|
Knowing Jesus Christ As Lord By Larry Kreider
Day 1: Are You Willing to Die? I was involved in youth ministry a few years ago and I used to tell the young people, "If you want friends, peace of mind, and things to work out in your life - come to Jesus. He will help you." Many of these young people made a commitment to Jesus, but two months later they were back doing their own thing, instead of obeying the Lord. In many cases they were worse off than before they made a commitment to Christ. They never understood that Jesus must be their Lord. He must have complete control of everything in our lives. They "came to Jesus" for what they could get, rather than receiving Jesus Christ as Lord. Many times Christians preach a "weak" or "cheap" Jesus. I was guilty. I changed my approach and saw lasting fruit. I told the next group of young people, "Jesus must be Lord over everything in your life. Are you willing to die for Jesus if you have to?" I was amazed at their response. They wanted the truth! Those who received Christ really meant business with God. Jesus said in Luke 14:33, "So, likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple." Recently I prayed with a young man to receive Christ. "Are you willing to go to a foreign country if the Lord tells you to go?" I asked him. He assured me that he was willing to do whatever the Lord asked him to do. He was willing to make a total commitment to Jesus. True Christians have Jesus Christ as the master of their lives, and it will show. There will be evidence that Christ rules in their lives. The Bible tells us in Romans 10:13, "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." The word "Lord" means master, boss, complete ruler of every part of our life. A while back, I read a letter that a communist wrote describing how he felt about communism: "Communism is my sweetheart. I am willing to die for it. I am willing to give every cent, give up my friend, give all that I have to see Communism cover the whole world." Communists took a principle of lordship and made it a philosophy, but they turned against the only true Lord. Jesus requires total commitment. Jesus must be Lord over every area of our lives. 
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: Are You Willing To Die? Read Luke 14:33 and Romans 10:13. What does it mean to forsake all that we have? What does the word "Lord" mean? Who does the Bible say will be saved? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________
|
