Required Response

Who's Following Who

"Most people in most churches think they are following Jesus, but I'm not so sure. they may think they are following Jesus, but the reality is this: they have invited Jesus to follow them. They call Him Savior, but they have never surrendered to Him as Lord. And I was one of them. trust me, I didn't want to go anywhere without Jesus right there behind me. But I wanted Jesus to follow me, to serve my purposes, to do my will."

-Mark Batterson, All In: You Are One Decision Away From A Totally Different Life, page 16 (Italics in the original)

All In and All Out

"The word consecrate means to set yourself apart. By definition, consecration demands full devotion. It's dethroning yourself and enthroning Jesus Christ. It's the complete divestiture of all self interest. It's giving God veto power. It's surrendering all of you to all of Him. It's a simple recognition that every second of time, every ounce of energy, and every penny of money is a gift from God and for God. Consecration is an ever-deepening love for Jesus, a childlike trust in the heavenly Father, and a blind obedience to the Holy Spirit. Consecration is all that and a thousand things more. But for the sake of simplicity, let me give you my personal definition of consecration.

Consecration is going all in and all out for the All in All."

-Mark Batterson, All In: You Are One Decision Away From A Totally Different Life, page 19 (Italics in the original)

Remembering Keith Green

Christian singer/songwriter Keith Green died 29 years ago today. Oh, I so remember that tragedy - and also the huge effect his words and example had on so many. Here's a one hour documentary movie about his life and legacy.

Hat Tip: Keith Green – Justin Taylor

$100, One Penny at a Time

"Most of us think of dying to ourselves as this one big moment where we hand over our 100-dollar bill.  I don't want to take away from that moment. That moment of salvation is the most important moment of your life.  But to see following Jesus as a one-time decision is like saying after your wedding, 'Now that we are married, it's back to life as usual.' There is more to being a husband or wife than a wedding ceremony. Instead of thinking of our lives as a 100-dollar bill that we give to God and that's the end of it, we give our 100-dollar bill to God and he accepts it but says, 'This is mine, but I want you to cash it in for pennies and give one penny back to me each day.' It's a daily death."

- Kyle Idlemann, Not a Fan, pages 168-169

(Anybody figured out yet that I recommend this book?!)

A Call to Be CompletelyCommitted Followers

Kyle Idleman at Not A Fan