When He had called the people to [Himself], with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 “Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

– Mark 8:34-38 (NKJV)

It’s time for a decision! Somewhere along the way, I’ve learned that the good news of the gospel can be summed up in four movements. First there is GOD who created the world and everything in it, especially Adam and Eve, and it was very good. Second, Adam and Eve SINNED and now we are all separated from God because of our sin. Third, that JESUS came and lived a sinless life and died on the cross and rose again from the dead so that whoever would put their faith and trust in him could be restored to a right relationship with God. Finally, We have to RESPOND to the good news by committing our lives to follow Jesus.

Jesus has been throughout Galilee preaching the word of God, healing folks, and casting out demons. He is calling for a response. As He calls for people to put their trust in Him. He makes it clear that those who follow Him will need to surrender their will to His and be prepared for it to lead to an early death. The cross was a particularly cruel instrument of death. To follow Jesus is to trust Him enough to put His will ahead of our own and follow Him even to places and circumstances that we would otherwise avoid.

We respond to the word of God by trusting Jesus as our LORD and savior. We profess our sins separate us from God, but then we also submit to Jesus authority over our lives. You can’t truly belong to him any other way. Faith means to trust God and simply take Him at His word. It means that we believe Jesus and act on what He says. Faith requires action.

There are some places around the world today where a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ will cost you your life. Yet, it amazes me how deeply intentional that new Christians in those cultures are about getting baptized and professing their faith in the midst of the local church. Yet, often in places that are offered more freedoms it can be challenging to get someone who says they have made a “commitment” to Christ to go public with it, much less be baptized.

When it comes to where you stand with Jesus, Jesus doesn’t indicate that just a whisper will do. No he calls for unashamed commitment. It’s uncomfortable. It’s unsettling. But it’s so freeing! What we gain by putting our trust in Christ far outweighs the cost of anything we have lost in following Him.

So where do you stand today? Have you gone all in on Jesus?

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Help us to live lives of boldness, courage, and conviction. Let our confidence be in your word. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.