Who are you following?
Quiet your heart for a moment and think on that question. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:21:
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Maybe it’s not a “who” but a “what.” It could be the way you are living… You follow what you believe because following is an action.
Who are you following?
The Bible talks about “Disciples” a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. In the ancient Biblical world a disciple actively imitated both the life and teaching of a master (or teacher).
WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?
You follow what you believe. WHAT ARE YOU BELIEVING?
I’ve been thinking more about 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 that states:
“So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” Believers in Christ (or followers) should focus on pleasing the Lord, realizing that there is no eternal value in the things of the world.
So I ask again, WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?
This is a rhetorical question, one that you only need to answer for yourself. Whenever I make a decision about my life, I pray about it. I have given my life to Christ, hence my life is not my own. I have learned that I am not GOOD at leading myself (when I do this, I often make poor decisions), I turn and ask the One who I am following which way should I go. I look to Him for wisdom, guidance and direction because I AM FOLLOWING AFTER HIS GOOD AND PERFECT WILL FOR MY LIFE.
WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?
God wants us to follow Him. To seek Him. To inquire and turn to Him. It is His pleasure to direct you after all – “He IS the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (John 14:6)
The other question you need to ask yourself, if you are “following someone” you are headed somewhere. WHERE ARE YOU HEADED?
Every day we are surrounded by the noise of this world. Everyone has an opinion, everyone has a viewpoint. You can’t say ANYTHING without offending someone. But really, we should be more concerned about offending God and less about offending people. The Bible says in Matthew 10:28:
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell.”
WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?
The Son of God followed the will of His Father ALL the way up to the cross. FOR YOU. In fact He said in John 6:38-39:
“For I have come down from Heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but will raise them up at the last day.”
JESUS WAS FOLLOWING THE WILL OF THE FATHER.
He walked in it, He talked about it, He led others to it. He lived by it. The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
‘The important thing is determining WHO you are going to listen to. WHO you are going to follow and know WHAT it is you are following. Life is fleeting, the decisions you make determine what it is that you are leaving behind. When your life is over, what will you have left or done? What lasting affect would have been made by your having been here? There should be more than just a dash symbol between your date of birth and death. God created you for a purpose. Will you have fulfilled that purpose or even know what that purpose was? Will you just have “existed”? God has SO MUCH more for you. There are things He has for you to do that He had in mind for YOU TO DO. You are so special. You have gifts and talents and abilities that He created you when He formed you in your mother’s womb that He had plans for YOU TO FOLLOW. But the only way you can know what those plans are is IF YOU SEEK HIM. IF YOU FOLLOW HIM. IF YOU HEAR HIM. IF YOU LISTEN. IF YOU ASK HIM. IF YOU TRUST HIM. IF YOU BELIEVE HIM. IF YOU CHOOSE HIM…
In choosing Him you are deciding to follow Him. Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior is a PERSONAL DECISION that one makes. Knowing the reasoning behind it aids in making the decision of the WHY you are doing it. It is the MOST IMPORTANT decision you will make should you decide to make it. Should you decide NOT to make it, it will STILL be the most important decision because quite frankly it determines where you will spend eternity.
Jesus had crowds that followed Him everywhere He went. That is not just for the Biblical times, they are for the NOW times too.
So I ask you to think again – WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?
Are you following logic? Are you following politics? Are you following traditions? Or something else? And WHERE IS WHAT YOU ARE FOLLOWING TAKING YOU? Where are you headed? Where are you going? Do you even know? Maybe this is the first time you have ever really thought about it. You just went along with the tide (so to speak).
Jesus is calling you. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.” (Revelations 3:20)
Choosing to follow Jesus is the BEST and most important decision you can make in your life. I pray that you seriously consider WHO it is you are following. WHAT you are following and WHERE it is leading you because the answer defines your destiny. Choose wisely, choose well. And lastly, if you are uncertain pray about it.
“Father, I am surrounded by voices. I ask for forgiveness for the times when I haven’t followed Your voice. I want to hear Yours; please open up my ears to hear, my heart to receive what it is You are saying to me. Help me to have clarity of mind and to hear what it is You would say to me and to have wisdom enough to understand it. How I live, what I choose to listen to and what I follow represents my faith. Represents who I choose to be in You. I choose to follow You. Please bless me with understanding and guide me every step of the way. I know YOU are the Way, the Truth and the Life. I choose to follow YOU in the steps You have ordained for my life. Thank You Father for leading me. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. AMEN”