Luke 16:13, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (NKJV)
Luke 16:13, "No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches, or [b]anything in which you trust and on which you rely)." (Amplified)
I have learned through my journey as a Christian that the Bible contains some challenging teachings from the mouth of Jesus Christ. I am not writing this to cause any of us to feel bad or to scare us regarding your relationship with Jesus Christ. I am writing this to remind each of us that God does have expectations for those who chose to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The decision to follow Jesus Christ as a loyal or devoted servant is one of those expectations that Jesus talks about in Luke 16.
This decision to follow Christ is not just a one time decision that we make in a service or in a time of private meditation and study. Although I do believe that each Christian has the moment in which he/she makes the initial decision to follow Christ. But I also believe that we are called to make the decision to serve our Master on a daily basis and this daily basis can turn into a moment by moment decision to follow Christ. Let me remind you of the words that Jesus declared in Luke 9:23, "Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (NKJV) I would like to draw your attention to the word "daily" that was spoken to us by Jesus Christ Himself.
The "noise" of the world is calling out to us everyday. The "noise" of the world is seeking to lead us away from our loyalty/devotion to Jesus Christ. The "spirit of the world" has a way of filling our schedules with so many priorities that if we are not careful we end up bumping Jesus Christ to the back of the line and He only receives our "left-over" time. And in many cases our "left-over" time is minimal at our very best.
This is one of the reasons that I entitled this post, "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions..." Life is full of daily decisions. Our employers require our time. Our family responsibilities require our time. Our family's involvement in sports or school activities require our time. And don't forget that our leisure/entertainment enjoyment requires our time. Are you getting the picture of a few of the challenges that we face? I have not even mentioned those emergency situations that arise from time to time in each of our lives.
WE HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION THAT WE WILL SERVE GOD WITH LOYALTY AND DEVOTION. We can not serve two masters according to the words of Jesus. One of them will eventually win out over the other one. Don't let Christ get lost in all of the noise that clamors for your heart/love/passion on a daily basis!!!
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You are spot on target Bro. Mike. If we are all honest with ourselves we will admit to the pull of all things around us. They are in competition with the Lord Jesus for our attention and time. Yes, we must make the decision moment by moment and hour by hour of where will we focus out attention. Who will win. The ultimate outcome for you and me will depend on who we listen to and who's directions we follow. The best choice is Jesus. He is the winner in this conflict.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you and family.