We Left Everything

 Peter made a comment to Jesus in Mark 10. He told Jesus, "We have left everything to follow You." That was a true statement. Peter and Andrew left their fishing business and their homes to come after Jesus on the greatest adventure they could ever imagine. Something got Peter to thinking to make this statement. 

The preceding verses deal with Jesus' conversation with the rich young ruler. The guy wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. After telling all the commandments that he did keep, Jesus told this guy he lacked one thing. He told him to go sell all his possessions and give to the poor. The man left grieving because he was wealthy. 

In that context, Peter made his statement that he left everything to follow Jesus. He is not the first nor will he be the last. Following Jesus is not an easy thing. Following Jesus often leads to sacrifice and hardship. When Jesus called Peter, Simon back then, he simply said, "Come follow Me." [Mark 1:18-20]. He did not make any false campaign promises. He didn't try to rally financial support. He invited them to come follow even though they did not know where He was going. Jesus always knew He was going to the cross. He also knew some of His disciples were marked for martyrdom. Jesus knew all of this and still invited them to become His disciples. 

Following Jesus is not always easy. We try and make it easy. In this easy believing watered down discipleship church age, where compromised convictions and casual comfortable commitments are the norm, His invitation to sacrifice can hardly be stomached. 

To tell a rich man to go and sell all his possessions and give it all away is not natural. The natural thing is to be greedy and hoard it for yourself. Generous people might give a portion away, but keep the majority for themselves. Jesus said give it all away. 

I wonder if that got Peter to thinking. He gave up a business to follow a Teacher who lived a nomadic life. Jesus said Himself that He had no place to lay His head. He slept in borrowed rooms or in open fields. He was always on the move. Constantly serving, giving away, rejecting the popular ideology of becoming an earthly king. Peter watched, listened and contemplated all of this. 

I can almost hear Peter saying, "Jesus, look at all we gave up to follow You. What is in it for us? What is our reward?"

Does Jesus really call people to sacrifice? Does He really invite people to follow down difficult roads? Does Jesus still call people to surrender their comforts for lives of fearless faith in far away places? The answer to every single one of those questions is yes! He still does. 

Jesus' response to Peter is both challenging and encouraging. Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who left house and brothers and sisters and mothers or fathers or children or farms for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and children and farms along with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life." [Mark 10:29-30]

The encouraging part is that Jesus assured that whatever sacrifices that are made can be made up in His economy. When God called me to Howard Payne, I left home not knowing a soul on that campus. That first semester was very lonely. I knew the pain of leaving my mother to follow Jesus. I did not even get to say goodbye to her. Once I moved things into my room, I was whisked off to a football meeting and team dinner. My mother left without us getting to hug goodbye. I would not see her again for months. 

That was just the first time. Next, came when Jesus invited me to follow Him to Florida for the summer to work as a ministry intern instead of coming home. I never did return home to live after that summer. I only came home to visit infrequently. The next summer I did the same thing in Georgia. 

Brenda and I met in college and got married after graduating. We have followed Jesus all over the state of Texas in all sized churches. I even spent four years in full time traveling ministry where I had to leave Brenda and our four sons often. Those were painful years. 

At the invitation of Jesus, we have given away vehicles, thousands of dollars, and walked away from our dream homes on several occasions to follow Him to our next assignment. We truly know what Jesus meant. Each time He called us to sacrifice He gave us something to replace the sacrifice. Special relationships, parsonage homes, other vehicles, and untold financial provision. We have a track record of listening for the Lord's call to follow and understanding that sacrifices may be required. Many times He has required us to go backward from larger churches to smaller ones with smaller salaries. One time, He called us to give up a dream home to live with a single family and her children for several months as we worked to plant a church. The local school classified our family as homeless when the boys registered for school. That was a difficult blow to our pride. While we waited on our home to sell in the previous town, we were forced to rent a tiny home. We were crammed in like sardines. Somebody bought us a sign that read, "Love grows in little homes." Our house did not sell for a year and half. We learned to be content in all circumstances. 

Following Jesus has led us down some unfamiliar paths, ministering to complete strangers, to some challenging things, and to exercise a fair amount of faith over the years. It has not always been easy nor pleasant. I can say in hindsight, it has all been worth it time and time again. He has been faithful even during the seasons of testing. 

There is a definite cost to discipleship. We are even told to count the cost. If you sit in a comfortable church enjoying an easy life, and never called to give sacrificially, serve sacrificially, or to follow sacrificially I question whether you are really listening. 

There is definitely reward in following Jesus. Souls saved. The kingdom of God built. Ministries started. Impossible dreams fulfilled. The rewards are not always financial, or material. Sometimes they are spiritual. In the end, is it worth it to follow? That is what I hear Peter saying. 

The life of faith is an extraordinary journey. A life like no other. The life of faith is not a spectator sport. It requires getting in the game. Fighting the good fight of faith. Heaven will be reward enough. According to Jesus there will be some other rewards in the present time as well. So follow on faithful stalwarts of the cross. No sacrifice goes unnoticed or unrewarded for His followers in this life or eternal life to come. 

Don't Stop Believing

 The hit single by Journey titled Don't Stop Believing sold about 18 million copies in the United States alone. People everywhere seem to know this song. If they hear it on the radio the volume goes up. If the song is played at a sports arena, people in the crowd will spontaneously begin singing. It is an epic song. 

That is not my focus. My focus today came from reading [Matt 21:22] this morning. Here it is. "And all things you ask in prayer believing you will receive." In recent days, I have spent much time reading in the Gospels. The power and authority of Jesus to deliver from demons, to heal, to teach, and change lives has captured my heart anew. My eyes locked onto this verse today and when I meditated on it I asked myself a hard question. Why am not experiencing the truth of this verse more often when I pray? 

I am not talking about any name it and claim it theology. I am talking about praying effectively. I researched every key word in that verse to discover where I might be failing. I will share those with you. 

The phrase all things mean everything. Most of us just glance over those two words. Those two words are game changers. All things encompasses every conceivable thing you could pray for. Now I understand that according to [I John 5:14-15] that we must pray in the will of God. In other words, we must pray according to the things God desires and intends to do for us. 

That having been said, all things is still a broad range of things God is capable and willing to do for His children who cry out in prayer. I don't know what that is for you. I listed six things in my prayer journal. All of them serious requests. Ones that I am burdened to ask repeatedly, seek relentlessly, and continuous knock on the doors of Heaven. Six things I am resolved to see answered. Six things that have gripped my soul like a vice and will not go away. Some of those six would appear to be impossible. They are included in the all things category. 

The word ask means to beg and or request. Anyone can ask. Even a child learns at an early age to ask. The key in prayer is learning to ask believing. The word believing means to trust and have faith. This is where I paused in prayer to ask God if I really believe the things I ask Him for. Am I praying in faith or am I just mouthing words hoping by chance that He might listen and grant my requests. 

Only God really knows the level of my faith. I think I have faith. I do not think I doubt when I ask for these six things, but God knows the truth. Some of them I've asked repeatedly for a while. No changes yet in any of those circumstances. Is it denied because God's answer is no? Is is delay because the timing is not right yet? Is is  due to my lack of belief? I don't know the answer. I know I want more faith. I want faith to match my requests. 

Faith can grow or shrink. The way to grow it is continually have to exercise it in various situations. This includes prayer challenges like the six things I am facing. To have a growing faith means God will continually stretch me to believe Him for more things and at times difficult things. 

The word receive is the most interesting of all the words in this passage. It has a passive connotation and an aggressive one too. The passive meaning of receive is to accept. I ask and then wait for God to give. The only other thing I do afterwards is accept His answer. The other meaning of receive means to take or seize. 

Don't get me wrong. When we pray we are in no position to demand or snatch anything from God He does not intend for us to have. To take and seize means praying with authority. It means taking a more aggressive approach to prayer by standing in faith on the promises of God. 

I do not understand why the church does not pray more authoritatively. It seems like we have conditioned ourselves not to expect answers. Doesn't receiving involve expectation. What is the point of asking God for something that we do not expect He will answer. That is like playing a game of random chance. 

It is my conviction that God is a promise keeper. That is the confidence I have in praying for such bold things as the six on my list. Jesus spoke the words of [Matt 21:22]. I did not conjure them up. Am I wrong to expect Him to do what He said? I think it must please God when we pray what He said. It demonstrates faith. It moves us way past wishful thinking, or random chance like wishing upon a star. 

I refuse to live as a believer who stopped believing. I choose to live as a person of faith who doesn't stop believing. To keep asking and expecting. May God be glorified by the results of those prayers.