Jesus’ demands are no less today than they were two-thousand years ago.   But, what Jesus demands of us is not impossible at all.   God would not require the impossible, and what He demands is total dedication.   Jesus is Lord, which means "master".   A master must be obeyed.   Jesus chided some of his supposed followers, "Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46).

          Do we do this?   Do we call Jesus, ‘Lord,’ but keep on doing things that we know are wrong and fail to truly repent?

          Have you "left" the body of Christ, the church?   How often do you leave it when the body has assembled to worship, or to learn from His word?   If Jesus were near us on one of those occasions, would He look us in the eye and ask, "You do not want to leave too, do you?"   If you have left Him, have you left for something better?   If you choose to stay away from the assembly of His people, have you chosen something better?   If there is sin in your life that keeps you away from worship, is the sin better than fellowship with the Master?

          Sometimes we allow life’s difficulties to cause us to leave the Lord for a while.   But this is precisely the time when we need Him even more!   Jesus, and only Jesus, has the words of life.   Our hope is in Him, not in this life nor anything this life has to offer.   Nothing is equal to Jesus our Lord.   Nothing is worth leaving Him for.

          If your faith or your faithfulness has been weaker lately, maybe it’s because you have left the Lord and haven’t even realized it.   If you have left the Lord, to whom have you gone?

-- Wayne Sharp