Follow or Forsake?

Mat 9:9 And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax-office. And He said to him, Follow Me! And he arose and followed Him.

Emmaus

He told me forsake all,
And I looked at them and that
Them and that I had to leave,
And it pained my heart
And wrecked my nerves,
In my head I knew it all
A fool I was to hold on,
That which I could not keep;
Even the camel seemed to find
The eye of the needle broad and wide.

"O this yoke too hard to bear?
Weak and heavy-laden?
Come, learn from Me
Stop your striving
My yoke is easy."
His voice I heard.

Yes, His voice I hear,
His love I see,
He who is risen
Is the One who calls thee;
It is He who says
"Follow me".

And I set my eyes on HIM
And I followed HIM
Set my eyes on HIM
His steady pace
His gentle gaze
His sweet words
My heart set ablaze.

And I turned to see
Them and that
Which pained my heart
And wrecked my nerves
And made a fool of me,
But I saw none
Nobody, nothing.

"Yes My yoke is easy
And My burden light;
You left them standing
As you followed Me."

Heb 12:1-3 Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be weary and faint in your minds.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

Luk 14:33 So then, everyone of you who does not forsake all his possessions, he cannot be My disciple.
Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

Absolute abandonment

All what I had I gave to HIM
What I am and what I had
What He had made
And what He had given
All to HIM, I gave it all.

And then He gave it back
What I had given to HIM
Gave it back
What was on the altar laid.

Gave me back my family,
Children, wife and parents,
Relatives, kith and kin,
Colleagues, friends and neighbours,
The brethren, God's own.

Gave me back a roof above,
Gave me back a bed to sleep,
Gave me food to eat,
And a job to pay my bills.

Gave me back every gift
Every talent and skill
Gave me back my name
Gave me back a life to live.

Gave me back everything
More than what I had given
Gave me back in Christ
Every Spiritual blessing.

And by His grace
I saw through the test
"Nay my lord, nay", I said
"These hands at Your feet emptied
These hands on the plough I have laid
These hands I will not take back
Take back what was on the altar laid."

"Am I your Master?
Your Lord and Saviour?
Am I the One you will question?
Am I not your Redeemer?
The One who bought you with a price,
Not of corruptible things?
Am I not the King of kings?
The Lord of lords?
The One who holds the keys?
The One who measures the universe
With the span of His fingers?
Who holds the waters
In the hollow of His palm?
Speak and be not silent ...
Am I not the Alpha and the Omega?"

"My Lord and Master
You are all these and more
Whatever You give I will gladly receive
For only good things come from Thee;
My Redeemer and King
Whatever You want You can ask of me
You have bought me and I am not my own;
My God and My Creator
For Your good pleasure
Do with me as You please
For I am Yours and You are mine.

And then my eyes were opened
Then in complete abandonment I saw
He had set me free
The Son has set me free.
Lord whatever You give, I will receive
You are my Master
And I Your steward be,
I Your steward be.


2Ti 1:12 For this cause I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard My deposit unto that Day.
Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he was afterward going to receive for an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he went.
Heb 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac your Seed shall be called, concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from where he even received him, in a figure.

In Him ... from within

Eph 1:7-14 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and understanding; having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, for an administration of the fullness of times, to head up all things in Christ, both the things in Heaven, and the things on earth, even in Him, in whom also we have been chosen to an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will, for us to be to the praise of His glory, who previously had trusted in Christ; in whom also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel of our salvation, in whom also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our inheritance, to the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

From within

When attacked by a besetting sin,
By His all sufficient grace,
When I resist, when I overcome,
I see a joy flooding my heart
And am quick to realize
That whole of heaven rejoices with me
And what I feel is the same joy
The joy that fills heaven
Rushing forth from within me.

Yes when in my hour of need
When I cry out to the Lord
True to His word
He saves me by His grace
True to His word
He answers my prayers
That my joy be made complete
The joy that fills His heart
Overflowing from within me.

Yes I remember that day
When I was lost in my sins
Abounding in transgressions
Hopeless as can be
I had met His unconditional love
As I saw Him bear my guilt and shame
Saw Him die for me
And as the burden was lifted
There came great peace and joy
Bubbling out from within me.

O' the Joy that I have
O' the peace that I have
I thought it was mine own,
When Jesus had come along;
But I see it is not so,
It is His Joy, His peace
His Kingdom within
Like rivers of living water
Flowing out from within me.

Joh 15:11 I have spoken these things to you so that My joy might remain in you and your joy might be full.
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Joh 17:13 And now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world that they might have My joy fulfilled in them.

Mat 23:25-28 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and excess. Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

In these times - Father glorify Your name

Mat 6: 24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Father glorify Your Name

They came back
as if from a trance,
they had seen
their immediate future
their present realities
and both didn't measure up.
In logical speculation
and acute reasoning
in all practicality
to move on was suicide.
But yet one on one
they seemed to be so full of faith
so full of hope and courage
they nodded in unison
that God is in control
that God loves us
that we need have no worry
we who seek His kingdom
the righteousness that is from Him;
but let us be practical,
and they shelved God to their minds
while other things occupied their heart.

But there were a few
Who thought otherwise
Who had found a yardstick
Hidden in the scriptures,
All they had to do was
Measure their thoughts
Anxieties clothed as 'concerns'
With the heathen world around
And if they too are bothered by the same
Then hear the Master's voice say
"these things the heathen worry about."
These were those who had found the secret
Not in accurate doctrinal logic
But in practical reality
Of walking with God daily.
Yes they have found Him
of whom it was written
Emmanuel - God with us.

Yes these few
Are weak and frail
They want to but cannot
Weak and heavy laden
At the end of their striving
They come to their Lord and Saviour
In honest confession
They say, "all things are possible with You,
Help us Lord we pray
Teach us how to rejoice continually
Teach us to pray without ceasing
Teach us to live this life
As You have told us,
To be at rest as You were,
Teach us to walk
As You had walked."

And lo behold I see
A salvation supernatural
Not in the grasp of men
A salvation impossible
Being wrought in me
That all who see are bound to ask
"Is this possible, to live like this."
"Yes, yes it is
This is the good news we preach,
We can live in utter abandonment
In the shadow of the Almighty,
For He who is in us
Is greater than who is in the world,
Nothing is allowed
unless my Father allows it,
My Father loves me
And all He allows is for my very best;
Shall I say no, shall I say take this away,
O' yes, every cell in me wants to say so!
But this salvation
Christ in me the hope of glory
This is the good news
The life He lived, He came to give
This is eternal life, His life
His life in me to live,
That with great rejoicing
By God working in me
both to will and to do
I too can say, as Jesus said
Nay, nay, Father glorify Your name."

1 Pet 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Num 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and possess it. For we are well able to overcome it.