Most Righteous Lord, You have said that not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter Your Kingdom … only those who do the will of the Father. His will was for me to accept You as my Lord and Savior. By these words, You have both made it clear that You do not want “spectators” or “token worshipers” in Your Kingdom, but willing doers. If I maintain a distance from You or hesitate to come in all the way, I cannot be called a disciple. A true disciple leaves the sideline and gets into the action. I must be willing to entwine my life with Yours … with both of us getting to know each other better. I become a true disciple when I make the decision to immerse myself in You. There is a “theoretical” risk, on my part, in making myself vulnerable to You … but what real risk is there in Your love? With You standing with me, I am given the power to overcome and no barrier erected against me can stop me.
An important question I must come to grips with is … how does my religious life connect with my daily life? The Bible says that when I give myself to You my old earthly ways pass away and they are replaced by a new desire to emulate You. I must continue to ask myself if my old ways are disappearing and new ways are overtaking them. A life submitted to You becomes filled with joy, hope, a desire to get outside of myself, a will to do things the way You did them and a hunger and thirst for righteous living. I must question whether my attendance at church is a duty/obligation or a willful opportunity to worship You, share in Your body and blood and join in fellowship with other believers. Do I possess a deep yearning to serve You and others? Have I sought You to determine what is the “race” You’ve appointed for me to run? Help me look within to find out the meaning You have for my life.
The Bible tells me that You and Your Word are One. You have said that if I listen to the words You speak and act on them … I will be a wise man who builds his house on rock. I can’t believe chunks of it and discard others because, when I build my house on the pieces, they will shift and my house will fall down. As a disciple, I must believe Your Word in its entirety. Your Word is alive and speaks truth on which I am to base my life. While things in the world change, Your Word is timeless and unchanging. The story of Your passion, the prodigal son, the Good Samaritan and the sower of seeds are no less relevant today than when they were written. Your words produce life, are a steady compass pointing the way, become a source of peace and comfort and provide a solid foundation. A true disciple clings to every word You speak and puts them to work in their life. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the ones who do the will of the Father in Heaven.”