As I write this devo, on the 13th, tomorrow being the 14th, it will be 15 years to the day, that I surrendered my life to the Lord. I had been fighting a raging battle. A battle between the life I wanted to live, or listen to the loving and kind advice from a friend who was unrelentingly pursuing me with the Gospel. Some of my closest friends were atheists, I enjoyed the rebellious felling of making illegal choices and being sneaky with them so our parents wouldn’t catch us—such is the story of many pastors kids….but I wanted nothing to do with Jesus at that point, I didn’t care what my father preached on Sunday morning, I did my duty in showing up to look the part, sang the songs, and quietly and respectfully listening to my father, but truly didn’t listen. I was present, but my heart and mind weren’t…. until God put a dude in my path. I had seen him around school, always looked cocky, walked like he had a chip on his shoulder, typical of the soccer players…. we found ourselves participating in the same popular spring activity in my school, and I am not joking when I say this, the spring musical. To this day, I don’t know how we became friends, but all I know is that it was God. He heard that I wanted nothing to do with Jesus, and from that moment he never gave up on me. His entire family took me in, they poured in my life unlike anything I had ever experienced. They answered my questions, invited me to their church, Mayfair Bible Church, and God opened my eyes to what it looked like to follow him. Then, on March 13th, 2010, Justus, my friend, asked me the question— “What is the hold up? Either you are going to decide to make the choice or not, you have to make the choice.” That night, at 1am, as I laid in my bed, I decided to follow Jesus—No turning back.
Well, why do I tell you a very spark noted version of my salvation story? Because, that decision cost me friendships, that decision caused me to cut off doing the things I thought were fun, that decision changed EVERYTHING, and you know what, that decision was 100% WORTH IT TO WALK AWAY. What I gained, was worth the loss. Now I am no prophet, and my friend Justus isn’t one either…. but for illustration’s sake, this loosely reminds me of our scripture verse in 1 Kings 2:19-21. Elijah was to go and anoint this man that he didn’t know, Eisha, to be his successor as God’s next prophet….and Elisha, decided to give up his livelihood, by killing his oxen, burned up his plowing equipment, cooked the oxen and ate it with all the people, and then followed Elijah….and the rest as they say is history.
Elisha, fully committed, he made the decision, he gave up everything and followed, and it was 100% WORTH IT TO WALK AWAY. What he gained, was worth the loss. I think every single person, who has ever accepted the call of God, and fully surrendered to him, will all agree—that what they gained, was worth the loss, and that choosing to follow God was worth it ALL. If you don’t know Christ as your Savior, I pray that this day would be your day for salvation…if you have questions, and you aren’t quite there yet to fully commit, seek out someone on staff—we would love to talk with and pray for you. If you are already a follower, then my prayer is that you remember your own salvation story, share it with someone, and that you praise God for where he has brought you from. God is so good, and so incredibly worth it!
Well, why do I tell you a very spark noted version of my salvation story? Because, that decision cost me friendships, that decision caused me to cut off doing the things I thought were fun, that decision changed EVERYTHING, and you know what, that decision was 100% WORTH IT TO WALK AWAY. What I gained, was worth the loss. Now I am no prophet, and my friend Justus isn’t one either…. but for illustration’s sake, this loosely reminds me of our scripture verse in 1 Kings 2:19-21. Elijah was to go and anoint this man that he didn’t know, Eisha, to be his successor as God’s next prophet….and Elisha, decided to give up his livelihood, by killing his oxen, burned up his plowing equipment, cooked the oxen and ate it with all the people, and then followed Elijah….and the rest as they say is history.
Elisha, fully committed, he made the decision, he gave up everything and followed, and it was 100% WORTH IT TO WALK AWAY. What he gained, was worth the loss. I think every single person, who has ever accepted the call of God, and fully surrendered to him, will all agree—that what they gained, was worth the loss, and that choosing to follow God was worth it ALL. If you don’t know Christ as your Savior, I pray that this day would be your day for salvation…if you have questions, and you aren’t quite there yet to fully commit, seek out someone on staff—we would love to talk with and pray for you. If you are already a follower, then my prayer is that you remember your own salvation story, share it with someone, and that you praise God for where he has brought you from. God is so good, and so incredibly worth it!