On Following Jesus Christ's Footsteps: Sufferings

1 Peter 2:21 NIV
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

In few verses back, exactly in verse 19 Peter says:
It is commendable - If we suffer because of conscience towards God.

1 Peter 2:19 (NIV)

19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.


Following the footsteps of Christ means not that one will be successful in everything he does, its not about being great about who we are, its not about our strength or our knowledge and wisdom. But, it means following everything that Jesus asked us to follow. To leave the earthly things (1 John 2:15) and to love him more than any other things(Matthew 10:37). To be dead to our old for our life - (Colossians 3:3 & Romans 6:4), i.e. sinful life to following Christ, that is to suffer for the right cause.


What does following the footsteps means?

Following as we saw in the life of Disciples as to how they left their business or work or job to follow Jesus. Footsteps - The aim and objectives of our life, no one walks a way that leads to nowhere. Everyone walks through a ways that leads to a certain place. We should guard our hearts and minds even before taking a step. Because our steps direct to our destiny. If we were to follow Jesus' steps, rest-assured that our destiny in him is the perfect will of God.

Proverbs and Psalms gives us the most important aspects in following the right path or taking the right step.

Proverbs 3:6 NIV

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 4:26 NIV
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.

Psalm 37:5 NIV
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

Psalm 85:13 NIV
Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.



Three commitment required to follow Christ:

In all your ways submit to him
Give careful thought to the paths
Commit your way to the LORD



Four patterns for those who commit their ways to Christ:

He will make your paths straight
Steadfast in all your ways
He will do this
Prepares the way for his steps




Beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good news - The Gospel:
Isaiah 52:7 NIV
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Paul reminds us about this verse in Romans:
Romans 10:15 NIV
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"


Following is not only literally just going behind, it is following the principles, objectives of the kingdom. Jesus relates this to John, "for the one who if for us is not against us."

Luke 9:46-50New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Test of Greatness

46 An argument [a]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing [b]what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

49 John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is [c]for you.”

The Choices and The Consequences - Betrayal

Jesus' Disciples are one among the most inspiring people ever lived. Being with the master, watching his every step and following him would have given them opportunity to know what God really wants his sons and daughters to do in this world. But yet at many instances some of them have failed.

The Betrayal - Judas Iscariot

One of the Disciple who took an extreme decision to betray his master for 30 silver coins (The same or equivalent was used to betray Joseph of the old testament). If Jesus knew that Judas would betray why should he allow him to betray? As he was a Disciple, Jesus could have prayed for him (As he did in case of Peter)

The case of betrayal: Judas was the treasurer. Several occasions he use to handle the money bag. At one particular instance it is said that he also questions Jesus about spending. I think here he gets to a point where he wanted to do something to Jesus.

Matthew 26:6-16New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Precious Ointment

6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. 8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? 9 For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. 11 For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. 12 For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. 13 Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

Judas’s Bargain

14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me [a]to [b]betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty[c]pieces of silver to him. 16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to[d]betray [e]Jesus.

God always works with the choices we make, he allows us to make and commit mistakes. That does not make him wrong, he gave us free will to choose. The Pharaoh in the Moses' time could be a better example to understand this. God tried to make him understand who he is through Moses, then again through various trails, but he would not listen. It is said, that his heart was hardened that he doesn't want God to interfere in his life. He wanted the people to believe that he is God. Everyone who chooses to Sin against God is in the same line with this Pharaoh. If we faithfully ask God to forgive us our sins he will, if we ask to help us overcome the temptations he will help us - Matt 26:41 - "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Then arise an other question as to why Jesus prayed for Peter, but not to Judas? If we see both the Disciples took wrong decisions. One to betray another denied. But when they recognized their sins. They acted differently. Peter cried bitterly and repented, but Judas took a wrong way. It should be noted that both were disciples, but their choices were different. Though they saw all the miracles, knowing who Jesus was, but yet they allowed their human attributes towards life more than God's. Jesus said that Peter would deny when Peter was saying that even at the cost of life he would not deny, Jesus did said someone who dips the bread with me today is going to betray me. So he knew what people are going to do, even before they themselves knew. God knows our every weakness, only thing Jesus is asking you about is to submit it and to surrender our will to him.


Prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for your word, your word is the lamp unto my feet and light unto my path. It leads and guides us through out our life. Thank you for Jesus - The Son Of God to whom we submit and surrender our will, our life, our thoughts and all our fears and worries. As the scripture says, caste your care upon him for he cares for you. We might have denied you like Peter, saying whatever the case is we will live for you, but would have denied at times, or we may even been like Judas, questioning as to why you did different things. But God forgive us, forgive us of our sins. Give us one more opportunity by your Grace and Mercy. Father Lord give us strength to overcome these thoughts of denial and betrayal in life, rather we look at the cross and say such was the love of our Lord Jesus, who died for me for my sins and for all the sins of the world, whoever turns from his sinful ways to him will be saved, delivered and forgiven. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ as the Lord, then he died and arose, he will be saved. Thanking for saving us Lord, bless this day.

Follow Me

Luke 5:1-11New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The First Disciples

5 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; 2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the [a]people from the boat. 4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but [b]I will do as You say and let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets beganto break; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ [c]feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;10 and so also were [d]James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will becatching men.” 11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

I still wonder how the Disciples could follow Jesus in the midst of their business or work. We see that Peter, James and John, sons of Zebedee left their boat and followed Jesus. We see in Matthew, When Jesus calls Matthew, he leaves his work and follows Jesus.

After having a supernatural miracle of getting fish that was so overflowing that they had to call other boats and the nets were about to tare because of the weight that it had. But still they left all and followed Jesus, not considering what worth it could have been. The true happiness in life is not when we get everything, but when we get the right thing at the right time. Here knowing Jesus was their best gift. So they were able to leave the fishes, boats, nets.... Their business for Jesus.

Matthew' life was all about collecting the tax, as he was sitting at the table his heart was not set right at the work, he knew for sure what he was doing was not right. When there came a right time, Jesus knew his heart, called out..."Follow me", Jesus did not say I will make you fishers of men or I knew your heart was not right I will make it right for you. Jesus just said, "follow me".

I wonder what I would have done, when I got such huge number of fish. I would have told, "May be after selling this", "This is what I was looking for, I would like to go one more ride." I mean we have all sorts of business plans when such things happens to us. But this is what Peter and other did, and moreover Jesus never stops Peter' request when he wanted to walk on water, The Father gave the revelation to him to declare that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Though he denied Jesus, Jesus still forgave him and gave him an other opportunity, where he was bold to preach the Gospel and finally it is said, that when he was also crucified, he asked them to crucify him upside down. Because he felt unworthy of dying the same way Jesus Christ was crucified.





In the parable of the Dinner in Luke 14:12-24 many gives the excuses for why they cannot come for the dinner.

  Luke 14:12-24 (NASB)

12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return andthat will be your repayment. 13 But when you give a [a]reception, invite thepoor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, since they[b]do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

15 When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Parable of the Dinner

16 But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a [c]piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; [d]please consider me excused.’ 19 Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; [e]please consider me excused.’ 20 Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21 And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”

Peter did asks about the reward, for all that the Disciples have done: Jesus says - 

Matthew 19:27-30New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Disciples’ Reward

27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on [a]His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [b]or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive [c]many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who arefirst will be last; and the last, first.

Your Hope Will Not Be Cut Off

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

1 Kings 17:7-16New American Standard Bible (NASB)

7 It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’” 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.


Ever wondered why God asks what is in you? or what is with you?

Because we always try to find what is not with us and what is there with others. Envying others and strive to get the other's attention. But God says different. Even at a situation where the women was about to die after eating the bread, (She and her son). God sends word to Elijah to go and ask for the bread from that woman.

In Proverbs chapter 23. The author - Solomon says that we should not envy what is happening with others(especially the wicked), because God has every purpose and aim in his works.

Proverbs 23:17-18New International Version (NIV)

Saying 15

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
    but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
    and your hope will not be cut off.

What is important is that we need to understand from his point of view. Forgiveness is given for not the one who does everything right to you, but the one who wrongs. The goodness of life can be able to realized only when there is badness around us. If everything is good, then you will not be able to differentiate between the good and bad, we have lost that opportunity when the First Adam had sinned in the Garden of Eden.

v. 13 - Obedience is seen as an important aspect for miracles. If God says to do something, we should not think like a analyst, who analyses what happens if the word does not come true? because it is said by God (his promises) we can rely and trust in it completely. Justice delayed is not Justice denied.

Matthew 5:23-24 New International Version (NIV)

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 

Important aspects we can see through the God's view on how we should react to the wrong judgment or bad or difficulty happening to our life when we do good.

Our hope on God's Judgment is never ceased. In this life if we were mis-judged and humiliated or persecuted. God has a better home - his heaven for us to welcome and make all those unjust remarks as a valuable one. We could see the parable of the rich man and Lazarus(Luke 16:19-31) for this. 

The Nature of God and Forgiveness

The Forgiving Nature of God:

Someone asked me if God wants to forgive us he could have just said a word or he could have done something, why should he come in the form of man and be crucified?

All I know is that God Loves us and he just does not want to say, but to show - Demonstrate his Love for us. If he has just said a word we would have been forgiven, no doubt about it, but to show us that we should also strive to be like him, because we are made in his image. When we suffer we are not alone, he did not left us alone to suffer. He forgives us our sins and heals all our diseases. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He has promised that he will be with us for eternity. For which we should be able to live here without sin and with him. He did not chose to leave us free from problems and troubles, but instead he gives us helping hand - Mighty hand and he has a loving heart.

Galatians 6:7 NIV
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Above all God's Nature is Love. He showed us how much he loves us, by sending us his Son - Jesus Christ. We are to acknowledge his love by accepting his Son, who is the only way to the Heavenly Father. His life should be our role model, our all in all, everything. He should be our Author & Finisher of our Faith, He should be our First and the Only Priority in life, He is the Alpha & Omega, He is the Beginning and the End, He is the Great "I AM", He is YAHWEH, He is El Shaddai.

Challenges in understanding the Nature Of God:

How can God be in Human Form? - Jesus Christ


The Omnipotence Paradox is about God's providence on providing:

The omnipotence paradox states that: If a being can perform any action, then it should be able to create a task that it is unable to perform. Hence, this being cannot perform all actions. On the other hand, if this being cannot create a task that it is unable to perform, then there is something it cannot do.

One version of the omnipotence paradox is the so-called paradox of the stone: "Could an omnipotent being create a stone so heavy that even he could not lift it?" If he could lift the rock, then it seems that the being would not have been omnipotent to begin with in that he would have been incapable of creating a heavy enough stone; if he could not lift the stone, then it seems that the being either would never have been omnipotent to begin with or would have ceased to be omnipotent upon his creation of the stone

This paradox sounds something like the Temptation of Jesus Christ on Wilderness.

Matthew 4:3 ►NIV
The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

Here the question is to make the stone even more larger, that he cannot hold. God is not as what we think who he is. First of all he does't have to make anything to prove who he is. He already exists. So, it is we who need to understand who God is. He does't have to create anything to prove that he exists.

Colossians 1:16 NIV
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

For we are the one, we can't do anything with ourselves:

Matthew 5:36 NIV
And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.

The Nature of Man and Sin

The Sinful Nature of Man:
It so amazes me that above all creations Man has a specialty. He is given the knowledge of Speech, where he can share his feelings of love and hatred, show his sufferings and joy, anger. etc above all this he is given a knowledge to think and act, not only to react - Like animals, but to think and act. The processing of the information to make everything meaningful for life.

In the processing of making everything meaningful men has reached a far heights, just like the former men who tried to reach up to heaven by building great structures(tower of babel). Today with the invent of new things Man thinks that he could create anything which he wanted, not knowing their consequences.

The once thought gifts of Speech - for better Communication, gift of thought - to think and act has now become a threat to the whole mankind. The new inventions of communication seems to be very friendly and also giving us access to all the info at the point of a touch, but it has built a great wall between the humans for communication. The knowledge and wisdom once thought to give humble attitude, now has a different fact, power and smartness has blinded the vision of what God wants us to do.

2 Timothy 4:1-8New American Standard Bible (NASB)

“Preach the Word”

4 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is tojudge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preachthe word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with [a]great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 andwill turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you,be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.