and get a ranch in return. Sounds like a good investment plan, right? We love to quote Jesus’ investment plan for getting rich. Give up everything and get it back 100 fold.
There is a problem with that kind of thinking, of course. When we serve just for the sake of getting something in return, we serve for the wrong reason and really serve no one but self. Unfortunately, that seems to be the motivator for so many today. We seem to let that “what’s in it for me” attitude sneak in and take over. We let self get in the way and take the parts of Jesus’ promises we like and forget the parts we don’t.
Speaking of parts we don’t like, we hurriedly skip over the part where He says we’ll get 100 times the persecution when we give up houses and lands and parents and families. We don’t want to hear about that part, so we skip over that pretty fast and take the good and leave the bad. But look around the world at what’s happening to Jesus’ followers. The news doesn’t talk much about it, but there have never been more Christian martyrs than today. There has never been more persecution than today. There has never been such an outpouring of hatred against Christians than what we see today.
Jesus was right when He said if we give up everything for Him we will get 100 times as much in return. We don’t like to hear that it will be both good and bad in this world, but it will be both. The question, is the sacrifice worth it? Is giving up houses and lands and parents and families for Jesus’s sake worth the price? Yes, we will face persecution. Yes, we may become martyrs for His name. Yes, the world will hate us because we follow Him. But is it worth it? That is the question each of us must ask ourselves and weigh the answer and make our choice.
Satan tries to tell us the outcome is not worth it. He tries to tell us the world is right and God’s word is wrong. Satan tries to use the glamour and glitter of the world to convince us that wealth and prosperity should be our goal. Take as much as you can. Don’t worry about who you hurt on the way. Make the right investments and you’ll be assured of long life and riches. But if you read God’s word, you know that is not true. Satan is a liar and the father of lies.
If you listen to God’s word, you know there is something after this seventy or eighty year lifespan during which we occupy this piece of dirt. You know the things we accumulate here are temporary but there is something beyond. God’s word talks about it. He tells us about a new heaven and a new earth that’s coming. If you listen to God’s word, you know the treasures stored here will disappeared, but treasures stored in heaven last forever.
Is the sacrifice worth it? Absolutely. Besides, God is God! He deserves our worship. He is God, He demands it. He is God. Nothing and no one else comes in a close second to Him as worthy of praise and glory and honor and majesty and power. Is it worth following Him? Absolutely. We owe Him everything we have and everything we are. He created us and allows us to enjoy everything we have. He enables us to breathe and exist within the span of years we have here and then on into eternity.
Jesus made a bold promise that many only want to remember only half. They want to remember only the good parts. They want to forget the promise of persecution, of the hatred the world will level against us, of misunderstanding and disapproval by the world if we choose to follow Him. But if we will listen to Him and follow Him, the rest of His promise is also true. In the world to come, we will have eternal life. Isn’t that worth it all? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
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