Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 

Following Jesus is no bowl of cherries. 

It’s a hard life of sacrifices and burdens. 

I’ve often wondered if when the rubber really meets the road and my loyalty is tested under pressure, will I have made of myself the stuff that will endure? What will be my breaking point if at all?

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬-‭38‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Again, following Jesus is no bowl of cherries. 

To risk use of yet another cliche, I believe we ain’t seen nothing yet. 

We so easily fall into the trap of not taking our position as followers serious enough. 

To be honest, the risk is not in the believing but in the behaving. Faith with works that demonstrate it without shame or the risk of embarrassment. 

The disciples endured beheadings, torture, and worse without wavering faith. 

Whoever loses their life for Jesus and the gospel will save it. 

When the day comes, what will it take to have what it takes?

The most unfortunate truth is that the older you get, the narrower your search for purpose becomes.

Age adds critical experiences that begin to make deeply personal differences much later than they ought.

As years pass, my faith becomes more central to my being.

The pursuit of it as the defining meaning of life is much more obvious and clearer beyond what had been present in my merely curious early years.

Urgency to let others know that time is short and decisions made now will determine destinations later drives us old men to instruct young men from experience, love and camaraderie to make changes in themselves and in the world while they still can,
narrowing their own search for purpose and meaning.

They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and hold on to human traditions.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The most radical change is from the inside out.

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In a world focused on appearances, rituals, and external conformity, Jesus redirects the spotlight inward, teaching that what truly corrupts a person is not what they eat, wear, or touch, but the things that emerge from within: our words, intentions, attitudes, and actions.

It’s a call to integrity—not just moral behavior, but alignment of our heart and spirit with the way of love, humility, and truth. 

It’s not the world entering us that defiles—it’s the bitterness, pride, deceit, or hatred we allow to grow and flow outward.

This is the freedom Jesus offers: a life radically transformed from the inside out. 

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied,

‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭41‬-‭42‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Since when did giving thanks to God for providing our meals go out of style?

We’ve all witnessed an adjacent table in the restaurant bow heads in prayer before eating. 

Some families still practice this around the kitchen table. 

Though not usually such a dramatic exercise as providing a dinner party for 5,000 from an essentially empty fridge, God steps up at every meal to remind us that it is he who sustains us. 

What dinner guest doesn’t thank his host for the invitation and the good gifts that come with it?

Prayer that precedes acceptance of any meal either in private or in public is a humble, reflexive, and unashamed acknowledgment of the generosity of the giver. 

Whether procured from the local Kroger’s or the loving handiwork of your host, at the end of the day it’s ultimately God who sustains our needs. 

So get back in the habit. Give pause to reflect as a very small demonstration of your faith and thanks. 

It may be a tiny but significant witness to a world around you groomed to take blessings for granted. 

Ephesians 5:20

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus’ parable of the sown seed is packed with terrible outcomes. 

But good soil has nutrients like deep faith, godly friendships, patience, discipline and unwavering loyalty to the sower. 

Where you land on the earth isn’t random chance, it’s choices. 

God’s desire for everyone is to bloom wherever you’re planted. 

If we are, indeed, overcomers, it’s through the depth of our faith that we prevail. 

Like David encountering Goliath, we aren’t overcome by fear but boldly pursue our mission and purpose despite the obstacles. 

God’s heroes all emerged from situations where the odds were no match for the engine that empowered them and was fueled by their faith. 

Take a heroic risk today. 

Put fear in its place and faith in the driver’s seat. 

Good soil is God’s will for you. 

Faith like a mustard seed grows roots and branches, places for birds to nest, and an incredible testimony of God’s power. 

You can bloom wherever you’re planted. 

For me, it started one day at the home of a new acquaintance when I shared how my sleeping disorder makes me fall asleep all day and that Provigil, the prescription medication for it, was $1,800/month.

He said he had an alternative that was much less. I know he meant well, but that was the very first time I smoked a bowl of meth, which miraculously and immediately woke me up then kept me up for days looking for more.

Fast forward to today after 10 years inescapably hooked and now nearly 13 years clean, the news of his passing was sad enough, but the news he never escaped the special hell of addiction was even moreso.

He was a good man, clever, funny and I always considered him a smart and resourceful guy.

Though I haven’t seen nor heard from him in what seems like a decade, his face and voice were distinctive enough I can even now see and hear him.

All I’m left with is a gnawing wonder and sadness what might have become of him had I sought him out to return him the favor of freedom that I had found in sobriety.

Too little too late as they say.

It’s kept me up most of this night and as I often do, my feelings pour out in words on a page which won’t bring him back nor the chance to find him before it’s too late.

Returning home from my Celebrate Recovery meeting I realized that regrets like these are the sordid products of sobriety but even so, have blessed me with the rest of my life.

My means of escape from drugs was so much easier than his.

The “if onlys” however, are inescapable.

Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” 

But they remained silent. 

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Simple question. 

Not even about which day of the week it was, but whether a man should do good or evil, to save or kill. 

The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. 

They were still so stuck in their traditions and laws, they wouldn’t dare answer for fear in doing so they might break one. 

Deeply angered and distressed at their stubborn hearts offering no answer, Jesus resumed doing what he does best: he answered. 

When we truly understand the transformative nature of Jesus, answers come easy. 

What we might construe as a trick question is the teaching moment. And the best answer is usually the simplest. 

Jesus speaks in parables and examples to train us toward a new way of thinking. 

But they remained silent. 

“Do not be afraid” appears in your Bible over 100 times. 

Take a risk with Jesus and give an answer. That’s how we learn. 

Boldness always pleases the teacher.