[The Mayor]

July 15, 2005

No Looking Back

Read:
Luke 9:57-62

No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. —Luke 9:62

Bible In One Year: Isaiah 25-27

When I was a boy on the farm, my dad would tell me, "You can't plow a straight row if you look back." You can test this for yourself by looking back as you walk through snow or along a sandy beach. Your tracks won't be straight.

A good farmer doesn't look back once he has put his hand to the plow. Jesus used this analogy to teach us that if we are to be His disciples we must make a complete break with all loyalties that hinder our relationship with Him.

Total allegiance to God is a principle that is rooted in the Old Testament. The Israelites, after being freed from slavery and fed by supernatural means, looked back longingly to the days when they enjoyed fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic in Egypt (Numbers 11:5-6). God was greatly displeased, and He judged His people. Their looking back indicated a lack of commitment to Him.

Today, people who cling to old sins and the worldly pleasures they enjoyed before becoming Christians cannot be loyal disciples of Jesus Christ. When we repent and believe in Him, we become citizens of a new kingdom. We are to break with the sins of the past.

Discipleship means no looking back. —Herb Vander Lugt

As a follower of Jesus,
I am walking in His way;
Straight ahead till life is over,
I will walk with Him each day. —Hess

In the dictionary of discipleship, you won't find the word "retreat."

FOR FURTHER STUDY
What Does It Take To Follow Christ?
Knowing God Through The New Testament

[luvie]

Thanks, Mayor, for your daily cuppa (mine was tea) and a lesson from the Word. We must all learn to keep our eyes where they belong--on the Lord!

Ya having a good day? Careful up on that roof! Hope your petition that you turned in will be successful getting you in the parade.

[LadyX]

Thanks for The Daily Bread.
In my mail this morning was the following, sent by a friend of 33 years,
and is an excellent reminder...

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God and the Spider

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island.
The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch
with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction.
Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves
in the rock.
Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves.
Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers
looking for him swept up the ridge,
they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, Lord, if it be your will, please protect me.
Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen.

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close.
He thought, Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one.
Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while,
the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

Hah, he thought.What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me
is a spider web.
God does have a sense of humor.

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout
and could see them searching one cave after another.
As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand.

To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave,
they moved on.
Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance,
his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.

Lord, forgive me, prayed the young man.
I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall.

We all face times of great trouble.
When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives,
sometimes in the most surprising ways.

As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they
faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, In God we will have success!
[Nehemiah 2:20]

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Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God,
a mere spider's web can become a brick wall of protection.
Believe He is with you always.

Just speak His name through Jesus His son,
and you will see His great power and love for you.

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Struggle as we might to solve our own problems,
it remains so that God has *all the answers!*