Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me
Take up Your Cross and Follow Me
Oh we must count the cost before we can follow Jesus. There is always a cost. This past week, we mourn and celebrate the life of our brother in Christ Nabeel Qureshi who is now with Jesus. He died on September 16, 2017 at a young age of 34. God lifted our brother from the kingdom of darkness (from his Muslim background) to his kingdom of light in Christ Jesus. The same He did for each of us who have trusted Jesus as Lord and savior. Nabeel counted the high cost and followed Jesus.
Read one of Nabeel's books, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” which God has used to bring many to faith in Christ. Check out his life and works on the web and just google his name. You will be encouraged by his short life and will be quickened without further delay to do whatever God has put in your hands to do for Jesus. May the Lord comfort his wife Michelle and daughter Ayah and his parents and sister.
Within a matter of minutes, how can you go from receiving the greatest revelation from God to being addressed by Jesus as “Get behind Me, Satan!? What has happened to Peter can happen to us? We are all vulnerable and can be attacked and tempted by Satan. Let him who thinks he stands think again.
Let’s read the account of what happened. We are continuing from previous verses of Matthew 16.
Matthew 16: Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
We all can easy get out of focus and when we do, we lose perspective. When you are focused, you see what you are supposed to see. We see in this account that Peter quickly lost focus as Jesus rebuked him. “You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men”. Have you been there before? I have and many times. When you start thinking only of self and stop looking unto Jesus, the author of your faith, you no longer see God and His interest. That is why Jesus said “seek first the kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) which means seek the king of the kingdom and join him in building His kingdom; all other things you worry about will be added to you for upkeep. Is that what we do most times? Not really.
Peter was looking at this world affairs and how Jesus was going to be installed and become a political force to save the Jews from the Romans. We are doing same today. Looking for “political saviors”.
The only way we can take up our cross and follow Jesus is when we are mindful of the things of God. It means to walk by faith and not by sight. It means to be led by the Spirit. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16), meaning we must trust in God so much that we have total dependence and surrender to Him. If God does not do it no one else, not even I can meet my needs, desires and aspirations.
The disciples understood what it meant to follow Jesus by taking up their cross. Jesus was going to die on the cross and for them following Jesus meant to be killed at some point for Jesus' sake. I believe all the disciples died for Jesus. What does following Jesus mean for us today? I don't know exactly but I know there is always a cost to following Jesus.
I want to be very mindful of the things of God because our times a short on this earth but endless in eternity. Lord help me to be mindful of you and the things that interest you most. Help me to continue to build your kingdom of people and be used to tell everyone and anyone the good news of salvation in Christ. Thank you Father for revealing yourself to me and allowing me to see Jesus. Help me to follow you Jesus at all cost. Amen.
A classmate in medical school told Nabeel about Jesus. Can you tell someone today wherever you go or live? If you have not put your faith in Christ, now is the time, no more delay, tomorrow may be too late. May God help you and me! Amen.
Oh we must count the cost before we can follow Jesus. There is always a cost. This past week, we mourn and celebrate the life of our brother in Christ Nabeel Qureshi who is now with Jesus. He died on September 16, 2017 at a young age of 34. God lifted our brother from the kingdom of darkness (from his Muslim background) to his kingdom of light in Christ Jesus. The same He did for each of us who have trusted Jesus as Lord and savior. Nabeel counted the high cost and followed Jesus.
Read one of Nabeel's books, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” which God has used to bring many to faith in Christ. Check out his life and works on the web and just google his name. You will be encouraged by his short life and will be quickened without further delay to do whatever God has put in your hands to do for Jesus. May the Lord comfort his wife Michelle and daughter Ayah and his parents and sister.
Within a matter of minutes, how can you go from receiving the greatest revelation from God to being addressed by Jesus as “Get behind Me, Satan!? What has happened to Peter can happen to us? We are all vulnerable and can be attacked and tempted by Satan. Let him who thinks he stands think again.
Let’s read the account of what happened. We are continuing from previous verses of Matthew 16.
Matthew 16: Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
We all can easy get out of focus and when we do, we lose perspective. When you are focused, you see what you are supposed to see. We see in this account that Peter quickly lost focus as Jesus rebuked him. “You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men”. Have you been there before? I have and many times. When you start thinking only of self and stop looking unto Jesus, the author of your faith, you no longer see God and His interest. That is why Jesus said “seek first the kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) which means seek the king of the kingdom and join him in building His kingdom; all other things you worry about will be added to you for upkeep. Is that what we do most times? Not really.
Peter was looking at this world affairs and how Jesus was going to be installed and become a political force to save the Jews from the Romans. We are doing same today. Looking for “political saviors”.
The only way we can take up our cross and follow Jesus is when we are mindful of the things of God. It means to walk by faith and not by sight. It means to be led by the Spirit. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16), meaning we must trust in God so much that we have total dependence and surrender to Him. If God does not do it no one else, not even I can meet my needs, desires and aspirations.
The disciples understood what it meant to follow Jesus by taking up their cross. Jesus was going to die on the cross and for them following Jesus meant to be killed at some point for Jesus' sake. I believe all the disciples died for Jesus. What does following Jesus mean for us today? I don't know exactly but I know there is always a cost to following Jesus.
I want to be very mindful of the things of God because our times a short on this earth but endless in eternity. Lord help me to be mindful of you and the things that interest you most. Help me to continue to build your kingdom of people and be used to tell everyone and anyone the good news of salvation in Christ. Thank you Father for revealing yourself to me and allowing me to see Jesus. Help me to follow you Jesus at all cost. Amen.
A classmate in medical school told Nabeel about Jesus. Can you tell someone today wherever you go or live? If you have not put your faith in Christ, now is the time, no more delay, tomorrow may be too late. May God help you and me! Amen.
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