After the two days he left for Galilee. Now, Jesus knew well from experience that a prophet is not respected in the place where he grew up. So when he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, but only because they were impressed with what he had done in Jerusalem during the Passover Feast, not that they really had a clue about who he was or what he was up to. (The Message)

‘”Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus, you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life.” John Ortberg

There can be an interest in/fascination with/even excitement about Jesus. But this is not to be confused with genuine discipleship.

Kyle Idleman wrote a book entitled ‘Not a fan’. This is a summary of his book from Tyler Devries:

‘Fans are enthusiastic admirers, but never in the game.

My concern is that many of our churches in America have gone from being sanctuaries to becoming stadiums.

The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.

Fans are happy to follow Jesus as long as that doesn’t require any significant changes or have negative implications.

Fans want Jesus to inspire them, but Jesus wants to interfere with their lives.

Fans often confuse their admiration for devotion. They mistake their knowledge of Jesus for intimacy with Jesus. Fans assume their good intentions make up for their apathetic faith.’

“Discipleship is a daily discipline; we follow Jesus a step at a time, a day at a time” ~ Warren W. Wiersbe

PRAYER: Lord help me to do just that, to follow you a step at a time, a day at a time – to orientate my whole life around you. Jesus be the centre.