A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, and brothers and sisters - yes even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. "  Luke 14:26,27          
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -- a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  Matthew 10: 34-39
WOW! JESUS, AREN'T YOU JUST OVER DOING IT A BIT? Besides we have our lives to live, a family to provide for, ball games to go to, a job, a house, our cars, our kids, our family, our friends, a checkbook to balance, church to attend, and this and that and the other! I will talk to you later Jesus but not now my favorite t.v. show is on. What? Go where? That's a dangerous place to go! How about this Jesus I will pray for them? I should pray, nah i'm too tired God knows I work hard! How many more of these excuses do we make day after day? Jesus is not saying we have to stop living, he's just saying we have to die! Let's face it our lives are our biggest barrier between what we are presently and what we can be. We say we love Jesus but our lives just do not produce it. Well God knows i'm not perfect! Neither is a dead man. Jesus is calling us to take up our cross (death) so that we can truly live. God is a jealous God and he totally demands our allegiance. Even if that means cutting off family members that refuse to trust in God and are pulling you under. Leaving a church because the leadership will not let the Holy Spirit lead the church and leaves you dry and empty. We are called to follow Jesus not religion or any other man made pursuit. We are living in a day when anything and everything is accepted but unless we love God more than our society and it's influence we have no part in Jesus. This is a matter of life and death, we can choose to live with our excuses or we can choose to die to this way of life and follow Him! The enemy would like nothing more than for us to become so bogged down with our lives that we are no threat to what is going on around us. We've got to understand who the real enemy is here, US, YOU, ME, I, and SELF! Jesus says to us plainly, unless we are willing to lay it all down for Him then we have no part in him. How can we influence the lives around us that are dying and going to HELL everyday if we are to busy living? Jesus is telling us that this is a matter of life and death! Let this be the day you choose to die to yourself!

Living Radically Through Christ,

Dean