Cost of Discipleship Pt 46 Peacemakers

Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes

Mat_5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Bonhoeffer- 'The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. His kingdom is one of peace, and the mutual greeting of his flock is a greeting of peace. His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce all self-assertion, and quietly suffer in the face of hatred and wrong. In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate. But nowhere will that peace be more manifest than were they meet the wicked in peace and ready to suffer at their hands. The peacemakers will carry the cross with their Lord, for it was on the cross that peace was made. Now that they are partners in Christ's work of reconciliation they are called the sons of God as he is the Son of God.'

1Jn_3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

My thoughts-

Peacemakers.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Php 2:16  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation we live.  No one can truly dispute this fact. And being in the midst of it we will truly stand our as LIGHTS in the world if we are NOT a part of the crookedness, the perverseness.  How easy it is to laugh at the crude joke, to smile at the perverted words that so many today call normal and good. How incredibly easy it is to fit in with the world by sacrificing truth and accepting evil for good.  To be a peacemaker truly means being wholly Christ's and while the world, perverted as it is, immerses itself ever deeper into the vile mire of evil, it means NOT being a part of anything that would destroy the peace of Christ, His truth!

Remember this--

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

And this--

Joh_16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Christ's PEACE is left with US.

In the world we will have TRIBULATION- but we are to BE OF GOOD CHEER because Christ has overcome the world!

This is the peace we have.

Christ said this--

Mat_10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

That sword is HIS WORD!

Eph_6:17  ...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Our Savior, the Word, truth!

Our Savior did not come to bring peace on earth- HIS WORDS, NOT MINE!

Our Savior came to bring the TRUTH on earth!

Our Savior came to bring HIS PEACE, the peace found ONLY IN HIM and NOT in the world!

Blessed are the peacemakers-  those who understand that peacemaking is living in CHRIST wholly trusting in Him and all His ways, and not our own!

Yes, in the face of adversity we are to be strong IN CHRIST. We are not to render evil unto evil! We have been taught this is the way it is, that it's only fair for us to stand up for ourselves even being mean and nasty while we do so, because we are only giving it to someone who deserves it. The truth says otherwise! The truth says we must be PEACEMAKERS even if that means TRULY turning the other cheek so it can be slapped, and turning it again to be slapped, and again, and again, letting vile people continue their evil without us being evil in return but rather PEACEFUL IN CHRIST as CHRIST would have us be, not as we want, not as our evil flesh nature wants, but as CHRIST would have us be in the Spirit with HIM.

This is harder than you can imagine.

In our every day lives there comes constant little nit picking nastiness that we are so incredibly used to that we don't even realize that we are being far from peacemakers but giving evil for evil, not even attempting to turn a cheek for another slap but raising our arms to give a few slaps of our own.  We do this! We are GUILTY! We don't want to admit our guilt but it's there! We want to excuse our guilt!  But there is NO excuse for our GUILT! NO EXCUSE!  We must ask for forgiveness recognizing the sin in our lives in the smallest of ways, not try to excuse it away, but seek forgiveness for every single cocky, contrary, bickering, biting, word we speak and try to justify under the world's standard of justification.

We need to be PEACEMAKERS, Christ's disciples!

All by HIS GRACE, MERCY, HIS LOVE!

Save us!

Cost of Discipleship Pt 45 Pure heart

Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes

Mat_5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Bonhoeffer- 'Who is pure in heart? Only those who have surrendered their hearts completely to Jesus that he may reign in them alone. Only those whose hearts are undefiled by their own evil-- and by their own virtues too. The pure in heart have a child-like simplicity like Adam before the fall, innocent alike of good and evil: their hearts are not ruled by their conscience, but by the will of Jesus. If men renounce their own good, if in penitence they have renounced their own hearts, if they rely solely upon Jesus, then his word purifies their hearts. Purity of heart is here contrasted with all outward purity, even the purity of high intentions. The pure heart is pure alike of good and evil, it belongs exclusively to Christ and looks only to him who goes on before. Only they will see God, who in this life have looked solely unto Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For then their hearts are free from all defiling phantasies and are not distracted by conflicting desires and intentions. They are wholly absorbed by the contemplation of God. They shall see God, whose hearts have become a reflection of the image of Jesus Christ.'

My thoughts-

We can't see our hearts, people can't see our hearts, our inner workings, are innermost thoughts and beliefs.  All too often you'll hear tell how shocked people are, when people they know commit crimes. They think they know the people but they really don't. We don't know the heart. But we do know that God can create a clean heart in us.

Psa_51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

If we want a pure heart there is only ONE way to have a pure heart- by God creating it in us.

We cannot create our own pure heart, it's impossible.

Bonhoeffer saying this- 'Only those whose hearts are undefiled by their own evil and by their own virtues too.' 

Undefiled by our own evil.  We understand that. We know that we are not to be evil. But is it true, can our hearts be defiled by our own virtues, too? Our hearts can be puffed up with vanity, we can be ruined by well doing when we turn it into something for ourselves and not of God.

Our hearts are tricky things aren't they?

We want to do good, but we do things that aren't good. We want self to be satisfied, not realizing that were we given everything material in the world we still would not be satisfied.  Whether rich or poor we have to deal with our ever tricky heart.

Our hearts need cleansing to be pure, and only our Savior can cleanse our hearts.

David said the following-

1Ch 29:17  I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

1Ch 29:18  O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

1Ch 29:19  And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.

Prepare their heart unto thee.

Give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart.

God prepares, God gives, God creates when it comes to our hearts!

Mat_5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Bonhoeffer says- 'They shall see God, whose hearts have become a reflection of the image of Jesus Christ'

This is because it is Christ who has cleansed our hearts, creating new hearts within us.

This new heart belongs to Christ! He knows this new heart!

We need to choose Christ always in all things, allowing HIM to purify our hearts. 

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

1Pe 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently

Christ offers.

We choose.

Every single day!

Every single moment!

Christ will purify our hearts, we must surrender our hearts to Him to purify.

We cannot keep a hold of our heart devising our own ways, and expect Christ to purify our ways. We must take hold of Christ's ways.

Please LORD, make our hearts PURE in YOU!

All by YOUR LOVE! Your amazing purifying love.

Cost of Discipleship Pt 44 - Mercy!

Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes

Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Bonhoeffer- 'These men without possessions or power, these strangers on earth, these sinners, these followers of Jesus, have in their life with him renounced their own dignity, for they are merciful. As if their own needs and their own distress were not enough, they take upon themselves the distress and humiliation and sin of others. They have an irresistible love for the down-trodden, the sick, the wretched, the wronged, the outcast and all who are tortured with anxiety. They go out and seek all who are enmeshed in the toils of sin and guilt. No distress is too great, no sin too appalling for their pity. If any man falls into disgrace the merciful will sacrifice their own honor to shield him and take his shame upon themselves. They will be found consorting with publicans and sinners, careless of the shame they incur their by. In order that they may be merciful they cast away the most priceless treasure of human life, their personal dignity and honor. For the only honor and dignity they know is their Lord's own mercy, to which alone they owe their very lives.'

My thoughts-

Mercy.

'mer·cy

[mur-see] Show IPA

noun, plural mer·cies for 4, 5.

1.

compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner.

2.

the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing: an adversary wholly without mercy.

3.

the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty.

4.

an act of kindness, compassion, or favor: She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.

5.

something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing: It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened. '

*******

Mercy.

Without the mercy of our Lord and Savior we have NO hope.

Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

The mercy our Lord shows to us is the SAME mercy we are to show to others.  The merciful are blessed because they will be shown mercy. If we refuse to be merciful, there will be no mercy shown to us.

Just as we are to forgive so we will be forgiven, we must have mercy if we want mercy.

The trouble is, we find ourselves being so incredibly unforgiving and unmerciful. We are not our Savior, but creatures He created. Creatures that fail so often to be what we know in our hearts He desires. Creatures that HAVE to TOTALLY rely upon HIS mercy, HIS forgiveness to save us! We cannot save ourselves, not even help to save ourselves, we have to completely rely upon Jesus Christ our Lord. The only thing we can do is SURRENDER to Him! When we surrender to Him then He can work in US. And by Him, by the Holy Spirit we will be able to be merciful, we'll be able to be loving, forgiving, and ONLY through HIS power, not of our own.

Please Lord, love through us! Use us as You desire, for Your purposes! All for YOUR love! May we be among the merciful so we may obtain mercy!

In YOUR LOVE ALWAYS!

Cost of Discipleship Pt 43- Hunger and Thirst!

Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes


Mat_5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.


Bonhoeffer- 'Not only do the followers of Jesus renounce their rights, they renounce their own righteousness too. They get no praise for their achievements or sacrifices. They cannot have righteousness except by hungering and thirsting for it (this applies equally to their own righteousness and to the righteousness of God on earth), always they look forward to the future righteousness of God, but they cannot establish it for themselves. Those who follow Jesus grow hungry and thirsty on the way. They are longing for the forgiveness of all sin, for complete renewal, for the renewal too of the earth and the full establishment of God's law.'


My thoughts- Renouncing our own righteousness.


I read that and I think of how we all seem to want to have righteousness in ourselves. We want to be perceived as having some inherent goodness, rightness that stems from our own decision to be righteous.


(Google search - definition of righteous)-


'Synonyms of righteous- just, right, upright, rightful, fair,  honest.


1. (of a person or conduct) Morally right or justifiable; virtuous.
2. Perfectly wonderful; fine and genuine.'


We have this image embedded in our brains. We desire to be GOOD, to be RIGHTEOUS. And we can often be found pointing out our righteousness. We even do it silently.


Even when we get upset with ourselves over our failures to be righteous, we are hoping to achieve righteousness, and stop failing.


Hungering and thirsting after righteousness.


If you are FILLED with righteousness, we aren't hungry or thirsty for it, right?


You hunger and thirst for things you do not have.  If you have plenty of food you don't go hungry. If you have plenty of water, you don't go thirsty.  We all know what it means to be thirsty and hungry, some of us on a daily basis. I say some because not everyone waits to feel hungry or thirsty before eating and drinking.  Just recently I read somewhere that some doctor or some study hasn't shown that if you wait to drink until you're thirsty you aren't drinking enough. Basically they were saying you show constantly drink, so you never experience thirst.  Is it true, I don't know, it's just another one of those studies of so many that are constantly being done.


Hungering and thirsting- brings a desire for food and drink.
The hungrier and thirstier you are the more you desire to eat and drink.


BLESSED are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.


Because if you are HUNGRY and THIRSTY for righteousness you are DESIRING righteousness, you are desiring something you do NOT possess. You are desiring something outside of yourself. If you produced your own righteousness you wouldn't hunger or thirst for it because it'd be a part of you.  You can only hunger and thirst for something you don't automatically possess. None of us automatically possess the ability to eat- people starve to death all the time and not for lack of desiring to eat it's just that they do NOT have food or the ability to get that food on their own.


Hungering and thirsting for something that we do NOT possess in and of ourselves.  We have to comprehend that we do NOT have righteousness in ourselves.


Bonhoeffer said- 'Not only do the followers of Jesus renounce their rights, they renounce their own righteousness too.'


We have to do this if we are to comprehend that Jesus is the ONLY righteousness that matters.


Rom_3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.


His righteousness.


Rom_5:17  For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)


The gift of righteousness- Jesus Christ.


Rom 10:1  Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Rom 10:2  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.


Truth. People try to establish their own righteousness-  rather than submit to the righteousness of God.


We MUST submit to the righteousness of God.  Christ's righteousness is what matters most.


This isn't as some imagine a license to misbehave and sin, simply because our righteousness has no merit in the weight of eternity.  When we accept Christ and HIS righteousness, we are accepting all HIS truth, and His truth is He desires for us to follow after His example and HE perfectly kept the law, PERFECTLY. So to say it's fine to sin is a lie, Christ NEVER said to go and sin, NEVER! In fact, Christ told us to 'sin no more'.  


Our right doing might be a result of our longing to live as Christ desires, but it does not earn us eternal life or a righteousness of our own. We can only have eternal life in Christ, and we can only have eternal through Christ's righteousness.


Is it any wonder we are to HUNGER and THIRST after righteousness?  We can only be filled if we do hunger and thirst.  Only if we acknowledge our need, understanding that need can only be filled by CHRIST, will we live in truth, Christ's truth.


Desire CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS as a primal need You have daily, consistently day after day, never living a day without that desire for Christ.


All by the GRACE and MERCY of our SAVIOR may we seek His righteousness, His LOVE!

Cost of Discipleship Pt 42 - The meek shall inherit the earth- this is truth.

Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes

Mat_5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Bonhoeffer- 'This community of strangers possesses no inherent right of its own to protect its members in the world, nor do they claim such rights, for they are meek, they renounce every right of their own and live for the sake of Jesus Christ. When reproached they hold their peace; when treated with violence they endure it patiently; when men drive them from their presence they yield their ground. They will not go to law to defend their rights, or make a scene when they suffer injustice, nor do they insist on their legal rights. They are determined to leave their right to God alone-- non cupidi vindictae, as the ancient Church paraphrased it. Their right is in the will of their Lord--that and no more.

They show by every word and gesture they do not belong to this earth.

But Jesus says: "They shall inherit the earth."

Those who now possess it by violence and injustice shall lose it, and those who here have utterly renounced it, who were meek to the point of the cross, shall rule the new earth. '

My thoughts- Bonhoeffer said- 'They show by every word and gesture they do not belong to this earth.'  Is this true for you?

I've remarked before how difficult it is to tell a Christian from a non-Christian in our world today and how that HAS to be because of Satan. It's true, isn't it? Why isn't it VERY visible by actions alone? 

No, we don't mark ourselves as monks wearing robes and shaving our heads. We don't put on a nun's habit, we don't don a priest's collar, we aren't wrapped up in old fashioned clothes like Quakers and Amish, we wear every day clothing common to most.  Are we supposed to make ourselves look conspicuously like what we imagine our Savior wants us to look like? Were the disciples of Christ's day told to look a certain way so they stand out as being Christ's? I don't think so. Our ACTIONS speak for us, not our clothing, not our specific haircuts, not the special shoes we wear, not the buttons on our hats, or the logos on our shirts.  We can wear something special. We can put on a certain- 'I'm Christian' garb, but it means NOTHING. The priest behind the collar can call Himself Christian but if he's a drunkard, an abuser, he is FAR from being truly Christ's in his actions.  Clothing means little in the GRAND scheme of things. It truly is by our WORDS and our GESTURES we reveal ourselves to others.

All too often we fall far short from what we ourselves hope to be as we claim Christ as our Savior. This knowledge of our own shortcomings are GIFTS from God, allowing us to seek His forgiveness, His help in comprehending His plan for us, as HE changes us.

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

By the Spirit of the Lord.

Our gestures, our every word matters.   We might think they don't, it's easy to think they don't but they do. 

If we belong to this world it'll show.

Mat_5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

This is God's truth.

The meek not necessarily the soft-spoken, mousy person people tend to immediately think of when they hear the word, meek.  The meek, the humble, those who recognize their existence as CREATURES, created, and do NOT even begin to take on the airs of one who owes their existence to mere chance.  The meek, understanding that our Savior has TOLD us, He has given us instructions on how He wants us to live in Him, through Him!  Those instructions aren't to be ignored. WE must live by Him and as we do, we will be meek, we will be humble as HE is.

All through His grace may we be HIS, and as HIS, meek.

In HIS LOVE, always in HIS LOVE.

Cost of Discipleship Pt 41 Blessed are the poor, blessed are those who mourn

Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes

Bonhoeffer-'The aim of this beatitude is to bring all who hear it to decision and salvation.'

'The disciples are called 'Blessed' because they have obeyed the call of Jesus, and the people as a whole because they are heirs of the promise. But will they now claim their heritage by believing in Jesus Christ and his word? Or will they fall into apostasy by refusing to accept him? That is the question which still remains to be answered.'

My thoughts- This is truth for us, a question for us. Will we hear? Will be believe? Or will we refuse?

Mat_5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Bonhoeffer- 'Privation is the lot of the disciples in every sphere of their lives. They are the "poor"  tout court

Luk 6:20  And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

They have no security, no possessions to call their own, not even a foot of earth to call their home, no earthly society to claim their absolute allegiance. Nay more, they have no spiritual power, experience or knowledge to afford them consolation or security. For his sake they have lost it all. In following him they lost even their own selves, and everything that could make them rich.'

My thoughts- This is truth. They have no POSSESSIONS, can you even imagine having NO possessions?  Look around you wherever you are right now and take stock of the possessions you see just where you sit. Can you imagine having none of them? 

Mat_5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

'With each beatitude the gulf is widened between the disciples and the people, their call to come forth from the people becomes increasingly manifest. By "mourning" Jesus, of course, means doing without what the world calls peace and prosperity: He means refusing to be in tune with the world or to accommodate oneself to its standards. Such men mourn for the world, for its guilt, its fate and its fortune. While the world keeps holiday they stand aside, and while the world sings, "Gather ye rose-buds while ye may," they mourn. They see that for all the jollity on board, the ship is beginning to sink. The world dreams of progress, of power and of the future, but the disciples mediate on the end, the last judgment, and the coming of the kingdom. To such heights the world cannot rise. And so the disciples are strangers in the world, unwelcome guests and disturbers of the peace. No wonder the world rejects them!

Nobody loves his fellow-men better than a disciple, nobody understands his fellowmen better than the Christian fellowship, and that very love impels them to stand aside and mourn.

They simply bear the suffering which comes their way as they try to follow Jesus Christ, and bear it for his sake. Sorrow cannot tire them or wear them down, it cannot embitter them or cause them to break down under the strain; far from it, for they bear their sorrow in the strength of him who bears them up, who bore the whole suffering of the world upon the cross. They stand as the bearers of sorrow in the fellowship of the Crucified; they stand as strangers in the world in the power of him who was such a stranger to the world that it crucified him. This is their comfort, or better still, this Man is their comfort, the Comforter. The community of strangers find their comfort in the cross, they are comforted by being cast upon the place where the Comforter of Israel awaits them. Thus do they find their true home with their crucified Lord, both here and in eternity.'

My thoughts-

'...that very love impels them to stand aside and mourn.'

Mourning.

Have you ever mourned for someone?  Most of us have.  Yet how often do we mourn for those we don't know, those who aren't close to us? To mourn for the world, this sort of mourning is something that cannot be borne without Christ. This sort of suffering can crush us if we didn't have Christ to bear us up.

This world we live in is incredibly evil.  Pick up a newspaper, go to a news website, spend just a half hour reading the world news and the reasons for mourning are numerous.

We have to find comfort in the cross, it's the only place we can from comfort. The cross promises us salvation, it gives us HOPE outside of the existence we have in this world! If it weren't for the cross, if it weren't for our SAVIOR, we truly would have no reason for living at all whatsoever, not recognizing the evil in the world and the pain of existence.

Satan wants us to despair and will do ALL he can to bring us to despairing.

As we mourn we must trust, we must find our hope in Christ.

How can we NOT mourn when we witness the evil running rampant everywhere? 

We can harden our hearts- it is a choice we have available to us. By the grace of God we will NOT harden our hearts! Through HIS mercy and love we will NOT grow hardened to the evil, but mourn for all those who choose to live in evil over Christ and His love!

Please LORD, help us to understand the blessing in mourning, knowing the pain of mourning reveals the evil that in turns reveals the blessing of SALVATION in Christ our Savior who died so we do not have to despair of the evil all around us, consuming so many. Please Lord, help us who are poor and are mourning, help us to understand Your TRUTH in the blessings.

By Your GRACE, Your LOVE!

The Cost of Discipleship Pt 40 - Called to leave all

Chapter 6 - The Beatitudes

Mat 5:1  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Mat 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Mat 5:10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Bonhoeffer- 'Jesus sees his disciples. They have publicly left the crowd to join him. He has called them, every one, and they have renounced everything at his call. Now they are living in want and privation, the poorest of the poor, the sorest afflicted, and the hungriest of the hungry. They have only him, and with him they have nothing, literally nothing in the world, but everything with and through God.'

My thoughts-

It's true, the disciples left all they had, even if it wasn’t much, to follow Jesus who had NOTHING. Jesus wasn't offering them a life of prosperity, of wealth, of happiness, of freedom from want.  Jesus didn't have a place to sleep, let alone anything else.

Luk 9:57  And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

Luk 9:58  And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Foxes have holes.

Birds have nests.

These animals have homes, Jesus did not.

Think about that for a moment, a long moment. It's easy for us to gloss over the fact that Jesus didn't have a home, but then we have to stop and think realizing He had HUMAN needs like we all do. He had to sleep, He had to eat, He had to use the bathroom, He had to bathe, He had to have clean clothes, didn't He? We talk about the homeless today with great pity because we can't really imagine being homeless. I have a sister who in her youth set out on her own with her husband and they had nothing. They left New York to go to Texas, hoping to find work and for a while they had to live out of their car, she still talks about that today many, many years later. She tells us she knows what it's like to have nothing, no possessions, no food, no real shelter with conveniences like a bath and toilet. This was an experience etched into her mind because it wasn't something pleasant at all it was great deprivation, and probably a bit of despair. I've never been homeless, by the grace of God. I've never gone more than a few meals in a row for lack of money or means to get food, by the grace of God. I may have worn, and still wear worn out clothes, but I've never had absolutely nothing but the clothes on my back. I've always had access to a bathroom (outside of various normal situations- being in a car etc) and all its facilities, by the grace of God. 

The disciples all had their lives situated.  Most of them were working when they were called to follow Jesus. They were working- earning a living, a means to pay/barter for whatever they needed. No, none were called from rich mansions, but they had their homes they went to every night, they had their families they mingled with every night, they had a life- none were mere nomads wandering about aimlessly here and there.  These men were called to leave every comfort however small or great that they knew, all in order to follow Jesus and Jesus didn't promise them comfort when He called them.

Mat 4:18  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mat 4:20  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Mat 4:21  And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

Mat 4:22  And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Joh 1:43  The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

Joh 1:44  Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Joh 1:45  Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Joh 1:46  And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Joh 1:47  Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

Joh 1:48  Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

Joh 1:49  Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

Joh 1:50  Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

Joh 1:51  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Mat 9:9  And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

Thomas- no mention of his calling.

James the son of Alphaeus- no mention of his calling.

Simon the Canaanite- no mention of his calling.

Thaddaeus- no mention of his calling.

Judas- no mention of his calling.

Jesus did NOT offer them material things.

If a man came up to you as you worked at your job and said, 'Follow me.'  What are the chances of your doing that? Slim to NONE, right? Of course they wouldn't be Jesus Christ the Son of God, you say.  And that's true, but Jesus didn't use special powers to compel them to follow Him. Jesus didn't hypnotize them, He didn't use any underhanded means to force them to leave all and follow Him. So, why did they go with Him?

They'd heard of John the Baptist.  The one who would go before Jesus.

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Mat 3:1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

Mat 3:2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mat 3:3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mat 3:5  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan

Luk 7:24  And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

Luk 7:25  But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.

Luk 7:26  But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

Luk 7:27  This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Luk 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Luk 7:29  And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

Luk 7:30  But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

Luk 7:31  And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

Luk 7:32  They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

Luk 7:33  For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.

Luk 7:34  The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

Luk 7:35  But wisdom is justified of all her children.

John the Baptist was well known. John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus.  These disciples more than likely had at the very least heard of John the Baptist, if not personally through others that had. John had his own following, but John said this..

Joh 3:26  And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

Joh 3:27  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Joh 3:28  Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

Joh 3:29  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.

Joh 3:31  He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

Joh 3:32  And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

Joh 3:33  He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

Joh 3:34  For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

Joh 3:35  The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John said those words magnifying Jesus, testifying that Jesus would INCREASE, while he, John, decreased.

The disciples knew there was something in the wind, so to speak. They'd more than likely heard about John, he'd been at his ministry in the wilderness for at least six months or so and word of him had to have spread, like the word of things strange and unusual, the things that are out of place, often do. No, they didn't have the internet to spread the news, but word of mouth worked just fine.  Afterall, John was baptizing and to baptize you had to have people to baptize. Those people didn't remain quiet about their baptism, John didn't remain quiet. He was calling on people to REPENT and be baptized, and it wasn't a whisper cry but a loud one.  With this strange baptizing man going about and then Jesus comes on the picture, Jesus whom John said this--

Joh 3:28  Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

Joh 3:29  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.

--was now on the scene, and truly the way had been prepared for Him by John.  I imagine that the disciples had all heard of John's teachings about the one coming after Him so when Jesus came and told them to follow Him, they had to have been ready, they had to have been prepared for this in some manner because otherwise it would have been Jesus using a power of compulsion and Jesus would NEVER do that! NEVER.

Bottom line-  the disciples were told to follow and they left ALL to follow. They went with Jesus who had NOTHING material to offer them at all.  Come follow me and sleep outside wherever we can. Come follow me and we'll eat as opportunity provides. Come follow me and have no pay.  Come to this life of poverty and be RICHER than all spiritually.

The things that matter are HEAVENLY, not earthly, yet Satan has corrupted us to believe the opposite-worry about heaven later, and live for now.

Bonhoeffer- 'Jesus sees his disciples. They have publicly left the crowd to join him. He has called them, every one, and they have renounced everything at his call. Now they are living in want and privation, the poorest of the poor, the sorest afflicted, and the hungriest of the hungry. They have only him, and with him they have nothing, literally nothing in the world, but everything with and through God.'

How do we view our own discipleship?  Are we expecting to be called to a life of riches? A life of contentment? A life of ease even if it's not in what we'd call excess? Are we called to a life of self-denial no matter our wealth or lack thereof?

More tomorrow from this book by Bonhoeffer- The Cost of Discipleship.

All by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR Jesus Christ and His LOVE.