IT'S NOT EASY=(TO BE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST)

IT'S NOT EASY (TO BE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST) It wasn't easy To be a follower of Christ Two thousand years ago In fact It could cost you Your very life And often did TODAY-unless we are In a foreign land It is not likely to cost us Our life Yet it can cost us- You and me-a great deal “Peter began to say to Jesus, 'We have given up everything And followed you'” Mark 10:28 Today-it is MORE likely To cost in terms Of our finances Or the TIME we devote To our ministry But what about The less tangible ways WHAT are the costs Well we Shouldn't be judging others And we shouldn't be gossiping About our neighbor And we shouldn't be OVERLY CRITICAL Of others or ourselves And we shouldn't be RETURNING Harsh words or hatred to others WHEN they have mistreated us So there are COSTS To carrying the cross Just as there were great costs To Jesus and his disciples “The BEGINNING of wisdom Is this: GET WISDOM Though it cost ALL you have- GET UNDERSTANDING” Proverbs 4:7 IT'S NOT EASY To be a FOLLOWER of Christ “Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'WHOEVER wants to be My disciple MUST deny themselves And TAKE UP the cross And follow me For whoever wants To SAVE their life Will lose it And whoever loses their life For me WILL FIND IT” Matthew 16:24-25 I found myself I found MY LIFE I found my PURPOSE For living In being a FOLLOWER of Christ No-it has not been easy It is a CONSTANT CHALLENGE To KEEP God and Christ Number ONE in your life It's hard To be a follower of Christ And we are NEVER going to be perfect at it Maybe-not even good at it But every day- WE get a NEW OPPORTUNITY A fresh opportunity To be strengthened By OUR FAITH And by God's and Christ's GRACE And by our community To GROW CLOSER to God Dear Lord-the REWARDS Of your LOVE AND GRACE Are worth the COST In Jesus' name Robert P. Wallman 5-24-16 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Melanie Rigney