Friday, May 7, 2010

The cost of being a disciple- already paid

Oswald Chambers tells me today that the work has already been done; "that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything...Our Lord implies that the only men and women He will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately and devotedly beyond any of the closest ties on earth."

See Luke 14:25-35.

I will admit it, I am not the best at picking up my cross daily.  Sometimes, I like to wield that cross as a weapon, sometimes I bury it, and sometimes I wear it like a badge.

But you see, I know that God has already counted the cost.  He knew that I would mess up, heck the whole Bible is filled with stories of people messing up and God coming to the rescue.  Jesus is the ultimate rescue, the ultimate answer, the cost that has already been paid.

And its out of remembering this- remembering Jesus- that I am able to "pick up my cross" and follow Him.  You see, I am not tasty salt without Jesus.  I can't do the work, Jesus already did it, He counted the cost and followed all the way through.  I could not do that, so without Jesus, I would be thrown on the manure pile.  True dat. 

Jesus requires the work we do involves loving him, having a relationship with him, understanding that HE ALREADY DID THE WORK, IS ALREADY DOING THE WORK, AND ALREADY IS GOING TO DO THE WORK.  The term for this is "provenience." 

I get overwhelmed often, really sometimes I wonder how I can handle it all.  Picking up my cross for me is going to be trusting and understanding that the bill has already been paid, the work has already been done.  This helps me to love Him more and be less selfish, this makes me salty.  This takes me one step off the manure pile.

Jesus thank you for doing all the work, you are my rock.  Help me stay anchored to you always, no matter how strong the winds may blow.

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