Are You a Fan or a Follower?

(6^th in a series on Lent)

Luke 9:18-27

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%209%3A18-27&version=NIV;MSG

 

 

I’ve lived in Columbus, Ohio for over thirty years, and it still amazes me how fanatic Buckeye fans are. If you’re a good Buckeye fan, then you will have at least one championship shirt and/or hat from 2015. You can tell what someone believes by their actions, their words and in what they invest their time, talent and treasure.

 

¹⁸ One time when Jesus was off praying by himself, his disciples nearby, he asked them, “What are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?” ¹⁹ They said, “John the Baptizer. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back.” ^20-21 He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?” Peter answered,

“The Messiah of God.”             MSG

 

Peter responded with the correct answer, but the real question is, “So what difference does that make in your life”? Remember, the disciples were still under the misdirected belief that the Messiah would bring political power to the Jews. Even though Jesus point blank told them he must die, they didn’t get it.

 

Jesus follows his question above with some instruction on what exactly it will mean for the disciples to believe that he is “the Messiah of God”. He told them, and us, that there is a price to follow Jesus; to believe in him; to call him Lord and Savior.

 

^23-25 Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it… Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?    MSG

 

I used to have a neighbor that had season football tickets for the Buckeyes. Every Sunday morning, following a game, he would be in his driveway talking on the phone, dissecting every play and referee call.

 

As mentioned in the first paragraph, if you’re a good Buckeye fan, people can tell. They can tell by the clothes you wear; by what you talk about; by how you spend your time and money; by what you do for entertainment. People can tell.

 

During this Lenten season, as we draw closer to the celebration of Easter, how do you answer the question of who Jesus is? Are you just a fan or a devoted follower? People can tell.

 

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this devotional, please feel free to share it with others.)

http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

What Team Do You Follow?

1 John 4:16-21

 

 

Is it the Buckeyes, the Browns, the Bengals or maybe the Steelers? Football fans come in all sizes and shapes and wear their team’s colors to show it. They invest their hard earned money and their limited time to watch and cheer for their team. They might even put a decal on their car to proclaim their loyalty, or maybe a flag in their front yard. Whatever the case, you can tell from their actions what team they follow. That’s what John is talking about in these verses.

 

“If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.” 1 John 4:20-21 The Message

 

John wrote a lot about loving God and loving others. Because of this, you might picture him as an all-around nice guy. After all, he was an apostle of Jesus and was referred to as “the disciple who Jesus loved”. He was with Jesus during the most important occasions like the Mount of Transfiguration and the Garden of Gethsemane. But there was another side to John.

 

When Jesus called John and his brother James to follow him, he referred to them as the “Sons of Thunder”. It wasn’t because they were meek and mild. John was a fisherman. He worked in the family business with his hands. He was an action kind of guy who sometimes spoke without thinking.

 

On one occasion the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest. Shortly after this, James and John asked Jesus if they could be at his right and his left when he came to power. They even solicited their mother to lobby for them. Another time, they wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy a Samaritan village. From these examples, it is hard to tell just who John is following.

 

From the time when John was a “rough around the edges fisherman”, to arguing about being the greatest, to wanting to call down fire on others; he changed. Jesus changed John so that his greatest weakness became his greatest strength. I hope and pray that Jesus does the same for me and for you so that others can tell what team we follow.