Reflection from my reading in Matt 8:18-34 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

Comfort 

^“And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  Matthew 8:19–20 

Comfort is an idol for many people, especially in western society. Everything is easy, fast, and convenient. The problem with our passion for comfort is that we make it a higher priority than Jesus did. Jesus warned the religious teacher that He didn’t have the comfort of a permeant home. The bottom line is…

 If we are going to follow Jesus, we must to be willing to be uncomfortable. 

Having comfort is a blessing. I love sitting in my reclining coach, but sometimes if I sit too long it is hard for me to get up. The same is true of our lives. If we make comfort too high of a priority then we will not be willing to fully obey what Jesus is telling us to do.

 Now, not everyone is called to be nomadic like Jesus or go live in a hut in Africa, but we all are called to be willing to do whatever God is leading us to.

The crazy thing is that often the most fruit comes when we embrace the least comfortable situations. People in sales know that the uncomfortable moment of asking for the sale is the most fruitful. Often when God gets us out of our comfort zone is when we see Him use us most and we feel most alive!

Family First or Jesus First?

 ^“Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”  Matthew 8:21–22 

“Family first” is a popular phrase. But even family can become an idol if it is put in front of God. Don’t get me wrong, I think family should be the number one priority after God, but if you put your family before your relationship with God it creates all kinds of problems.

I believe many people who are called to be missionaries don’t go for this reason. I have seen first hand the pressures parents often put on students whom I have ministered who have decided to go on mission trips or even decide to be missionaries full time. Putting family before Jesus will actually hurt them in the long run. Here’s the truth,

 The best thing you can do for your family is to lead them to follow Jesus above all! 

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