True Commitment to Jesus

Matthew 10:37
37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

Jesus' instruction here which, if taken by itself, might leave the impression that we are supposed to hate our fathers and mothers, wives and children, and even ourselves. However, Matthew made it very clear in this verse by the use of the words "more than" that this was not what Jesus meant. We are commanded to walk in love, especially to the members of our own families (Ephesians 5:25-33 and Titus 2:4). Jesus was simply stating that we should prefer Him above any other relationship.


Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

Jesus said nearly the same thing in (Matthew 10:37-38). In Matthew's account, there is an important difference. Jesus said, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

This isn't an instruction to hate our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and ourselves. We are told to love others as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 19:19, 22:36-39; Mark 12:28-33; Romans 13:9-10; Galatians 5:14; and James 2:8). The Apostle John, who was present when Jesus spoke these words, later revealed that loving our brother is essential to true salvation (1 John 2:9, 11; 3:15; and 4:20). This is simply saying that in comparison to our love for God, our feelings toward ourselves and others ought to be far less. Many people have become co-dependent on others instead of God. This is commanding just the opposite. As explained in Matthew 10:37, this is a comparative statement and is not teaching hate as a condition for being Jesus' disciple (see John 6:26 below).

John 6:26
26 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

They were seeking the Lord, which was the right thing to do, but they were doing it for the wrong reason. Once again, Jesus reveals that the motives behind our actions are more important than the actions themselves. If we desire the Lord just because of what He can do for us, then we are no better than these people were. We should certainly take advantage of all the good things the Lord provides (Psalm 35:27), but we must always love Him for who He is and not just what He provides.

Just as in John 2:23-25, Jesus knew the people's hearts, and therefore He did not commit Himself to this crowd. Just the day before, these same people had tried to take Him by force and make Him their king (John 6:15), but He withdrew and spent the night in prayer. Jesus was never moved by flattery, and He said that those who were could not operate in God's kind of faith (John 5:44).

This crowd looked like they were seeking Jesus, but they were actually trying to use Jesus to seek their own welfare. It is true that there are many personal benefits to be reaped through serving the Lord, but the benefits are never to become our object. In all things, Christ must have the preeminence (Colossians 1:18).

Jesus exposed the true intent of these people's hearts by preaching a strong message of commitment. Those who were self-centered were offended and left (John 6:66), while those who were willing to lay down their lives so that they could experience God's abundant life (Luke 9:24 and John 10:10) remained (John 6:68). Commitment to God Himself (not what He can produce) is what always separates the true worshipers of God (John 4:23) from the false.

These people had no true commitment to God but wanted Jesus as their king for their own selfish reasons. They had mistakenly interpreted the miracle that Jesus performed in feeding the 5,000 to mean that Jesus would supply all their lusts (James 4:3). On the surface, it may have looked like they were seeking Jesus, but they were actually seeking their own interests. Jesus didn't come to do His own will (John 6:38) or our wills, but the will of the Father.

In these verses, we see Jesus did something that very few ministers of the Gospel will do today. He preached a hard message of commitment, knowing that many of these people would follow Him no more. Many times, we see Christians today compromise the message in an effort to win more people. Regardless of how well ministers can argue this point and justify their actions, this is not the way that Jesus ministered. Jesus was always more interested in quality than quantity. We would do well to follow His example.

Do we love Jesus more than others, or is it just what we can get out of Him? Do we love Jesus more than the life we have with friends and family? Are we co-dependent on others and not depending on Jesus? Do we truly love Jesus more and hate the life we would have without Him? Will we forsake all else and follow the Lord no matter where that takes us? That is the true question of commitment.


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Self-denial is an important part of the Christian life

Luke 9:23-24
23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

Self-denial is an important part of the Christian life. Jesus sacrificed His life for us, and He demands we die to ourselves that we might experience this new life He has provided. We do this first by recognizing that we can't save ourselves by our own effort and second, by trusting God--not self--for salvation. Then we daily need to deny our own wisdom and seek God's wisdom and direction for our lives.

Self-denial is only good when it is denying ourselves for the singular purpose of exalting Jesus and His will for us in some area of our lives. Some have made a religion out of self-denial and take pride in their denial, not in Jesus' Lordship. This leads to legalism and bondage, which Paul condemned as "will worship" (Col 2:23). We are told not only to deny ourselves but to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

The real benefits of fasting come as a result of denying ourselves (Mt 4:2). However, if we fast to glorify ourselves, as the Pharisees did (Mt 6:16 and 23:5), we have no reward from God. All we will get from such a fast is hungry.

The cross is what Jesus died on. There are circumstances in our lives that, like the cross of Jesus, give us the opportunity to die to ourselves each day. These are not things like sickness, poverty, etc., for which Jesus' atonement provided redemption (Mt 8:17), but rather things like persecution (from which we are not redeemed, 2Ti 3:12) and the constant battle between our flesh and our born-again spirits (Ga 5:17). Our cross that we must bear is to take God's Word (which is His will) and exalt it above our own will in every situation that we face each day.

It is very important that we take up our cross daily. Consistency is one of the most important keys in subduing the flesh. We cannot seek God in "spurts" and expect to reach maturity. The victory goes to those who abide in Him (Ps 91:1; Joh 8:31, and 15:4-7).

These verses are not saying that we have to suffer martyrdom to receive salvation. Rather, it refers back to us denying ourselves and following Jesus. Many people have desired salvation from God but have been unwilling to let go of things that stand between them and God. We are not fools to give up what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose.

I Have a Dream

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 11:51 AM EDT Robert Ricciardelli Newsletters - Prophetic Insight


The last few days I have been waking up thinking about Martin Luther King Jr. I kept hearing his "I Have a Dream" speech as I awoke each of the last few mornings. He is one of my heroes of the faith; a difference-maker, and a catalyst for good and for the generations. I asked the Lord if there was some further meaning to my thoughts about him. He said, "I gave him a dream, and I have given you a dream."

I decided to write out my dream in honor of one of my hero's dreams. Thank you, Lord, for Dr. King, who stood for You, stood for freedom and gave his life for the cause of that freedom. I write this in honor of him and the legacy he left for us all:

“I have a dream that one day the kingdom nation of God will rise up and live out the true meaning of Christ’s all-consuming creed that fulfills all laws and prophecies with these words: 'The Lord our God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, and also love your neighbor as yourself.

“I have a dream that one day the children of God will truly answer the Lord’s prayer in becoming one as He and the Father are one; that they would move as one 'body of Christ' through the power of the love of God within them.

"I have a dream that one day the walls of culture and preference that have divided our communities will come crashing down so we may truly love and honor each other's uniqueness and our strength in diversity.

"I have a dream for freedom from the grip of false religion and anything that gets in the way of the agape love of God and His perfect will for humanity.

"I have a dream that our children will see an example of life that is not based on what one may have on the outside, including race or financial status, but on what matters most—the integrity and character of what is on the inside of a person.

"I have a dream today.

"I have a dream that one day the hierarchical deception and distortion of community through the systems of man will give way to authentic relationships and communities that are not based on performance or hidden agendas.

"I have a dream today.

"I have a dream that the systems of man that have controlled and manipulated the people of God will give way to the freedom and power of the kingdom of God. I have a dream that there is neither male nor female, Greek nor Jew, or any other caste system getting in the way of the freedom that can only be realized through Christ Jesus our Lord.

"I have a dream today.

"I have a dream of revolutionary authentic servant leaders all over the world who do not usurp their authority and mandates but lead through humility while coaching and assisting others toward the way, the truth and the life.

"I have a dream today.

"I have a dream that one day the last shall be first and the first shall be last, and for the day when the highest esteem is reserved for those who are humble, for those who are motivated by love and for those who desire to serve others in their journey.

"I have a dream today.

"I have a dream that the manifest sons and daughters of the living God will be realized on the earth, supernaturally presenting Christ as the only answer to the groaning within all of creation."

I can see it now, the glory of the Lord filling the earth like the waters cover the sea; all people united as one, every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. This will be the day that both the mystery and the majesty of the Most High God is fully known throughout the universe with the whole world singing, “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are Yours now and forever.”

About the Author: Robert Ricciardelli is a prophetic minister, an entrepreneur and the founder of Converging Zone Network, a social-networking site developed to spread the kingdom of God on a global level through the exchange of products, services, training and ideas.

Are You Fully Alive and Fully Human, the Way God Intends for You to Live

Are you living with a sense that something's missing in your life? If you so, you may be settling for less than the best God wants for you. The only way you can truly find fulfillment is by living up to your fullest potential - to be fully alive, and fully human - the way God intends for you to live.

Jesus, who was both fully God and fully human, lived that kind of life. He stands ready to help you become the best version of yourself. Here's how you can join Him on that journey:

Recognize how God has made you in His image. You're creative because God is creative; you communicate because God communicates; you're intelligent because God is intelligent; you're relational because God is relational; and you're morally responsible because God is a moral being. Decide to do all you can to develop and express those qualities in distinctive ways, according to how God has uniquely designed you.

Appreciate how other people reflect God's image. Ask God to help you see other people as He sees them so you can recognize their value and appreciate the unique contributions that they make to the world - whether or not society values them. Notice how even people who are forgotten or mistreated in society, such as disabled people or addicts, have the same great value in God's eyes as everyone else does. Reach out to others with encouragement and support to help them reach their fullest potential while you're working to reach your own full potential, since together you all can improve the world in bigger ways than you could just by yourself.

Realize that a connection to God through Jesus is what humanizes you. If the intimacy that you were created to enjoy with God is broken through sin, you can drift away from Him. The farther you drift away from God, the more prone you become to behaviors that dehumanize you by violating the essence of who you are. But Jesus came to give you a complete and fulfilling life by restoring your intimacy with God.

Seek God and nurture your soul in a materialistic age. Many people in our society are preoccupied with earning and spending money. But God calls you to seek Him first and trust Him to meet all of your material needs. So make it your first priority to pursue God than you do to pursuing money.

Nurture your mind in a mindless age. Even though some people are content to be entertained in life without seeking to keep learning, God wants you to cultivate the mind He gave you by continuing to learn something new every day.

Pursue creativity and excellence in a superficial, expendable age. Our society doesn't demand or even expect that people use their creativity to produce excellent work, but God wants you to blaze new trails to help make the world a better place.

Go relationally deep in an age of shallow relationships. Many people substitute shallow relationships they have with people they connect with in the virtual, digital world of technology for real, in-person relationships. But God calls you to spend time with people in person to build relationships that can truly go deep, helping you and them grow closer to God together.

Love, forgive, and accept others in an age of anger, rejection, and revenge. Society celebrates selfish interests that lead to a destructive cycle of wounds and bitterness, that then cause anger, rejection, and revenge. But God wants to pour out His healing love through your life, so answer His call to love, forgive, and accept other people.

Embrace certainty in a relativistic age. Attitudes of moral and intellectual relativism are commonplace throughout our society today, but God has revealed absolute truth through the Bible, and He wants you to choose to embrace that truth, even when others around you are falling victim to misguided, relativistic philosophies.

Slow down in a frantic age. Life often moves at too fast a pace in our society to be healthy. God wants you to rediscover the proper rhythm of life, living free of the burden of hurry.

Value everyone in a segmented age. Our society segments people in many ways, such as by gender, race, age, nationality, education, and income. But God calls you to look for His image in the face of everyone you meet.

Come to your senses. Acknowledge the reality of sin in your life that is limiting you and and afflicting you with the brokenness that's causing you to feel incomplete. Then let that awakening motivate you to turn to Jesus, who can restore you to a healthy condition and empower you to live a fulfilling life. Keep pursuing Jesus persistently, learning more and growing closer to Him every day. Communicate with Him often through prayer and open your heart to follow where He leads you as He restores your soul.

Ask Jesus to give you a pure heart. Pray for the ability to devote yourself to God and invite His love to flow through you to other people.

Ask Jesus to renew your mind. Pray for the ability to develop your mental capacity to its fullest and keep learning every new day that you're alive.

Ask Jesus to give you a new spirit. Pray for the ability to develop your spiritual capacity to its fullest. Cultivate it through such spiritual disciplines as worship, prayer, Bible reading, meditation, solitude, silence, and fasting.

Ask Jesus to rebuild your relationships. Pray for the ability to heal the broken relationships in your life by loving, forgiving, and accepting other people.

Ask Jesus to rekindle your creativity. Pray for the ability to identify, develop, and express the talents that God has given you to help make the world a better place.

Ask Jesus to help you live harmoniously. Pray for the ability to become the complete, whole person God created you to be, pulling together the different aspects of your life into a harmonious lifestyle that is faithful to Him throughout your daily life.

Ask Jesus to keep you focused on God's purposes for your life. Pray for the ability to keep working toward fulfilling God's purposes for you. Respond to His calls to serve others, and expect that, as you do, God will keep increasing your capacity to love.

'Where their treasure wasn't, it's for sure their heart wasn't there either.' "

Matt. 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


'Where their treasure wasn't, it's for sure their heart wasn't there either.' "

Resting in What God has Already Provided by Grace

Hebrews 4:10-11
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Rest is what the writer had been speaking of. It is ceasing from our works the way God did from His after Creation.

When the Lord created the heavens and the earth, He did it in a unique way that many people have not understood. He didn't just create trees, plants, and animals. But He created them in a way that they could procreate. That means He doesn't make new trees, plants, and animals today. But His original act of creation was done in a way that He has been resting ever since. He did it perfectly and so completely that He hasn't had to create since.

This is what the Old Testament Sabbath was painting a picture of. It was only a type and shadow of this New Testament rest (Col 2:17). It was not the reality itself. The Jews were commanded to take one day out of seven off and devote it to worshiping the Lord as an act of faith that God was their source. In the natural, this didn't make sense. If they didn't work every day, they wouldn't prosper as much as those who did. But that's not the way it worked. Because of their faith in the Lord, which was expressed through their obedience to take the Sabbath off, they prospered more than those who worked seven days a week. God was teaching them to rest in the Lord as their source and not their own works.

Just in case anybody missed the obvious lesson of the weekly Sabbath, the Lord told the Israelites to take one year out of seven off (Le 25). During the seventh year the Israelites couldn't sow or reap any crops. That which came up naturally they had to leave in the fields for the poor and the wild beasts.

Some would say, "What shall we eat the seventh year?" (Le 25:20) The Lord blessed their crops supernaturally on the sixth year so that their fields brought forth three times a normal harvest. They would eat the harvest of the sixth year during the sixth, seventh, and the eighth year while their crops were growing.
All of this pictured that God is our source. We may work and sow our crops, but it is God that gives the increase. Likewise, in the New Testament, Jesus has done everything for us. He isn't still saving people and healing them. That has already been done. All we are doing is entering into what has already been provided.

Those who think they have to act a certain way to gain God's acceptance and approval are not resting in the finished work of Christ. Sure, we need to live holy, but it should be a fruit and not a root of our relationship with the Lord. This is what the Old Testament Sabbath was a picture of.

Those who legalistically observe the Sabbath today with the belief that the Lord is angry with those who don't, are missing the true meaning of the Sabbath. They are really Sabbath breakers. True Sabbath keepers in the New Testament are those who don't try and relate to the Lord by their holiness but totally rely on what Jesus did for them to make them acceptable to the Lord. That is a relationship to be enjoyed every day of our lives and not a single day per week.

This was understood by the early New Testament church and is one of the specific reasons they chose to meet on the first day of the week (Sunday) instead of the seventh day (Saturday), which was the Jewish Sabbath. They knew they were free from the observance of a day and were now living in the true Sabbath that the seventh-day observance pictured.

Hebrews 4:11 sounds like an oxymoron. Why labor to rest? If you understand clearly what the rest of the Lord is (Heb 4:10), then it takes effort to rest in the finished work of the Lord. Our human natures want to do something to be worthy of the Lord's blessings. But the truth is that we can never deserve the goodness of the Lord. We have to cease from trusting in our own works and rest in what Jesus has freely provided by grace. It will be the hardest thing you will ever do. You need to get where you trust that God has done everything instead of thinking that something still needs to be done. It's challenging to control your tongue, anxieties, and actions. It takes effort, you have to labor to rest.