The Cost of Discipleship
Matthew 10:24-42 

Salvation is a free gift of God that comes to us through faith in His Son. Jesus did everything necessary to accomplish our forgiveness and reconciliation with the Father. We can add nothing to this transaction; our job is simply to believe.

But from that point on, each one of us must make a choice: Will we follow Jesus or just coast along doing what we want? If you limit your Christianity to merely sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings, you’ll miss the greatest adventure of your life. Being a disciple of Christ requires that we be actively engaged in our relationship with Him and in service to others.

Jesus never painted a rosy picture when He called people to follow Him. He stated quite plainly that becoming His follower would require self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering. With this kind of job description, it’s no wonder so many believers have tried to make Christianity a spectator sport. Following Jesus means that He directs our lives—that’s what dying to self is all about. We give up our rights to do what we want, and instead submit to His will, even if it’s difficult or doesn’t agree with our preference. If you don’t realize how good, loving, and wise our God is, walking in His will may seem scary or even foolish.

Those who deny themselves to follow Christ discover they lose nothing and gain everything. Even amidst pain and suffering, He gives His disciples inner peace and joy that transcend circumstances. Are you following Jesus or yourself? Your lifestyle, words, and attitudes reveal who truly rules your life

Anticipate the End  –  Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.

Ecclesiastes 7:8

Look at David’s Lord and Master; consider His beginning. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Then look at the end! He sits at His Father’s right hand, waiting until His enemies are made his footstool. “As he is so we are also in this world.”1 You must bear the cross or you will never wear the crown; you must wade through the water or you will never walk the golden pavement.

Cheer up, then, poor Christian. “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” View the creeping worm-how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at the flowers, full of happiness and life-that is the worm’s end. You are that caterpillar, wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; but when Christ appears, you will be like Him, for you will see Him as He is.

Be content to be like Him, a worm and no man, so that like Him you may be satisfied when you wake up in His likeness. The rough-looking diamond is put upon the wheel of the gem-smith. He cuts it on all sides. It loses much-much that seemed costly to itself. The king is crowned; the diadem is put upon the monarch’s head accompanied by the trumpet’s joyful sound. A glittering ray flashes from that coronet, and it beams from that same diamond that was so recently fashioned at the wheel.

You may venture to compare yourself to such a diamond, for you are one of God’s people; and this is the time of the cutting process. Let faith and patience have their perfect work, for in the day when the crown is set upon the head of the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, one ray of glory shall stream from you. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of Hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession.”2 “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.”

1 1 John 4:17 2 Malachi 3:17

The family reading plan for December 30, 2011

2 Chronicles 35 | Revelation 21

Why Do People Follow Jesus?
John 6:22-71 

When Jesus walked this earth, a vast multitude followed Him. They came for all sorts of reasons—some noble, some selfish. The same is true today. It’s important that we understand what motivates people to come to Christ, because not all who seek Him are really His followers. In fact, we each need to analyze our own walk with the Lord: What do we want from Him? How committed are we to being His disciples?

Many of the people who followed Jesus did so because they had urgent needs that He alone could meet. Everywhere He went, the sick and demon-possessed were brought to Him—this is one of the ways that God draws us to Himself. Those who can solve all their own problems never need a Savior.

Other folks came for sensationalism. They wanted to see the signs and miracles and feel a thrill of excitement. Today some people come to church or conferences to get pumped up, but mountaintop experiences are always followed by valleys. When hardships or challenges come, such people are quick to abandon the Lord.

But Jesus’ disciples followed Him because they genuinely believed He was the Messiah, the very Son of God (Matt. 16:16). Their commitment went beyond emotions or needs. They wanted to know Christ and walk closely with Him.

Are you more interested in what Jesus can do for you than in just being with Him? Do you find it hard to stay committed without an emotional experience to sustain you? Our physical and emotional needs can draw us to the Lord, but they should never be the foundation for our walk with Him

The Lord Has Helped Us   –   Till now the Lord has helped us.

1 Samuel 7:12

The phrase “till now” is like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and still “till now the LORD has helped us.” Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “till now the LORD has helped us.”

We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves. In the same way look down the long aisles of your years at the green branches of mercy overhead and the strong pillars of loving-kindness and faithfulness that support your joys.

Are there no birds singing in those branches? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received “till now.”

But the word also points forward. For when a man reaches a certain point and writes “till now,” he is not yet at the end; he still has a distance to go. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then he faces sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over then? No! Then there is wakening in Jesus’ likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the company of saints, the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. Be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise your banner, for-

He who hath helped thee hitherto

Will help thee all thy journey through.

When read in light of heaven, how glorious and marvelous a prospect will the “till now” provide for your grateful eye!

The family reading plan for December 29, 2011

2 Chronicles 34 | Revelation 20