Rate Yourself as a Faithful Follower

Prayer – Lord, I want to be more faithful today than yesterday…following You in all that not only do, but in what I think and say, too. I want to honor You for You are worthy of all praise, honor and glory. Help me to do this. 

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

 

Meditate. Consider what your very soul is worth.

 

Have you ever rated yourself on anything? Maybe on some ability or talent that you have associated with your work or career? Maybe on your appearance? Maybe on your character qualities… integrity, honesty, faithfulness, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, or self-control? Well, maybe it is time to take a look at your faithful following of Christ? The faithful followers will be those whose souls will be saved by Christ. They are those who keep His great Ten Commandments which He summarized into two: Love God and love others as yourself.

 

This isn’t just a New Testament thing. We can see from this passage in the Psalm below that the faithful followers will be the ones who will ultimately worship with the Lord.

Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the LORD, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever. Psalm 15:1-5 (Underlined for emphasis.)

What qualities do we see as examples here in this Psalm that elaborate on the big Ten?

               Love God: lead blameless lives and do the right things

               Love others as self: speak truthfully, don’t gossip, speak evil or harm neighbors, honor others, keep promises, no bribes or lies.

 

Are you able to turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow Jesus today…and every day for the rest of your life? If you really want to do this—it won’t be just from your own strength—ask the Lord to help you follow Him. He will hear and answer your prayers.

 

Can you rate yourself on your abilities of in these qualities? If you aren’t pleased with the results of this self-evaluation, then are you willing to change? Time is short. We don’t know how much time we have left until Christ calls us home. Since time is of the essence, don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today to honor Christ with your life. Be a faithful follower.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the LORD has said. These will be among the survivors whom the LORD has called. Joel 2:32

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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