INTERRUPTION

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Following Jesus isn’t something you can do at night where no one notices. It’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day commitment that will interfere with your life. That’s not the small print—that’s a guarantee.” ― Kyle Idleman

Several months ago while sharing some experience with a group of “Champions in Training” (CIT’s), we explored this little quote from Kyle.  It is from his book, “Not a Fan”.  For my money it is a must read.  It will shake up and challenge your view of what it is to follow Christ.  It will lead you to Luke 14 which can be some tough truth to apply.

The Cost of Being a Disciple

25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

34 “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? 35 Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away.

That is a challenging order isn’t it?

That “thrown away” is a little disconcerting.

Yet it tells us:

We must have daily singular and vertical focus! No distractions.

We must understand the “real costs” involved.

We must be willing to risk all as He risked all.

We must be willing to give all.

We must be willing to stay salty (and “lighty” too)!

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT)

These are the instructions and mindsets we must embrace in order to meet the call of follower of disciple and “discipler”.

So as I was saying before, I was sharing this little teaching with some of our CIT’s and one of the men took the quote from Idelman to heart and began to daily pray it over himself and his journey.  Every day he prayed that prayer for interruption, the LORD lived up to Kyle’s assessment.  Day after day he was PRESENTED with opportunities to be salt and light. Day after day his plan was “interrupted”.  And while at first he found it inconvenient, suddenly things started to change.

He began to understand that as he was obedient, the Lord entrusted Him and that emboldened his faith.  He began to better understand his purpose, his value, his salt, his light and started to anticipate the “interruption” to see how and where GOD wanted to stretch him next, where his cross was to be carried that day.

His faith increased!  His walk solidified! His life started to really flourish!

As far as I know my friend is still praying that prayer, and willingly embracing this truth from Proverbs 16:1 “We can make our plans, but the final outcome is in God’s hands.” (TLB)

So the question should be clear today.

I know you have some plans for today, but are you prepared for a potential interruption, a chance to be salt, light, a disciple to others?

I pray that WE are!

Love you all…

Opportunities for Hope (Champions Charge)