Twin Peaks

October 20

Happy Sabbath Everyone,

The scripture for today is Matthew 8:19-20

Matthew 8:19-20  And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.

How often do we, like this man, come to Christ with the assertion that we are willing to follow in His steps only to find out that the road that we thought was easy to travel is really a road that is full of sacrifice and often hardships. The motivation for following Christ often determines the willingness to continue following Him regardless of the state we find ourselves in. This statement of Jesus flies in the face of the popular notion that "material prosperity" is the natural result of faith in God. This diversion of attention is one of the most effective tools that the enemy has ever sprung upon the church. The narrow way of holiness is the path that Christ blazed for us to follow and our motivation for following Him has to be the same as His, to please our Heavenly Father by always doing His will. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2 It is for the joy of being in the eternal presence of God that we are able to endure the hardships of this life and give all that we have for the "pearl of great price." Matthew 13:46

Jesus has promised to be with us in every situation of life; â€Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5 It is the confidence of His presence that enables us to continue on this journey. He has traveled the road Himself and knows exactly what we experience. Through His victory we also have victory. The best is yet to come for those who are true followers of the Savior. "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 1 Corinthians 15:19 We are assured that just as God raised up Christ from the dead, He will also raise us up to live with Him for all eternity. Nothing can separate us from His love and from the blessed hope that we have in Him.

God bless you as you continue in His service.

Tim