S. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26(NIV)
O. There is a cost to following Jesus...there is a cost for being a disciple. Jesus gives us some very simple but complicated statement. The sacrifice for following Jesus is that we don't live our life for ourselves, but entirely for him. I don't think that means that we neglect our family or even don't take care of our own bodies...it means that we are to look to Jesus Christ first in all that we do. It means that we seek His ways of life above our own...it means we pray for God's will to come to our family and friends and into all the situations of our lives. In the Lord's prayer, Jesus taught is to pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (see Matthew 6: 10). That means I pray for God's will to manifest in my life, in my family and in my ministry. It is putting God first and allowing God to give me leadership in all that I do. Simple to understand, but sometimes difficult to do. I fight within myself all the time with surrendering to God's will and not my own. I struggle with giving up my desires at times so that God's will might be accomplished in my life. That is the human part of the struggle for me and it was the same for Jesus. But I know that the way to true happiness in my spiritual life...true fulfillment in my ministry come through surrendering to God's plan for me.
A. As I begin this day...I make a commitment to you God to seek your will. I choose to surrender my desires today.
P. Lord, I pray that today I might be fully and completely surrendered to your will for my life, my family, and my ministry. I give my life to you today and always. Amen.
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