Are You Sure?

"You don't know what you are asking,...Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" This is the reply that Jesus gave when James and John came to ask Him to sit on His right and left when Jesus established His kingdom.

I wonder if we still hear the call of Christ when He ask us if we have "considered the cost of what it means to be one of His disciples?" Jesus said that we must deny self, take up our cross and follow Him.
I think that so often we answer like James and John in Matthew 20:22-23...we very quickly and sure of ourselves answer with a loud, "We Can!" But can we? We see a little bit of pride here in James and John's answer. Do they really understand what it means to drink from the cup of judgment that Jesus is about to drink? If they didn't understand it here, there is no doubt that they are about to understand when Jesus is led to the cross and crucified. As a matter of fact they too will be persecuted later and partake of the cup that Jesus is talking about here.

The Apostle Paul said that it was an honor to be considered worthy to participate in the sufferings of Christ. He knew what it meant to deny self, take up his cross and follow after Christ, as a matter of fact he encouraged others to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ.
Whose example are you following today?
Have you considered the cost of following Christ?
Jesus told us that whosoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whosoever loses his life for the sake of the gospel will find it (life).
Are you truly living today? You can, lose your life today for the sake of the gospel and find out what real life is all about as you allow Christ to live in and through you...
till tomorrow...Bro. Alan

The Journey To The Cross

I know, I know, it's been a while since the last entry in this blog...and I could give all the usual excuses, like how tired I've been, or how busy I've been, or how my dog ate my computer, or the blizzard that we just went through, or the revival that we just finished and on and on...so, just pick one of the above excuses and go with it:)

For the next two weeks we are going to look at the journey to the cross, the tomb and the resurrection as we prepare for Easter.
In Matthew 20:17-28 we find that Jesus tells His disciples for the third time that He is going to Jerusalem and there he will suffer, be ridiculed, scorned, crucified and die...but that He will rise on the third day.
The disciples don't understand what He is saying and they (at least James and John) are still focused on what Jesus had said in Matthew 19:28.
They are looking for glory, power and recognition. They are looking for a throne, a place of power. Their mother, Salome, comes to Jesus and makes a request of Jesus.

"Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." Salome was the precursor to the 'soccer mom' she wanted the best for her boys, she wanted to make sure that they got the recognition that they deserved. Doesn't every mom though?

More tomorrow...