Possessions - CHRISTIAN REP https://christianrep.com/blog In All That You Say...In All That You Do...Represent Christ! Sun, 30 Sep 2012 22:23:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 Are You A Fan Or A Follower? https://christianrep.com/blog/2012/03/27/are-you-a-fan-or-a-follower/ Tue, 27 Mar 2012 22:14:37 +0000 http://christianrep.com/blog/?p=8956 Not too long ago, we watched an amazing dvd series, now a movie, Not A Fan, produced by City On A Hill Studio. This movie takes you into the life, or rather death, of a man who finds himself confronting what was his life as a nominal Christian. When Jesus said to ‘Follow Me‘, he …

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]]> Not too long ago, we watched an amazing dvd series, now a movie, Not A Fan, produced by City On A Hill Studio. This movie takes you into the life, or rather death, of a man who finds himself confronting what was his life as a nominal Christian.

When Jesus said to ‘Follow Me‘, he was looking for completely committed followers, not just fans. He wants us to be all in, not just with our toes in the water at the edge of the pool. Meditate on these awesome verses and join in following the King of Kings!

  • “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  Matthew 4:19
  • But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”  Matthew 8:22
  • As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  Matthew 9:9
  • Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.   Matthew 10:38
  • Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
  • Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Matthew 19:21
  • Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.   Matthew 19:28
  • “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  Matthew 1:17
  • As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.  Mark 2:14
  • 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.”  Mark 10:21
  • After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him,  Luke 5:27
  • Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23
  • He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  Luke 9:59
  • Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”  Luke 9:61
  • And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:27
  • When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Luke 18:22
  • The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”  John 1:43
  • When Jesus spoke again 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.”  John 8:12
  • My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27
  • Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.  John 12:26
  • Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”  John 21:19
  • Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”  John 21:22

Watch this interview with Kyle Idleman, Teaching Pastor at Southeast Christian Church, talk about what it means to go from being an enthusiastic admirer of Jesus to a completely and utterly, committed follower.

 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVXs0vkQNvc

 

Visit their website for more testimonies at not a fan.

 

Interested in reading more what this means? Check out the book on Amazon…

 

 

 

 

 

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]]> Trusting God https://christianrep.com/blog/2011/11/08/trusting-god/ Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:32:03 +0000 http://christianrep.com/blog/?p=7278 Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we mighthumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had …

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]]> Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we mighthumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.

Ezra was an amazing man. He was a priest descended from Aaron and he had a passion for God, his word and sharing it with others. I know I would have liked this guy, but he got himself in a situation where he had to live out what he had told the king. He had to trust God because he had told the king that God would watch over him. Now, facing the trip back to Jerusalem, he is keenly aware of both his statement to the king and the dangers that lay ahead. This trip would travel the major trade routes of the day. Along these routes were pirates and thieves waiting to steal from anyone who didn’t have armed forces to protect them. It was a dangerous thing to travel in that day. Everyone knew that. But Ezra had told the king that God would watch over those who seek him so he had a decision- go back on his words about God or trust him.
Ezra decided that what he knew about God was too important to trust man, so they fasted, they prayed and off they went into the lion’s den this journey would be. No army to protect them, no swords to defend them, just a faith in God. Because of their faith they arrived safely in Jerusalem with their treasures of gold and silver untouched by thieves.
I wonder what the bandits and thieves saw as this troop of Jewish travelers passed them on the road. Did they see an army? Did God hide them from the view of those waiting to pounce on them? I don’t know, but what is known is that Ezra spoke of his trust in God and had to live that trust out in a very dangerous place. I love what Ezra did, he verbalized what he believed and that testimony was his benchmark for how he then had to live out the journey ahead. He was too embarrassed to go to the king and ask for troops to protect them because he said God would protect them.
What do I verbalize about God that then convicts me to live it out? Does my faith in him give words to my beliefs? Do I trust him enough to tell others what I believe and live it out? What a great example of a testimony lived out, to a faith walked through. This simple story challenges me to verbalize what I believe about God. Do I really trust God enough to talk about what I believe and then live it out even when its dangerous? I wonder.
Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

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