7-1-2019

Good Morning All,

     Matthew 16:24; “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

    So, I guess I am not the world’s greatest traveler.  I don’t ride along very well.  In fact, there are only about 7 or 8 people that I am comfortable riding with.  Outside of them, I can ride but I don’t ride comfortably.  I am usually tense on the ride.  Given the choice, I will drive over riding.  Riding makes me nervous.  I can never sleep in a car or even rest.  I have never been very good at being the passenger.

     Part of the problem is that I like to be in control.  It isn’t about trust; it is about control.  If a decision needs to be made, I at least want to be involved.  That is why I like to drive; I like to decide if we go faster or slower.  I like to decide if we bypass a town or go through it.  I decide when it is time to stop.  These all play a part in the process.  I like to have some control.

     There are probably many of you like this.  Maybe it isn’t about driving; it may be about how the house is maintained or how the home finances work.  Perhaps you like to have some control at your place of work.  It may be a small thing but we like to have a little control in life.  This is often why we often struggle with faith; we want control.

     When Jesus says, “come follow me!” it means he drives and we ride.  It doesn’t mean that we drive and listen to his direction; it means he drives.  We listen to him and follow him but how do we do this?  We do this by reading and hearing his Word and instruction.  When Jesus says feed the hungry; that is what it means.  When Jesus says give them something to drink; that is what it means.  Too often we make it complicated. We try to have control and change what is written to mean what we want it to mean.  We look to him, in faith, and then follow the path that he takes.  We are to be humble, thankful, generous and compassionate.  We are to love others.

     Love them; not just don’t be mean to them but to love them.  We are to reach out to them with God’s compassion.  We are to follow Jesus and the example that he set.  Following Jesus means taking the same path that he took.  It means laying down your life.  Now laying down your life doesn’t necessarily mean physically dying, it means placing your wants below the needs of your neighbor.  It means that you don’t get to drive; it means that Jesus gets to drive.  He picks the routes, he picks the speed, he picks the time to stop.  These may be different for different people but it is because Jesus is the driver and we are the passengers; we follow.

Dear Lord Jesus, your invitation to follow you sounds so simple yet we make it so complicated.  We try to lead when we should follow, we try to speak when we should only listen.  Give us the wisdom to listen and to follow.  Guide us through the path that you have chosen that we may become the fishers of men.  Guard us with your grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret