Prayer Journal

Sunday, January 11, 2004

Four men approached Jesus. The first was a teacher of the law and the other someone already following the Lord. Both men discovered there was a personal cost to following Jesus, but neither did it.

Jesus told the first man that he must sacrifice personal comfort and the second that his must make his personal plans second to serving him. We believe both men turned around and left because the cost of following Jesus was just too high for them.

There were two other men who came into contact with Jesus that day. Demon possessed and completely out of control with fits of violence, these two men wouldn't let anyone pass. It seems that Jesus had been driving our demons all across the land with a word. The demons met their match because Jesus didn't want to simply pass, he was going to set the two men free from their bondage.

Four men; two "intelligent" ones who looked for Jesus and rejected the prospect and two others who were totally desperate and seemingly beyond help. They weren't even looking for help, but that didn't stop Jesus. After they met Jesus, they were never the same.

Have you been changed after having met and followed the Lord? Understand, there is nothing wrong with being a teacher and certainly nothing righteous about being demon-possessed. The Lord changes people, but they must be willing to surrender everything for the sake of following him.

Is Jesus your Lord? Is your faith, a preference or a conviction? What's the difference? A preference means you can do something or not do it based on how you feel at the time. A conviction is the decision to act on something regardless of feeling or what it might cost you. The first two men in our example had faith based on preference. I truly hope doing what God tells you to do is your conviction and not merely a preference? Only one attitude pleases God and it's not preference!

FAITH = Forsaking All, I Trust Him.

Just Thinkin'... WebServant

1. Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( Gn. 24:52-26:16 Mt. 8:18-35 Ps. 10:1-15 Pr. 3:7-8 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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I'll pray today for...
* My spouse
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* Their friends
* My friends
* My employer
* My city
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* Civic leaders
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* The sick
* The lost
* Those in despair
* The hospitalized
* The grieving
* Widows
* Orphans

* My church
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* Persecuted church
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* Myself