And follow Me...

Who do you follow?

As we talked about on Tuesday, there are only two options - God or Satan. Now, we know the end of the story - Satan loses and he loses big. But for the moment, it sure looks like he has a considerable lead.

Within the walls of the church, Satan seems to have a strong foothold: women who refuse to submit, men who refuse to lead, rebellious children with parents who can't do the hard thing and choose to parent rather than be their child's friend, pornography is pushing marriages over a cliff, spending beyond our means is driving families to the curb, we follow the latest self-help book and self-help author rather than the Author of Life itself.

Ugh. I think I've depressed myself and it's only 9 a.m.

But there is hope. Psalm 1 says, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly...but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night." The chapter goes on to describe the refreshing, peaceful life of the one who submits to the law of the Lord.

We can do this today and though we may have some bad habits to break, the plan is pretty simple - follow Jesus. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him first deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me." Jesus' plan in Jesus' own words.

How do we follow Jesus today? Another easy answer - be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. In other words, read the Bible and live out its principles. Too often I think we battle to develop the discipline of reading the Bible every day, but to what end? If it's only to check it off our To-Do list, then where is the value? But if we are reading with intent - show me Jesus and I'll know how to live - then there is great, earthly, practical yet everlasting value.

God's way is always best. As we deny ourselves - deny what our flesh naturally desires to do - and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, we will see Satan's foothold in our lives, our families and our churches diminish.

Yes, God's word paint a pretty bleak picture of the last days - in Matthew 24 Jesus said that many will fall away and most's love will grow cold. This is a sad and frightening picture of the church in those days. But "many" and "most" does not equate to all.

I want to be in the minority who is faithful, don't you? And it comes down to one simple question:

Who do you follow?