Matthew 7:21 - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (NIV)
Read Philippians 2:11
One day every person in heaven, on earth and under the earth will declare that Jesus is Lord. This will happen no matter what someone has previously believed. The truth is - Jesus is Lord, whether you believe it or not. Allow this revelation of the Lordship of Jesus to wash over you. At the final day, we will all declare that he is Lord… not Friend, Companion or Counselor (though he is all of those).
It is clear from Scripture that salvation only comes through Jesus being Lord of our lives. There is actually no salvation apart from declaring that Jesus is Lord of your life. In some Christian circles, people acknowledge Jesus as their Savior. But, following Jesus as Lord can seem like an optional extra.
However, Romans 10:9-10 is clear, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (NIV).
Mark 8:34-35 - "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."
Say "No" to selfishness. In fact, say "No" to anything that would hold you back from fully following Jesus.
What would slow you down or stop you in the process of following Jesus? Rights that have not been surrendered to Jesus will always hold you back. Unsurrendered rights will lead you into disobedience and will cut off your God-given destiny. This is pretty serious. So, what are rights in the first place?
Rights are anything we hold onto instead of holding onto Jesus. The things we hold onto can be good or bad. That is not so much the issue. The problem of holding onto rights is that we can't hold onto our rights and Jesus at the same time.
Food is not bad. In fact, we need it to survive. However, when we MUST have our chocolate, our coffee, our health food or other craving, it starts to become a right.
Sometimes, our rights can be sinful habits. We would rather hold onto our sin than Jesus. This is obviously wrong. These sinful rights must be thrown away. But, it is often good things that we find ourselves clinging to for security and comfort. What could these things be?
When we do not lay down our rights before our Lord Jesus, they become idols in our hands.
What does God tell us to do with idols in our lives?
Allow nothing to come between you and your Lord. Deal with idols in your life.
Credits:
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