FOLLOWING THE CROWD OR FOLLOWING JESUS

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV)

Every day asks you a quiet but defining question: Are you following the crowd, or are you following Jesus? The crowd offers comfort, safety, and the illusion of belonging. It moves fast, speaks loud, and promises that if you blend in, you won’t stand out. But the crowd rarely leads toward courage, holiness, or truth. It leads toward whatever is easiest. But Jesus warns that this road -- though crowded and convenient -- leads to destruction. Not because God is cruel, but because the wide road is built on self, pride, and the illusion that we can define truth on our own.

Jesus, on the other hand, never walks with the crowd -- He walks ahead of it. His path is narrower, quieter, and often lonelier. The narrow gate is not narrow because God is stingy. It is narrow because truth is specific, holiness is intentional, and discipleship is costly. His path leads to the cross. But it is also the only path that leads to life. Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it." (Matthew 16:25 NIV)

Following Him means choosing conviction over convenience, obedience over approval, and faith over fear. It means stepping out of the noise and into His voice.

Following Jesus on the narrow road, though demanding, leads to life -- real life, abundant life, eternal life. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6466

FOLLOWING JESUS

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, 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 NLT)

To follow Jesus Christ, who was betrayed, wept, bled, and died before He rose again, is to be at high risk of being taken where we had not intended to go. Eugene Peterson pinpoints the trouble with prayer: “We are often asked to respond in ways that we never intended when we first began to pray.”

It matters little where or in what century we are called to live out our Christian life. The witness of those who have gone before informs my own experience, telling me that we are often taken to places where we receive unwarranted accolades and to other places where we receive unwarranted suffering and pain. A disciple, one who chooses to be a student and follower of Jesus, is not a “self-made person” and is not on a personally designed journey… We choose to follow Jesus and then Jesus chooses where we will go. It is that simple.

The saving truth here is not that we are taken where we do not want to go, rather the saving truth is that we are not alone. There is One who leads us and who goes with us… While we may not choose the places to go, we can choose to remain with the One who sends us and there find comfort, companionship, grace, peace, and joy in Christ. 

-- Adapted from Rueben P. Job in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#6330

GOD’S GENTLE WHISPER – Part 2 of 2

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV)

I have two practices at the beginning and end of the day that help me listen to God’s “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12)…

My evening practice is a time for self-reflection or what some call “the daily examen.” For my nighttime ritual, I simply review my day and ask the Holy Spirit to help me accurately assess my relationship with God, myself, and others. I typically ask myself three questions:

• Is there anything I need to celebrate?
• Is there anything I need to confess?
• Is there anything I need to change?

Sometimes this means getting up and making a note to do something in the morning or even sending a text. It’s the ongoing work of keeping my heart clean and removing anything that hinders my inner world. The gentle whisper of God recalibrates my soul.

So, whether it’s early in the morning or late evening, God’s whisper is transformative. And it’s the space between, in the everyday-ness of life, that the whisper gets lived out. I cannot tell you the number of times that something God has spoken into my heart becomes a word for someone sitting in my office seeking [pastoral] counsel at 2 pm. Afterward, there is a sense of God’s confirmation that I am hearing from God not just for myself but for the well-being of others.

-- Jorge Acevedo in “Everybody Needs Some Cave Time: Meeting God in Dark Places”

#6243

GOD’S GENTLE WHISPER – Part 1 of 2

The Greek philosopher Socrates famously said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” This is the wisdom of the Bible, too. Paul gave Timothy, the young pastor of the fledgling church in Ephesus, this sage advice, “Keep a close watch on how you live” (1 Timothy 4:16a). This is an invitation for all followers of Jesus to perform an honest evaluation of their lives, including their relationship with God, themselves, and others. Put more simply, it’s the command in scripture to love God and love neighbor as we love ourselves.

It’s been said that we need to be careful and watchful over our soul when we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (HALT). This phrase finds its origins in the recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Its wisdom echoes Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV): “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” For me, I have two practices at the beginning and end of the day that help me listen to God’s “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).

My morning practice is a Bible reading and reflection time in which I journal the whisper of the Spirit for my life. This 30- to 45-minute-long exercise has sharpened my ear to God’s gentle whisper more than any other discipline. I have observed in my life and the lives of others that daily Bible engagement more than any other practice helps Christ followers grow in their faith. 

-- Jorge Acevedo in “Everybody Needs Some Cave Time: Meeting God in Dark Places”

#6242

PHILIP HAD TO TELL NATHANAEL

“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.”  (John 1:43-46 NIV)

Philip not only had a seeking heart, but he also had the heart of a personal evangelist. His first response upon meeting Jesus was to find his friend Nathanael and tell him about the Messiah.

I am convinced… that friendships provide the most fertile soil for evangelism. When the reality of Christ is introduced into a relationship of love and trust that has already been established, the effect is powerful. And it seems that invariably, when someone becomes a true follower of Christ, that person’s first impulse is to want to find a friend and introduce that friend to Christ. That dynamic is seen in Philip’s spontaneous instinct to go find Nathanael and tell him about the Messiah.

The language Philip used betrayed his amazement at discovering who the Messiah was. The One whom Moses wrote, and the One foretold by the prophets, was none other than “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” a lowly carpenter’s son.

Nathanael was at first nonplused. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”…

But Philip was undaunted: “Come and see.” The ease which Philip believed is remarkable. In human terms, no one had brought Philip to Jesus. He was like Simeon, “waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25). Philip knew the Old Testament promises. He was ready. He was expectant. His heart was prepared. And He received Jesus gladly, unhesitatingly, as Messiah. No reluctance. No disbelief. It mattered not to him what kind of one-horse town the Messiah had grown up in. He knew instantly that he had come to the end of his search. 

-- John MacArthur (1939-2025) in “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You” 

#6234

UNMASKING MYSELF

Many years ago I read an article in a denominational newsletter that referred to "the Masking Disciples 2000 Leadership Team." While "Masking" was a typo and should have read "Making," it made me wonder if that isn't what we in the church might be doing sometimes.

We go out as good people doing good things in the community to make it a good place to live so that we can make good people feel good. That is masking, or covering up, what we really should be about. We are followers of Jesus Christ who are called by Christ to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." (Matthew 28:19-20a NLT)

What I need to be about is unmasking myself and letting the world know that the good that I do is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, not because I'm a good person. Jesus said, " Let your light shine before [others] in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 AMP)

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#6031

KINGDOM PROMISES: REFLECTING THE LIFE CHRIST CALLS US TO

How can we actually avoid speaking ill of others? Here’s what I do when I am at my best and exercising restraint. First, I remember the call of Christ to avoid judging and to avoid calling names (Matthew 5:21-22). My aim is to do Christ’s will. Speaking ill of others does not accomplish my aim. Second, I try to search my own heart to see what is behind my need to speak ill of the other person. Usually the motivation will be fear, jealousy, insecurity, or revenge. I remind myself of the words of Mark Twain, “Among human beings jealousy ranks distinctly as a weakness; a trademark of small minds.” Third, I make it a point to look for the good in the other and to focus on lifting that up rather than pointing out the person’s weaknesses. Fourth, I remember the biblical call to humility, and remind myself that I may not be seeing the other the way God sees him or her. I may not know all the facts. And I remember the many ways in which I fall short of God’s plans (Romans 3:23)…

In many ways the evidence of our faith is found in our ability to control our tongue (or our keyboard). When you find Christians who speak ill of others, who tell half-truths, who resort to name-calling, remember the words of Jesus and the apostles and ask if this person reflects the life Christ call us to. The most important time to ask that question is the next time you prepare to hit the “enter” key when you are saying of another “You fool!” or let loose with your own “unwholesome talk” (Ephesians 4:29)…

Looking for the good in those with whom we disagree, expressing humility to admit that you may be wrong, and seeking to remove the log from your own eye before removing the splinter from your neighbor’s eye (Matthew 7:5) -- these are the characteristics of Christ’s followers. And it is in remembering and practicing these Scriptures that Christians will stop being the wedge that divides our nation, and start acting instead as bridge-builders and peace-makers. 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White” 

#5980

KINGDOM PROMISES: LIKE SHEEP AMONG WOLVES

Jesus said, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” (Matthew 10:16 NIV)

The church is always at its best when it goes into the world humbly, like sheep among wolves. Ironically, a few centuries after Jesus, when the church did get some political and financial power, it lost much of its spiritual power. One Christ follower, John Chrysostom, was reflecting on this verse about being sent by Jesus like sheep among wolves and how the concept was getting lost as the church gained power. He said, “Let us then be ashamed, who do the contrary, who set out like wolves upon our enemies. For so long as we are sheep, we conquer… But if we become wolves, we are worsted, for help of our Shepherd departs from us: for He feeds not wolves, but sheep.” 

-- John Ortberg in “All the Places to Go: How Will You Know?”

#5978

INVERTED CHRISTIANITY

Two thousand years ago Jesus extended an unbelievable invitation: "Follow Me." And the invitation is still on the table. But let me drill down on this a little bit. I think there are lots of people who think they have accepted the invitation. They think they are following Jesus. But the reality is that they have invited Jesus to follow them. And there is a world of difference!

For the first nineteen years of my life, if I'm being totally honest, I think it was more about Jesus following me. I didn't want to go anywhere without Him. But it wasn't about me serving His purposes. It was about Him serving my purposes. I think many Christians have an inverted relationship with Christ. Call it spiritual selfishness. Our relationship with Him is all about us. And then we wonder why we're unfulfilled and bored with our faith.

Are you following Jesus? Or is Jesus following you? 

-- Mark Batterson, from his blog Evotional.com  

#5797

A GOD-CENTERED LIFE

“Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.’” (Luke 9:23 NLT)

While the essence of sin is a shift from a God-centered to a self-centered life, the essence of salvation is a denial of self and a return to a God-centered outlook. We must come to a place where we renounce our self-focused approach to life and turn the attention and control over to God. When this happens, God orients us to Himself and to the purposes He is accomplishing around us…

God-centeredness requires a daily denial of self and a submission to God. 

-- Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”

#5415

FOLLOW THE LEADER

“Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.’”  (Luke 9:23 NLT)

The operative word is follow. When Jesus said, “Follow Me,” He defined faith. Faith goes deeper than just believing that Jesus is the Christ; the proof of faith is following Him…

If Jesus calls us to follow Him, He must be our leader. So we all should be in some distress when we realize that Jesus has largely disappeared as leader. Yes, we rightly acknowledge Him as Savior of the world, the Lamb that was slain, our resurrected Lord, and our soon-coming King, yet we don’t treat Christ as our leader. We seem to have forgotten His way of teaching, training, and doing works of power. With this oversight, we’ve sterilized His personality, taking all the spice, humor, and straightforwardness from Him. Even more fundamental to following Christ is submitting to His leadership.  

-- Bill Hull in “The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ”

#5210

FOLLOWING IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.”  (Matthew 16:24 NIV)

The ancient Jews had a saying that captures the idea of discipleship and transformation. They said that if you find a good rabbi, you should “cover yourself in the dust of his feet and drink in his words thirstily.”

The expression probably draws on a well-known sight for ancient Jews: disciples were known for walking behind their rabbi, following him so closely that they would become covered with the dust kicked up from his sandals. This would have been a powerful image for what should happen in the disciple’s life spiritually. Disciples were expected to follow the rabbi so closely that they would be covered with their master’s whole way of thinking, living and acting.

Thousands of years later, we’re called to do the same. Though we walk on paved roads, not dusty ones, we are still called to be disciples -- to follow our Rabbi, Jesus Christ, so closely that we are covered by the “dust” of His life, that we are changed and made new. These are exactly the kind of disciples that Jesus is looking for. He calls us to imitate Him. 

-- Excerpted from an article entitled "In the Dust of the Rabbi: Living as a Disciple of Jesus” at focusequip.org

#5202

A CALLING FOR ALL OF US

Jesus said, “Follow Me.” (Luke 5:27b)

This calling is for every child of God. It’s not just for the Jeremiahs, the Moses, the Abrahams, the Davids, the Matthews, Marks, Lukes, and Johns. It’s not just for the Augustines, the Luthers, the Wesleys, the Billy Sundays, or the Billy Grahams. It’s not just for pastors, missionaries, Christian stars, and personalities. It’s for all those people. It’s for little me and little you.

There’s only one bright morning star, and that’s Jesus. Those two words that Christ said, “Follow Me,” changed the world, as millions since have risen up to follow the call. What is this calling I’m talking about? It is this. It’s Luke, chapter 5. It’s Jesus saying to Peter, “Peter, will you follow Me?” And then in John 21, “Peter, will you love Me?” And again “Peter, will you die for Me?”

Will you honor Me? Will you live for Me? Will you die for Me? That’s the call. And every single believer is called to this: to this fellowship, to this maturity, to this discipleship. It’s for every child of God, and that means me and that means you. 

--  Adapted from “Side by Side: A Handbook for Disciple-Making for a New Century,” Steve & Lois Rabey, General Editors

#5135

HIS CALL IS TO FOLLOW

“As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.  ‘Follow me’, He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.” (Matthew 9:9 NIV)

Unfortunately, many of us start [our faith] journey with enthusiasm but fail to sustain it. Our faith goes on cruise control as we start seeking comfort and not a calling. It doesn’t help that too often in our churches we pigeonhole Jesus safely behind the altar rails and communion tables of our tame religious traditions, teaching people to revere Jesus instead of following Jesus sacrificially every day in the trenches of life. Jesus’ call is not to revere; His call is to follow. When we do so, reverence will naturally result. 

-- Mike Slaughter in “Renegade Gospel: The Rebel Jesus”

#5048

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT - Part 1

“When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for Me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  (Acts 1:8 GNT)

As Jesus prepared to enter heaven, He told His followers of an event that would change them from the inside out. The Holy Spirit was going to come into their lives… we would be filled with the Spirit. When we become followers of Jesus Christ, He immediately enters our lives. We pray for His filling, which means a full cooperation with Him and all He wants to do through us.

[The Spirit] is the presence of Christ with us, everywhere we go. He gives us special gifts for ministry. He counsels and comforts us, and each day He continues to transform us to the image of Christ Himself -- through tiny, almost imperceptible moments when we think something or do something that is the Jesus way, instead of our old way. And as we are filled with the Spirit, we begin to know what it means to have a truly full life. 

-- Kyle Idleman in “The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins”

#4902

I AM WITH YOU

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)

God is the God of the future, and that is good news to our longing for something better to come. But the truly radical good news resides in the fact that God is not content to rest up until kingdom come. “I am with you” declares, among other things, that matters dear to God’s heart like justice and love, compassion and righteousness, are God’s pressing desires for the current day. God’s presence affirms that we have not been left behind or abandoned to fend for ourselves. Divine presence provides notice of God’s transformation of this world for the good. Jesus’ life and ministry serves as that notice made incarnate for our sake and for the sake of this God-filled world. As individuals and communities who follow Jesus, God invites us to make those our priorities as we trust holy presence to dispel fear and lead us on the way ahead.

-- John Indermark in “Do Not Live Afraid”

#4737

HOLDING ON TO HOPE

“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28 RSV)

Hope is a necessity for real living, but especially in a wounded [or broken] moment. As Christians, we can have the hope and expectation that life will be good again. It may not be the same, but it can be good again. Hope is belief in possibility. It is not unrealistic optimism that everything will work out and things will be like they were before. It is confidence and faith that however things turnout, God will be with us, will see us through, and will bring healing.

Hope comes out of resurrection faith, the faith that no matter how bad things get, God is in the midst working with us for good. That’s what Paul was saying in Romans: “In everything God works for good…”

Hold on to your hope!

-- James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!”


#4720

AN ATTEMPT AT QUARRELING

“Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognized as children of God.”  (Matthew 5:9)

There is a quaint story from the desert tradition about two monks who lived in the same cell. Their life was very peaceful, but one day, to be like other people, they decided to have a quarrel. What to quarrel about was the question.

One monk said, “I will take this brick, place it between us, and we can quarrel over who owns the brick.” The other monk agreed. It sounded like a good plan. So they sat on the ground facing each other, the brick in the middle.

The first monk said, “This is my brick.” The second monk replied, “No, I believe the brick belongs to me.” Whereupon the first monk retorted briskly, “It is not yours. It is mine!” The second monk replied, “Very well, if it is really yours, take it.”

This ended their attempt at quarreling. The moral of this story is that persons who have forsaken all to follow Christ are not grasping or quarrelsome.

This incident provides us with insight which many Christians in the first four centuries of the church believed crucial for a correct understanding of the Gospel.

-- Jerry Mercy in “Cry Joy!”


#4719

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’"  (Isaiah 52:7 NIV)

When we are in the trenches of day to day work we can subtly share the good news of Jesus Christ. We share Him by the way we live, the dirty jokes we don't listen to or tell, and by the profanity that is absent from our speech. We practice the principles of Christianity and people begin to see we are a little different from the rest. No, we are not perfect and yes, we do make mistakes. But as we strive toward following Jesus we become Christians at work and in our families -- not just on Sunday morning when the preacher is looking!

Look around your world and you will discovery countless ways to tell of your friend Jesus Christ. Of course, He first has to be your friend and then you will eagerly share Him with others… Let your willingness to testify be evident and God will open the doors.

-- Pastor Gary Stone


#4623

CALLED TO HOSPITALITY

In this age of the ubiquitous Martha Stewart, it’s easy to feel unsettled about hospitality. After watching Martha mastermind a feast for 50, we can decide we’re too busy, uncreative, or financially limited to invite company into our houses…

If time, money, and energy were the true measuring sticks of hospitality, then most of us should lock the front door and watch television. But thankfully our guideline for hosting guests comes from the Bible. In Romans 12 Paul… instructed Christ’s followers to “practice hospitality” along with the reminders to “keep your spiritual fervor” and be “faithful in prayer.” The apostle considered hospitality an everyday practice and priority, integrating it with the keys to spiritual growth and vitality.

Yet Paul wasn’t referring to “entertaining” as we think of it today. Entertaining emphasizes planning, acquiring resources, and managing an event. Hospitality centers on inviting people into our lives, and sharing from what we have, on helping guests feel relaxed and part of the household. Instead of dazzling people with our social skills, we pour God’s warmth into their souls. 

--  Pamela A. Toussaint in “Hospitality in a Hectic World,” Discipleship Journal, No. 98


#4426