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?

Daily

What are some things that you do absolutely every day?

Brush your teeth

Get dressed

Shower

Eat

Use the bathroom

Hug your children

Take out the garbage

Feed the dog

Laundry or house cleaning

There are a lot of things we do daily. We understand the word well. Daily implies schedule and frequency. If I do something daily, I do it all the time.

This is not a hard concept then to understand in Luke 9:23. Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross DAILY and follow me." The call to set aside our fleshly impulses, to stand with Christ so that others know for sure we are His, to walk in His footsteps is one of habitual frequency.

Every day.

Every day we need to be in His Word, learning about this God who loves us so.

Every day we need to be talking to Him, sharing with Him our concerns and bringing to Him our praises.

Every day we need to be His hands and feet, going to and reaching those in need.

Every day we need to feel the weight of His name when we enter unfriendly territory.

Every day we need to set our eyes on the things above by abiding in the True Vine, until it no longer becomes effortful, but second nature.

I mean, really, how many of us remember brushing our teeth this morning? We would never consider leaving the house without doing it - it's become a part of who we are. So let's make our call to deny ourselves and take up our cross just as common.

Daily.

Simple word. Simple concept. Command from Jesus.

Take Up Your Cross

In Luke 9:23, Jesus tells His disciples that if anyone wants to come after Him, they need to take up their cross. This had to be such a strange thing for the disciples to hear, but I would contend that we here in America aren't very sure of what this means as well. The cross was a symbol of shame and reproach - what does that look like for us today?

As I picture a criminal carrying his cross to the location where he will be crucified, I see the people clearing the streets to stay out of his way. Most turn their faces, but some would have the boldness to hurl insults at this man, maybe even spit on him. He was a vile man who deserved death. Some would cheer at this picture of justice, but everyone knew exactly what kind of man would be carrying a cross - one who deserved death.

In the beatitudes in Luke 6, Jesus said (v.22,23): "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven..." This is a description of our call.

A friend of mine had a brother in flight training for the Air Force. During his flight training, he was flying with an instructor who was not allowed to speak, only observe. As he descended to land, just seconds before touchdown, the instructor told him to pull out of the landing. Once back in the air, the instructor told him that he hadn't put down the landing gear. This devastated the young rookie, but apparently it was a mistake others had made. From that point forward, his punishment for forgetting the landing gear was to carry with him everywhere he went a large tire. He slung it over his shoulder during class, at the mess hall, in the shower and even in bed. Everywhere. Until someone new forgot their landing gear, he would carry this tire.

He carried it for about 2 weeks before it was given to the next rookie. But for those two weeks, he bore the shame of his actions. Anyone who saw him, knew without asking why he was carrying that huge tire around.

It is this type of life we are called to live - one that insights a response by onlookers. People should see us coming a mile away and know that we are not of this world. And when we wear our lordship on our sleeve, we need to understand that it will be an offense to most.

Questions for you:

*If you believe in the creation account of the Bible, are you mocked or respected?

*If you pursue the calling of mother and wife, are you considered simple minded and ignorant?

*If you tithe when times are tight, does your family and friends think less of you?

*If you choose to keep silent and leave room for the wrath of God, does the world think you are weak?

*Are you tagged as the party pooper because you don't watch certain television shows or laugh at off color jokes?

*Are you considered narrow minded and naive because you literally interpret the bible?

We are called to take up our cross - we are called to bear the shame and reproach of giving our lives to Jesus Christ - we are called to be a light in a dark world which loves the darkness and hates the light - we are called to be the salt of the earth, preserving godliness until the return of Christ.

Can you see any cross-bearing evidence in your own life? Hang in there...there's more to come...

Latest Pictures of the Wonder Twins!

This is Ashley...we'll call this "Zonked #1"...



This is Norah..."Zonked #2"...and...



Daddy..."Zonked #3"! I had to lighten the picture so you could see, but this was actually taken in a dark room...




This is Ashley again - I took this holding her with one hand and my phone/camera in the other. It's a bit blurry but I wanted to catch her smile...she and Norah will both give big grins in their sleep...must be dreaming about their mommy and daddy...




On Monday, there was a possibility that Ashley was coming home, so she had to spend 90 minutes in her car seat...there are several things that have to happen on discharge day. I thought she looked so tiny in that big seat - I don't think she'll stay little for long, so we have to enjoy it!




A little closer look - she is not used to sitting and gravity was taking hold of her cheeks...but she did fine. They ended up keeping her due to some breathing issues that are not uncommon to preemies...we were all greatly disappointed, but we understand that very soon this whole ordeal will be over and we'll have them at home!




This is Norah - after her feeding the nurse wanted some upright time, so she went up on Grandma's shoulder. She was actually very awake and alert. It was a lot of fun. She would look at me and then lay her head on my shoulder. Easy to kiss the head in that position...



Dave took this one - Norah peeking over Grandma's shoulder again...




And finally, after we found out she wasn't coming home, we changed Ashley, fed her, snuggled her and left her sleeping...it was a sad moment because we are so anxious to get the girls home, but we know that she is in a great place and will be home soon.

We continue to praise the Lord for these precious gifts. Please keep them and their continued development in your prayers, as well as their mommy and daddy. This is not an easy time to be so far away from the girls, and for those of you who are not in Michigan, we haven't had the greatest weather in the past three weeks, which adds to the driving stress...

To God be the glory...