Free Course: Encounter the Faith & Wisdom of C.S. Lewis!

Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - April 20, 2015

Make a Stand

“If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” - (Luke 14:26)

When I became a Christian, all of my friends were no longer my friends. They quickly turned on me, mocked me, and made a joke out of what I had just done.

Sometimes relationships hold people back from following Christ. They think, If I become a Christian, what will my boyfriend say? Or, What will my girlfriend say? If you have a boyfriend who would not want you to become a Christian, then you need a new boyfriend. And guys, the same is true of a girlfriend. If you have friends who would oppose your being a follower of Jesus Christ, then you need some new friends. You need to make a stand.

In Luke 9 we find the story of a man whom Jesus called to follow Him. But the man said to Jesus, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (verse 59).

Jesus responded by saying, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God” (verse 60). We may read that and think, Wow. Jesus was a little heartless, wasn’t He? But the man was using an expression of the time that meant “wait until my father and mother die.” It didn’t mean that his father was dead. The man was effectively saying, “Give me a little time. Later, when my parents pass away, then I will follow You.”

But Jesus was saying, “No, do it right now. I called you. If you want to do it, then do it. Or don’t do it. It is your choice. But do it now.”

The disciple must love Jesus more than anyone or anything else. Or to put it another way, your love for God should be so strong, so intense, that all other loves would be like hatred in comparison.

Copyright © 2015 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

SPECIAL OFFER

The Power of the Gospel

Each year at the Harvest Crusades, Pastor Greg Laurie conveys the good news of Jesus Christ in a relevant understandable way. Do You Want to Change Your Life? Is a collection of 15 crusade messages that present the truths of God’s Word about sin, forgiveness, redemption, and the hope of heaven.

This book will be sent to you in thanks for your donation to Harvest Ministries this month.

SHARE

Christianity / Devotionals / Greg Laurie Daily Devotions / Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - April 20, 2015