GALATIANS 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

THEME OF THE DAY. YOU MUST BE ALL IN. Let’s begin this nugget with what may seem to be a ridiculous question to ask any Christian. Here it is – “Do we want to be mightily used by the Lord to influence people for Him while drawing closer and closer to Him in sweet soul-satisfying and world-weaning spiritual fellowship?” The answer from all of us would be “Absolutely.” Now a follow-on ridiculous question with only one word – “Really?” And again, we would answer, “Absolutely.” And now enter the words of Jesus who is about to tell us what it will take to experience both being used by Him and getting close to Him, but before we get face-to-face with the Lord on this issue, I must issue a warning to each of us. What Jesus is about to say is hard, piercing to the heart, requires real soul-searching, cannot be lightly dismissed, is not easily obtained, will radically change our lives, and the bar our Lord establishes will never be lowered. We either meet it or go away with a lesser Christian experience of influence and joy He desires and has provided. And now the Words of Jesus telling us clearly what is required to be His disciple . . .

“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:25-33).

Our Lord is basically telling us “Those who want to follow me must be all in with Me. There can be no human relationship, even the most dear, that is held in higher esteem and affection than your relationship with Me. There can be no refusal to identify with Me in suffering for My Name and Gospel. There can be no material thing or personal ambition replacing Me as your chief aim and pursuit in this world.”.

We may gleam this spiritual principle from our Lord Jesus; becoming a Christian is not allowing or making Jesus a part of life. He becomes one’s life; directs one’s life; and is one’s all in all in life. When we become His children, we are ‘bought property’ to be totally surrendered in our wills, desires, aspirations, and everything else in our lives to His good pleasure and purposes. How we respond to this call to Lordship determines not only our effectiveness for Him, but our joy in Him. The joy of the Lord, in all its glorious freedom and pleasure, will only be known and experienced to its fullest extent to those bowing their knees and laying their entire lives at His feet for His use and direction; a laying down with no conditions, limits, or self-willed restrictions.

So, do we want to be used mightily by the Lord? Do we want to enjoy the Lord? When we say, “Absolutely”, let’s make sure our lives reflect a daily living under His complete Lordship or “being all in” with Him.

PRAYER: “Father, help me strive daily to meet the requirements Your Son states in order to be His disciple.”

QUOTE: “Following Jesus Christ is an ‘all-in’ experience. We don’t give part of our lives to Him but all.”