Follow

Luke 9:23
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

Follow Him?
Follow Him where?
Kind of an open ended invitation don't you think?
Follow Him to church?
Follow Him to Sunday School?
No..
Follow Him into life.
A new life.
A new way of seeing, moving through and interacting with the daily grind, so to speak.
He is going to teach us how to live life on heavens economy rather than on the barter system used here in this fallen world.
Sounds scary doesn't it?
Well, it can be. It can be scary to turn loose of all that you ever known to embrace something new.
If all you've ever known is the pain and darkness of addiction, then the uncertainty of the future is a powerful force upon the human mind and will. Turning loose is a terrifying thought. We tell ourselves that we don't want to loose control of our lives (Like we were controlling anything). We had become so blind that our addiction was playing us like a one-eyed monkey with a ten-cent balloon. 

You see, this following of Jesus is stepping into a kind of Spirit-school. How would you like it if you went to a school where you were the only student? No one else, just you and the teacher. And you know what teacher's do when they teach....they ask questions. I always did my best to hide when the teacher asked questions or called some to the blackboard to work out a math problem. Imagine what it would be like if you were the only student. Now imagine that you have found another group of people who suffered from the same thing you did, who also had found this call to follow Jesus. You became a part of the group and together you all were being taught. That is the beauty of answering Jesus' call to follow Him. He will lead you to a community of like minded people where you can draw encouragement and strength. 

I know that these things I post here at the Greene Street Letters seem bizarre.
Talk about a force or Power greater than ourselves who could restore us from a life of insanity. Not insane-crazy, but insane-bad decision making. But the only thing I have to measure this Jesus by is what has happened to me since I took up the call to follow Him.
The changes that have occurred in my own life. The people He has connected me with, and the faithfulness of One who is greater than me. I read His book and I see the promises He has laid out. Promises to give me a future, even at age 63 and 3/4's years old....A FUTURE!!! He isn't finished with me, and I certainly am not finished with Him. 
Hang in there and don't listen to that old voice that whispers to you with all the old promises of making you feel better if you come back to your old ways.
Lies....
All lies....
Hear the call to follow spoken by the only one who can bring real life to you...
Then do it...
Follow!

God on you...
mb