This week in our Come to Jesus Daily Devotionals, we continue in the gospel of Luke. In Luke 9:51-62 we see that we are called to model our lives on the costly obedience that Jesus showed to His Father. Today, we are challenged by the idea that our obedience, Like Jesus’, may lead to material loss.
‘As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”’ (Luke 9:57-58)
Lesson: Following Jesus may well cost us in terms of career, income and respect.
You can listen to this devotional below (It’s also available on Spotify on the Community Church Putney podcast)
It’s becoming increasingly the case that to publicly confess that you believe in Jesus and Biblical values may impact your job prospects. Many are, like the man in our text, willing to say “I will follow you wherever you go”, but are not prepared to suffer for following Jesus.
Jesus, having been rejected by the Samaritan village, had ‘no place to lay His head’. Jesus, in much of His ministry, relied on the kindness of strangers and this could sometimes fail.
Like Christ, Christians are to be prepared to suffer loss for the Kingdom of God. We read of how the recipients of the book of Hebrews had once been prepared to do this, but were being tempted to renege on their devotion to Christ in suffering:
‘Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.’ (Hebrews 10:32-35)
Response
Following Jesus may well cost us in terms of career, income and respect. Like those in the book of Hebrews, have we lost the devotion we had in ‘earlier days’? Are we prepared to, as is written of them as they, ‘joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions’? In short, has this world become our home in such a way that we’ve failed to realise that we are strangers and pilgrims heading for our true home?
COMMUNITY GROUP NOTES AND STUDY
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
Please ensure that the members of your group are aware and familiar with using the daily devotionals which is accessed in Church News or the Teaching button on the website.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Our message from our series in Luke on Sunday was entitled, The cost of following Jesus (Luke 9:51-62). In this section, Jesus sets the perfect example of carrying His cross and suffering, and then calling His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him, even when obedience is costly.
Please read Luke 9:51-62, and discuss:
Did God speak to you about anything specifically from Sunday’s message?
How do verses 51-56 teach about Jesus’ suffering?
Read verses 57-61 and discuss: What are the various ways in which following Jesus may be costly? And, secondly, what experiences do you have of carrying your cross for Jesus?
What is the principle and application taught in verse 62?
SIV - How might seeking to share our story and the message of Jesus be costly to us?
SIV - Why will living a wholehearted life for Christ, as outlined in this text, make us effective as witnesses to the gospel?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
Let’s pray together that, this week, we will have opportunities to SIV; and pray for anything else that’s come out of our time in God’s Word.