Read this devotional today and thought it was worth sharing....

What Does Your Life Revolve Around?


I was reading about a strange baptism practice ... When the church would baptize one of the [Knights Templar], they would be baptized with their sword, but they wouldn't take their swords under water with them. Instead they would hold their swords up out of the water while the rest of them would be immersed. It was the knights' way of saying to Jesus, "You can have control of me but you can't have this. Jesus, I'm all yours, but who I am and what I do on the battlefield, how I use this sword, that's not part of the deal." And if that was still the practice today, we might not hold up a sword, but my guess is that many would hold up a wallet. Some would hold up a remote control. Others would hold up a laptop.


Many fans say to Jesus, "I will follow. Anything and everything I have, I give to you." But Jesus points to what you're hiding behind your back and says, "What about that?" For Nicodemus it was a religious reputation. For the Rich Young Ruler it was his stuff.


For Pam Jesus was asking, "What about food?" For years she turned to food rather than Jesus as her source of comfort and satisfaction ... Jesus asked [Steve], "What about your entertainment choices?" ... Jesus says to Stephanie, "What about your kids?" [Her] life revolved around her kids. Her kids were where she found her greatest joy. Her kids were the source of her greatest fears and anxiety...


The one thing we are most reluctant to give up is the one thing that has the most potential to become a substitute for him ... When we finally surrender that one thing, we discover the satisfaction that comes from following Jesus that was always missing when we were holding something back.