Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [[a]cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]. Amplified Bible (AMP)
In today's modern society and especially with the explosion of "social media" there has been a significant change it what it means to follow. Most, if not all of us have been asked to follow someone on Twitter or "become a friend" on facebook. It simply means that your account will receive messages from that person. If you don't check your inbox, you will not know what is going on with that person. In some instances, you won't even receive their posts unless you go looking for them. It is a far cry from what Jesus meant when He said to the disciples "follow me".
Pastor Greg Laurie writes, "the phrase "follow me" could be translated "Follow with me" - not follow behind me, but follow with me. In other words, "Let's take a walk together". The Amplified Bible which I chose for today's verse does a good job of summarizing what it means to follow in the sense that Jesus intended. It has to do with forgetting ourselves and our own priorities and "cleaving", clinging to Jesus and His words, conforming to them and Him, and living, even dying to be an example of Him. It is a tall order indeed and one that can only be achieved if we put our faith and trust in Him and walk with Him. Not behind or in front but with Him.
The words of an old John Denver song "Follow Me" came to mind, they speak of a close personal relationship, it could be the one that we have with Jesus:
Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way and all around
Take my hand and say you'll follow me
You see I'd like to share my life with you
And show you things I've seen
Places that I'm going to places where I've been
To have you there beside me and never be alone
And all the time that you're with me
We will be at home
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way and all around
Take my hand and say you'll follow me
You see I'd like to share my life with you
And show you things I've seen
Places that I'm going to places where I've been
To have you there beside me and never be alone
And all the time that you're with me
We will be at home
Will you follow, walk with Him today?
In Christ,
Mike
Mike
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Matthew 16:23-25
English Standard Version (ESV)
23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance[a] to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
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