Wednesday - Follow Me Means Complete Obedience

Luke 9:23-24: "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."

The third thing Jesus asks in Luke 9:23 is simply this: follow me. In the Greek, that phrase is one word, akoloutheō, and it's written in the present tense: continuous, ongoing action. It doesn't mean "follow Me for a while." It means keep on following.

Think about following someone through traffic. You don't pull in behind them at a light and then wander off ten minutes later; the moment you stop following, you're lost. It's the same with Jesus. Salvation happens in a moment, but following happens every day. It's not a decision you made once; it's a direction you keep choosing.

So the question isn't "Did you follow Jesus?" The question is "Do you follow Jesus? Are you following Him today, right now?" Not just on Sundays. Not just when it's easy. Every day, every moment.

Takeaway: Following Jesus isn't a decision you made once; it's a direction you have to keep choosing, today and every day after it.