Is there one imperative that must guide the person of faith when they make decisions about money? Jesus gave one.
"Then he said to them all, 'if any man would follow me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23.
UNIVERSAL
He said to them all "if any..." not just the special religious few but any who would follow him must do this.
FOLLOW
Every decision about money, time or relationships is a decision about obedience and following Jesus.
DENY
To deny is to say no to something. Here we must say no to our desires or wants and say yes to Jesus.
CROSS
The cross was a death sentence, in today's words, you might say take up your gallows or take your lethal injection. This was one of the hard sayings of Jesus- that we would live a life of death to self and obedience to him.
DAILY
What Jesus was saying here was not that you make a once in a life decision to follow him but live a daily lifestyle of following his example.
AND FOLLOW
You cannot follow someone who you don't know. We must follow Jesus but we must know and be intimate with Jesus to follow him.
* Spend time with him.
* Learn his words.
* Emulate his life.
* Take up his work.
* Make his passions yours.
This is more than asking what would Jesus do, it is asking "How can I be like Jesus in this."
We each must make our own decisions based on the light God has given us; that light always points to His Christ. As you decide you must remember following Jesus is the best decision.
"Then he said to them all, 'if any man would follow me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23.
UNIVERSAL
He said to them all "if any..." not just the special religious few but any who would follow him must do this.
FOLLOW
Every decision about money, time or relationships is a decision about obedience and following Jesus.
DENY
To deny is to say no to something. Here we must say no to our desires or wants and say yes to Jesus.
CROSS
The cross was a death sentence, in today's words, you might say take up your gallows or take your lethal injection. This was one of the hard sayings of Jesus- that we would live a life of death to self and obedience to him.
DAILY
What Jesus was saying here was not that you make a once in a life decision to follow him but live a daily lifestyle of following his example.
AND FOLLOW
You cannot follow someone who you don't know. We must follow Jesus but we must know and be intimate with Jesus to follow him.
* Spend time with him.
* Learn his words.
* Emulate his life.
* Take up his work.
* Make his passions yours.
This is more than asking what would Jesus do, it is asking "How can I be like Jesus in this."
We each must make our own decisions based on the light God has given us; that light always points to His Christ. As you decide you must remember following Jesus is the best decision.
(c) Adron 1/14/14
