September 22

September 22

Jesus' Demands of Discipleship -- To follow Jesus is to make Him your first priority.

Today's Readings:

Reading 1: Matthew 8:18-22

Reading 2: Luke 9:43-62

Reading 3: Matthew 16:24-26

Yesterday we saw that God's love is powerful to give us what we need and that our response is to serve Jesus. Today we learn more about the cost and the benefits of following Jesus.

The disciples are having trouble understanding what it really means to follow Jesus - they want to call down fire from heaven on those who don't welcome Jesus, and they want to stop others who are not in their group from casting out demons in Jesus' name. But Jesus corrects them because their perspective is wrong. He also corrects those who want to be His followers for the wrong reasons.

Child-like discipleship involves completely trusting Jesus - no turning back. That is what it means to take up your cross; willingly losing your life to follow Him.

Have a great day!

Mark.