The Unpopular JesusSample
Often, our Father tells us, “Yes”. He gives us what we ask, helps us to find when we seek, and opens when we knock. But there are also times when we ask for wisdom and don't get it the way we want it to. When we pray, God doesn't seem to answer. When we ask one thing, and God gives us something else - we revolt and are full of questions and doubts, abandoning projects and assignments given to us by the Master. If God can say yes, He also has the right to say no.
If we choose Jesus, we get the whole package. Many of us want to deal with Jesus and the Bible like children eating raisin bread – taking out the raisins and leaving the bread. We want to take what we like, but the rest should please be kept aside. Jesus is popular when a crown is available but unpopular when the cross precedes the crown.
Mark 10:29-31 -Jesus replied, "Truly, truly, I say to you, there is no one who, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, has forsaken his house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, or he is now getting a hundred times as much at this time: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and property, along with much persecution, and in the dispensation to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and what is last will be first."
Jesus Christ cannot dwell in half a heart. He must have our whole heart; otherwise, there will be too little room for Him. Does your whole heart belong to Him? Christianity is not a bunch of rules and moral principles. It is a relationship with the living, risen Jesus. Being a Christian is not a philosophical concept, and a few do's and don'ts. It is a relationship with a Person.
Spiritual freedom and joy come when only Jesus remains, and He is enough for us.
Scripture
About this Plan
Many times, Jesus is popular, especially when He answers our prayers and protects us in great danger. However, He may not be so popular when the winds of persecution blow against us, when some of our prayers go unanswered, and we struggle financially. How do we need to live in those situations?
More