Follow Me...
Have you ever experienced selective hearing?
I definitely have.
It happens in a blink of an eye,
Especially when I really want something bad.
It's similar to a kid asking his mom for a cookie...
Child: Can I have a cookie?
Mother: Yes, but after dinner.
Child: Yay! (Gobble, gobble, gobble...)
Mother: Did you hear what I said? I said AFTER dinner.
The same thing happens with us and God.
In our hearts we want to do big things with Him,
We want to serve Him,
We want to hear the words "Well done, My good and faith servant",
But we can get selective hearing pretty fast without realizing it.
Jesus is VERY clear when He says "FOLLOW ME".
He invites people from all walks of life,
Which is great for us,
And the invitation is always the same, "FOLLOW ME",
Not "I'll follow YOU."
Jesus invites a RICH person up the financial food chain in this way...
"As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'FOLLOW ME.'"
Jesus invited uneducated,poor, red-neck fishermen saying,
"FOLLOW ME, and I will make you fishers of men."
It doesn't matter who you are,
He is inviting you the same way saying, "FOLLOW ME".
However, we like to jump ahead a lot,
It's like we're really like "Jesus, follow ME."
It's like we're saying "Bless this plan I didn't even ask You about."
Or "Bless MY way, not Yours."
Or "Your way takes too long, I got a better way."
We don't do it on purpose, but we do it without realizing it.
It's so tempting to put conditions in place before agreeing to FOLLOW Jesus such as,
AFTER I'm financially stable,
AFTER I have passive income,
AFTER I make a million bucks,
AFTER my kids grow up,
AFTER I pay off my loan,
AFTER I hire this next person,
AFTER I retire,
AFTER, AFTER, AFTER.
When Jesus says,
"FOLLOW ME, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
(I know it sounds harsh) He was responding to other people at that time making excuses to not follow Him when He is there with them in the flesh. The heart of what He's saying is,
"FOLLOW ME, just as you are...",
Without delay,
Without excuses,
Without conditions,
Without prerequisites.
"FOLLOW ME, just as you are...".
"But Jesus!", we plead, "I can do so much more for you..."
AFTER I make the money...
AFTER I build my business,
AFTER I become financially free,
THEN I can help more people with my money and time.
Uhh... remember that God doesn't need your money?
He can create a golden nugget the size of a castle if He wants.
He wants your heart.
So hear the heart of Jesus is saying,
"FOLLOW ME, just as you are..."
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they FOLLOW ME."
We want to do great things with God,
But forget the thing He requires of us is,
Our heart.
That's all He's ever wanted.
For many people,
Our heart is where we spend our TIME,
As it reflects where our priorities are at.
Jesus never said following Him would be easy.
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and FOLLOW ME."
"But there's no time!" we say.
The truth is we make time for what's important to us.
What is sitting on the throne of your heart?
Is it money?
Is it business?
Is it family?
Is it sports?
Is it social media?
Is it your dreams and ambitions?
Or is it Jesus?
"If anyone serves me, he must FOLLOW ME; and where I am, there will my servant be also."
We're either following Jesus or not,
We're either doing it His way or our way.
If we're modifying His way,
Then we're not doing it His way,
We're doing it our way.
It's ok.
We all get tripped up on this.
I definitely do... over and over and over again.
Just own it,
Ask God to help (He will),
Then shift and adjust.
Rinse and repeat.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I have a problem.
I like to lead,
I forget to follow You,
Again and again I keep replacing Your ways with my ways,
Help me prioritize You,
Help me get to know You better,
That I would have a greater desire for You.
Give me the desire to desire You more.
Help me truly realize the benefit to following You,
Help me have the heart for a relationship with You,
Open my spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear,
In Jesus name, Amen."
Cheers to new priorities and the ability to FOLLOW. ^_^
Easier said than done, but God's got you!
What do you need to shift today?
