Separation of Church?

What a very powerful Word of Life Quiet Time this morning on Luke 14:25-35. What does it mean to do what Jesus is calling us to do when he says, "If a man come to me, & hate not his father or mother, & wife, & children, & brethren, & sisters, yea, & his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Well, the more I think about it, it means commitment. I think it means sacrifice.

For some reason, the words of my Grandma keep coming to mind, something like, if the church doors were open you should be there. And I know that she & Grandpa believed it because their actions showed it. For instance, I remember how they would drive all around town & pick kids up & drive them to church. As an adult I now realize what an inconvenience that must have been. Having loud, messy, destructive kids in their very, nice, cars. But I don't think any of the inconvenience mattered to them more than the Gospel of Christ.

I also remember spending days, I mean DAYS, walking around town, door to door, handing out flyers & tracts to invite people to the revival we were going to have at church. Now how much time do church members nowadays spend doing that? We are too busy to take the time out if our lifes. We always think that's the Pastors job. But last time I checked the Great Commission was to ALL of us, it didn't just say, Go ye...preachers.

I'm also thinking about a man that is with LORD now who I was blessed to attend church with for some years. He was a farmer, & he LOVED the LORD, & he took the Great Commission very seriously. He wasn't the preacher or the missionary, he was a farmer. Yet he studied the Bible enough to teach it better than most preachers. He would give above & beyond to help missionaries, I guess he understood that a missionary can't share the Gospel far away if someone doesn't send them. He was constantly making sure I got donations for our youth programs. There are kids who will open up their Bible & do a Quiet Time today because Bro Beard paid for it. He's in his reward in Heaven but still the things he did for Christ are having results here on earth. He was always handing out tracts, I know because he would run out & tell me to buy more. Can you imagine how many people will spend eternity in Heaven & will be able to say to him, "Thank you, for giving to the LORD."?! And why did he do all these things, I remember he told me once, "Always be about the Great Commission".

Maybe that's how forsake all & follow Christ. It becomes the foremost thought in your mind, & more important than anything else in your life. How does that happen? I think you have to REALLY believe & if you really believe you obey His command. What do you think it means?

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