Jesus told us if we are obedient to the Holy Spirit He will guide us,teach us and bring all things to our rememberance. God does not force us to do anything. We obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Luke 9:23).

In other words when Jesus said if you are to be My disciple, let him take up his cross daily, or give up our right to our selfish pleasure to serve Him and others. Our Jesus is not talking about our eternal salvation because that is a gift as we see throughout His Words, but about our being a disciple, serving Him in this life here and now. That is why He sounds so stern (see Luke 14:26).

The Lord makes His standard very clear if we are to be a disciple. He wants our relationship to be one of love for Him and others. So by His grace we won’t hesitation when He calls us to do something. If we hesitate, could it be because we love ourselves or someone else more then Him, placed it or them in competition with Him? Jesus will not force us to obey Him.

My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant, but when I stand face to face with God by His grace, I pray I discover that through my obedience many were blessed.