Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Believe and Follow Jesus



So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31 NKJV

Suppose one day you were at an old cabin in a scenic wilderness relaxing and enjoying the quite of the day. Everything is so peaceful so you decide to take a nap on a hammock strung up between two trees outside of the old cabin. Then right in the middle of your slumber you are awakened to a raging forest fire surrounding you. You get up and start looking for a way of escape, but cannot find one. You tell yourself "I will find a way out of this miss" but you are having no luck. Then a man from search and rescue comes and tells you “there is one way out, but you must follow me and if you do I will lead you to safety.” What would you do? It would depend upon if you believed and had faith in him, or not. Am I not correct? If you say “I believe” then run in the opposite direction, it would show a lack of faith. If you believed the man, you would follow him, would you not?

So many times I hear people say they “believe in Jesus” then live like the devil. The only time they call upon Him is when they are in trouble. Then the only time you hear them speak His name; it is used as a dirty swear word. If this is you, I encourage you to ask yourself “Do I really believe?” Then ask, “Who is it that I am following?”

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 
(John 10:27 NKJV)


Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
(Luke 9:23-26 NKJV)

16 comments:

  1. This is a good illustration, Ken! Our actions speak louder than our words, don't they?

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  2. Beautifully said and oh so very true! I think, in the scenario you described, people would always listen to the fireman, trust him and follow. But with Jesus people doubt, question and try to find their own way. He is there always, waiting, beckoning us; if only we believe and trust.
    I heard a preacher once describe Jesus as holding onto our ankles weeping for us to listen to Him. Crying at our feet and knocking on our door to our heat, pleading with us to answer His call.
    This description blew me away and I cried...why? Jesus? Why would the Creator of the universe plead with this stubborn people to follow Him? He answered me with, "I AM a good God, loving, caring and people are the love of My heart". WOW! We don't deserve His love yet He pours it out for us daily. But this time will be coming to an end and judgement is coming to all who refuse to believe in Him.

    Blessing Ken and thank you for this powerful vision. I have explosions going off in my mind.
    <><

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  3. Great post. It got me to thinking about the characters in the bible, and how they were all flawed people in some ways, both great and small.

    For example, every time King david tried to do something by himself he failed. But, when he trusted God and got out of His way, he was successful.

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  4. Hi Ken -

    Thank you for this rich piece.
    What you expressed is wise truth indeed.

    Especially, I like this that you cited, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
    (John 10:27 NKJV)"

    Glory to our Lord, Ken, that He is our Shepherd who allows us to be His sheep.

    Sidebar: Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog today.
    Interesting, in particular, because before you came on my blog today, I had been to yours earlier to see if you had a new post. When I saw that you did, I left to do my post topic, knowing that I would return here to comment. Before I returned here, I noticed that you had visited my blog...

    Our Lord had us on each other's minds. He is so glorious!

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  5. Very good analogy! We were lost with no hope, but then came Jesus. He said that He is the Way and we should follow Him. I will follow!

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  6. This is a very good point well said!!! Thank you.

    Blessings,

    Lon

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  7. Hi Ken,
    The analogy you used about believing and following Jesus is a very good one.

    Without following Jesus, trusting Him to lead us out of the mess or the fire, anyone would be trapped with no way out.

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. It is crucial for us all, even those who already believe, to follow Him ALL THE WAY... not only when we are in a tight fix.

    Blessings on your day.
    Lidj

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  8. Ken,

    I love the simple analogy you gave. It especially resonated with me after watching search as rescue teams in Japan the last several days. How desperate one becomes, how frightening it must be in those situations, and the trust that must come in simply following.

    I like the reminder to boil down the simplicity of who we are following.

    Thanks for your thoughts!

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  9. Thank you everyone for your comments. I appreciate them all.

    Karen: I agree, our actions speak louder than our words.

    Child of God: It is sad but true, people will follow a person who could be wrong, but will not follow the One who is right all the time. Oh yes, He is a good God and He poors out His love for us daily.

    Clint: I like the fact the Bible speaks of the flaws of Godly people is scripture so we can learn from it and see how God works.

    Lioneagle: Yes! Glory to Lord, He allows us to be His sheep. It is pretty cool the Lord had us on each others blog at about the same time thinking of each other. He is good!

    Lisa: Yes I will follow Him also. I was lost but He came and saved me.

    Lon: Blessings to you my friend.

    Ludj: Without Jesus, we all are trapped and no way out. I am so thankful He came and saved us! Yes, we need to follow Him all the way.

    Brendayoder: Yes it must be very frightening for the people in Japan right now and it does show we must trust the one who is leading us to safety.

    May God bless you all,
    Ken

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  10. Ken: A home run out of the park! A great example (I am going to steal it for myself). A sad truth regarding many in the Church today.

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  11. Ken: A home run out of the park! A great example (I am going to steal it for myself). A sad truth regarding many in the Church today.

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  12. Hello Ken, I am terrified of Fires, so this illustration touched me.You are so right. So many profess to know him yet don't acknowledge Him accept when in trouble...This is shameful. Since living in the U.S.A. and seeing people stand in a diner and say grace proudly before they eat, we now do that. I speak up for the Lord all the time.There is a scripture that says he who confesses me before man, I will confess before my father in Heaven.
    We should never be ashamed. I am telling myself this also as I write..it would be terrible to grow cold in Faith as times get tougher. God Bless.

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  13. Okie Preacher- Thank you and I agree that my analogy is a sad truth for many in the church. Please feel free to use it to reach people with the truth.

    Crystal Mary- Just a few moments before reading your comment the scripture you "he who confesses me before man, I will confess before my father in Heaven" was on my mind. God is good and let us all confess Him before man.

    Afsoon and Shapour- I am pleased you stopped by my blog and enjoyed your visit. I also stopped by your blog and enjoyed it very much also.

    Thank you everyone and may the Lord bless all of you,
    Ken

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  14. Hi Ken,
    I would like to invite you over for a visit at my other blog if you would like, my brother in Christ and friend.

    Love in Christ Jesus,

    Lon

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  15. Well said, Ken. Yes, seems to me that people easily put faith in many things - but when it comes to faith in Jesus - WHOA.

    Who do you say I am? That, I think, was maybe the most powerful thing Jesus ever said.

    I say He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and I hear His Voice - and I follow.

    May others come to Him, too.

    GOD BLESS!

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  16. Lon- Thank you for sharing your other blog with me. I enjoyed my visit. God bless you.

    Sharon- "Who do you say I am" That is the most important question we must answer. It changes everything.
    Thank you and God bless you.

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