Daily Devotional For Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Good morning Southside. When you think of success in the world, what comes to your mind? Is it moving up the ladder to where you reach the point of making a six-figure income, have a home here, a vacation home somewhere else, the top of the line SUVs, a bulging retirement account? How do you define success? When it comes to the church and ministry, how do you define success? Is it a church that becomes a megachurch that is continuing to build bigger and better buildings, a staff bigger than most churches, multiple services throughout the weekend, a worship service on the scale of a Hollywood production and a hot-shot pastor? If someone on the street asked you, “How do you know your church is being successful?” How would you answer them?
If we were to define success the world’s way, then we would have to conclude that Jesus was a failure. During His last week, thousands shouted out to Him, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:9). And five days later those same thousands were shouting, “Crucify Him!” (Matthew 27:22, Mark 15:13, Luke 23:21, and John 19:6). All four Gospels show this was the response the people had towards Jesus. And what happened? They crucified Jesus and He died on the cross.
We live in the age of designer everything and unfortunately, this same attitude is appearing in churches. New Testament scholar and pastor John MacArthur writes this:
“The true gospel has increasingly been replaced by a consumer-friendly counterfeit. The first role of successful merchandising is to give consumers what they want. If they want bigger burgers, make their burgers bigger. Designer bottled water in six fruit flavors? Done. Minivans with ten cup holders? Give them twenty. You’ve got to keep the customer satisfied. You’ve got to modify your product and your message to meet their needs if you want to build a market and get ahead of the competition.
Today this same consumer mind-set has invaded Christianity. The church service is too long, you say? We’ll shorten it (one pastor guarantees his sermons will never last more than seven minutes!). Too formal? Wear your sweatsuit. Too boring? Wait’ll you hear our band!
And if the message is too confrontational, or too judgmental, or too exclusive, scary, unbelievable, hard to understand, or too much anything else for your taste, churches everywhere are eager to adjust that message to make you more comfortable. This new version of Christianity makes you a partner on the team, a design consultant on church life, and does away with old-fashioned authority, guilt trips, accountability, and moral absolutes.
One suburban church sent out a mailer recently, promising an “informal, relaxed, casual atmosphere,” “great music from our band,” and that those who come will, “believe it or not, even have fun.” That’s all great if you’re a coffee house. But anyone who claims to be calling people to the gospel of Jesus with those as his priorities is calling them to a lie.
It’s Christianity for consumers: Christianity Lite, the redirection, watering down, and misinterpretation of the biblical gospel in an attempt to make it more palatable and popular. It tastes great going down and settles light. It seems to salve your feelings and scratch your itch; it’s custom-tailored to your preferences. But that lightness will never fill you up with the true, saving gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is designed by man and not God, and it is hollow and worthless. In fact, it’s worse than worthless, because people who hear the message of Christianity Lite think they’re hearing the gospel—think they’re being rescued from eternal judgment—when, in fact, they’re being tragically misled.
The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment. And that puts it in opposition to the contemporary evangelical gospel, where ministers view Jesus as a utilitarian genie. You rub the lamp, and He jumps out and says you have whatever you want; you give Him your list and He delivers” (Source: John MacArthur, Hard To Believe, pp. 1-2).
Jesus did not come to make us comfortable and successful by the world’s standards. He never once catered to His disciples or the people. The Christian faith is not about coddling ourselves, but denying and abandoning ourselves. Jesus said this in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (NASB). In case you missed it, Jesus did not say “If anyone wishes to follow Me, he must coddle himself . . .” No, Jesus said “. . . he must deny himself.” That is how the Lord determines success.
Jesus said this in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (NASB). Whew! Hate is a very powerful word and emotion. “Hate” here is the Greek New Testament word [μισέω, miseo]. It can refer to hate in the traditional sense. Jews also used this word to refer to “preference.” This goes along with what Jesus says in Luke 12:51-53.
When you are comparing two things, you might say, “Oh, I hate this one but I really like this one.” In this case, you’re saying, “I prefer this one over that one.” We see this example by God said in Malachi 1:2-3, “I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau” (cf. Romans 9:13). We see an example of this in Scripture with Jacob and his wives. Similarly, when Genesis 29:31, which records that Leah was unloved (the Hebrew word literally means “hated”) by Jacob, it does not mean that he despised and detested her, but that he loved Rachel more.
Our allegiance and loyalty to Jesus supersedes and trumps all other loyalties, even to family. We read this today and miss how hard this was in Jesus’ day. For a Jew to accept Christ as the Messiah, as Lord, meant be considered dead by your Jewish family. All ties to you were severed. You could not visit family. You lost all support in old age for the Jewish welfare system. Preferring Jesus and losing everything is discipleship and success. Jesus said this in John 12:25, “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal” (NASB). Look at Jesus’ words in Luke 14:27, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (NASB). What cross? – a cross that crucifies your desire to be coddled. In case you missed it, look at Jesus’ words in Luke 9:57-58. Jesus says homelessness may be the way you crucify yourself. Meaning that the genuine disciples of Jesus are promised even the basic necessities of need such as shelter. So, which Jesus do you prefer? The one that coddles and comforts you or the one that helps you crucify yourself and who helps you carry your cross whatever that might be?
Jesus said that if we want to follow Him, we have to pick up an instrument of torture and death to follow Him. Can you imagine the reaction I would get if I said, “If anyone wishes to follow Jesus, he must pick up an electric chair and carry to be Jesus’ disciples”? What do you think would be the reaction? Do you think the altar would be packed with people willing and waiting to do this? And if this is not enough, have you read Jesus’ words in Luke 14:33. Oh no, there goes your comforts. We really do prefer the Jesus we make in our own image, not the Jesus of the New Testament that calls for total abandonment it all to follow Him.
Assignment: You were given a lot of verses in this devotional. Please take some time and read them thoroughly. Would the Lord say you prefer a Jesus you adore in your own image, or, the Jesus you abandon it all to become His image? Do you prefer a nice middle-class Jesus who does not mind our materialism and who would NEVER call us to give everything away? Do you prefer a Jesus who is fine with our superficial devotion, who would never impose on our comforts, because He is One of us? Do you prefer a Jesus who helps us pursue the American dream of prosperity or the Jesus of the New Testament who demands in Luke 14:33 our willingness to give all of that up? Do you prefer a Jesus who would never demand we forsake even our closest human relationships so that He receives our utmost love, affection and devotion?
Scripture To Meditate On: John 12:26, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, please help me to be willing to abandon everything for You if you ask as your first disciples did. Lord, help me to crucify everything in my life that is a barrier between You and me. Help me to become Your image of me, not me making You into my own image. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly