{"id":9165,"date":"2024-01-24T10:18:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T15:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=9165"},"modified":"2024-02-08T12:19:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T17:19:43","slug":"texas-pastor-says-is-the-smartest-scariest-most-thrilling-and-fulfilling-path-one-can-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/01\/texas-pastor-says-is-the-smartest-scariest-most-thrilling-and-fulfilling-path-one-can-take.html","title":{"rendered":"Texas Pastor Says This is the &#8216;Smartest, Scariest, Most Thrilling and Fulfilling Path One Can Take&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_9171\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9171\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9171\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/409\/2024\/01\/jesus-12-disciples-credit-godongphoto-shutterstock.jpg\" alt=\"12 disciples\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9171\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">godongphoto\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Luke 9:23 reads, \u201cThen he said to them, \u2018If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.\u201d This Bible verse comes from the Gospel of Luke, one of the three synoptic Gospels. Luke, known as Luke the Evangelist, is widely recognized as the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, according to the Christian website <a href=\"https:\/\/overviewbible.com\/luke\/\">Overviewbible.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The site notes that Luke wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else, even more than the apostle Paul. It also indicates that he lived during the first century, and \u201che also likely had direct access to the apostles and other accounts of Jesus\u2019 life and ministry.\u201d Pastor Jon Bell told Fox News Digital, \u201cFollowing Jesus is the smartest, scariest, most thrilling and fulfilling path one can take.\u201d Bell is the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel in\u00a0Flower Mound, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>He said that many of the disciples \u201cimmediately put down what they were doing to follow Him. There must have been something about Him that caused them all to leave all behind to follow.\u201d\u00a0Following Jesus was not only an \u201cadventure\u201d for the disciples but a way to find eternal life in Christ. \u201cThey also found that\u00a0Jesus was the way, the truth and the life. It definitely wasn\u2019t easy, but it was awesome,\u201d said Bell. \u201cFollowing Jesus is awesome.\u201d Following Jesus means, as the verse indicates, that people must deny themselves.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yyOHaDG0IYc?si=QhyFPXGBsWmwgMf2\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This, Bell told Fox News Digital, means human beings \u201ccannot follow ourselves, our impulses, our own agenda, and follow Jesus at the same time.\u201d He added, \u201cJesus is going in the opposite direction of the world,\u201d said Bell. \u201cIt\u2019s an \u2018either-or\u2019 thing.\u201d Those seeking to follow Christ need to ask themselves, \u201cWhat am I living for, and how is that demonstrated in what I do?\u201d said Bell. He said, \u201cSome deceive themselves by thinking they are following Jesus, while at the same time living for themselves, or the world while thinking church attendance, prayer, Bible study or good deeds will suffice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Bible,\u201d said Bell, \u201csays God is looking for obedience over sacrifice. Obedience is a good indicator of the authenticity of our faith. There are a lot of things a nonbeliever can do without even being saved.\u201d\u00a0When obedience is done out of love, it \u201cshows great faith.\u201d\u00a0Bell said, \u201cA good question to ask yourself is, \u2018When have I ever said no to something, or myself, because I am a follower of Christ?\u2019\u201d Following Jesus will naturally result in the denial of self, Bell told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJesus is not going to lead us into evil, sin, selfishness and worldliness,\u201d he said. \u201cJesus said the kingdom of heaven is not in eating and drinking but in righteousness, peace and the Holy Spirit.\u201d So humanity, he said, is either \u201cliving for self or living for God.\u201d\u00a0Bell said, \u201cAs the disciples learned,\u00a0following Jesus\u00a0not only transformed their lives but transformed others\u2019 lives. You are not asked to be in charge but to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you do follow, you will discover life at its fullest,\u201d said Bell.\u00a0\u201cWhen Jesus is leading \u2014 you are succeeding.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luke 9:23 reads, \u201cThen he said to them, \u2018If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.\u201d This Bible verse comes from the Gospel of Luke, one of the three synoptic Gospels. Luke, known as Luke the Evangelist, is widely recognized as the author&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":9171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,140],"tags":[1839,1842],"class_list":["post-9165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible","category-church","tag-following-jesus","tag-pastor-jon-bell"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Texas Pastor Says This is the &#039;Smartest, Scariest, Most Thrilling and Fulfilling Path One Can Take&#039;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pastor Jon Bell, the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel in\u00a0Flower Mound, Texas, said the disciples \u201cimmediately put down what they were doing to follow Him.&quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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