Follow the Leader

This past week while I was thinking about my blog and how it has become more than I could have ever expected [just how God does things, right! :)] I kept hearing "Follow the leader!" And who is this leader, well I'm glad you asked, our leader is Jesus Christ. When the disciples began to walk with Jesus He told them, "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!" ["make you fishers of men" NKJV] (Matthew 4:19). The disciples would become witnesses to the world, and learn how to share the goodness of the Lord with others, essentially, claiming lost souls for the kingdom.

Something to ask yourself daily is, "Who am I following?" and if you cannot clearly answer "Christ" then something is wrong. Like the original 12, we are called to be disciples of Christ. How are we like the disciples? Well, a disciple in the biblical sense is simply a follower of Jesus Christ. They walked with Him, communed with Him, and sat at His feet and learned of Him. As Christians we should be doing these same things. That is why it is important to work on your relationship with the Lord daily. In order to walk with Jesus we have to pick up our cross daily. In Matthew 16: 24 Jesus gave specific guidelines for becoming one of His followers, "...'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me" (NLT). By taking up your cross you are making a "true commitment," come what may that you will stick with Christ. When you turn from your selfish ways you are able to maintain a focus on Him. That is one of the most important things in this walk. We cannot allow our focus to be taken of Christ; in Philippians 3:12-14 Paul says that his goal is Christ. He says that his focus is not on the past, but he is pressing forward toward the "heavenly prize" (NLT).

As followers of Christ we cannot live in the past. This means that we should dismiss our sins that we have been forgiven for just as God forgets them. Psalm 103:12 says, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west" (NLT). So after God has forgiven us our transgressions, it's important to let those things go! You cannot try to live in the present if you are stuck in the past. Also, if you're stuck in the past you can forget about seeing things that God has for you in the future! In order to follow Christ wholeheartedly your focus cannot be compromised. About a month ago my mom preached a powerful sermon entitled, "Eliminate the Distractions." There is so much going on around us in our everyday lives, but we cannot allow our jobs, families, friends, etc to distract us from what God has called us to do. When you answer the call that God has placed on your life you HAVE to stay focused on Him.

If we are focused on Him then we will be able to see how He will transform our lives. Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17), and our old man is now dead. Now this doesn't mean that we won't have some struggles, especially since we will still be dealing with our flesh. But if we renew our minds daily, and take some time out daily to fellowship with Him, then it will be easier to keep our focus which will make it easier to follow Christ. He was the best example of how to live for God. Always in tune with God, and obedient to God's commandments. That is how we should be, and just how Jesus was our example, we serve as examples to others. But ensure that when people are looking at you that they are able to see that Christ dwells on the inside of you.

If we are really following after Christ we should be displaying Godly characteristics. When people look at us they should notice a difference between our actions and the actions of those who are still in the world. Remember that a good tree can only bear good fruit, and a bad tree can only bear bad fruit, so what kind of fruit are you bearing? (Read further: Matthew 7:15-20) We cannot go through everyday life thinking that we are living only for ourselves. We have been called to witness to souls that are lost and in need of a Savior. So as you walk through this life make sure that you are following the true leader, and make sure that you are keeping your focused. Eliminate those distractions.

Be Encouraged,
God's Servant

P.S. Who are you following today? Say yes to Jesus today, and begin to follow hard after Him! It's the best decision that I ever made, and I promise it'll be the best one you make too.