Daily Devotional #1,827

The great British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was quoted as saying “Don’t follow the crowd, let the  crowd follow you. She was talking about leadership at its best. I was thinking about that quote on this Palm  Sunday and there is something there in the account that resonates with this. In the gospel of Luke, he records  that when Jesus started towards Jerusalem for Easter Week and eventually his crucifixion and resurrection, the  account notes that he separated himself by walking ahead of the people. And then when the donkey was  presented, Jesus mounted it and then rode on ahead of the crowd into Jerusalem. That journey into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday demonstrated two things. First, Jesus was presenting himself as the promised Messiah of  God. And second, he was demonstrating that our relationship to him was as followers of this one claiming to be  God’s son. I bet all of us want to be up front, in control of life and the future. But Jesus taught and now  showed that if we are going to be in a relationship with him, his follower, then we are going to have to give up  our own way and even take up our own cross and follow him. And his promise to us is that it will be worth it.  Few recognized Jesus for who he was and is and there was only a small group that continued to choose to  believe and follow him. That means that to follow Jesus means that you will have to decide to follow the crowd  or to take that road less traveled and follow this one who we remember this day as the God and savior who led  all those who wanted…to a future, a hope and life eternal. Here's our Bible verse for today…  
Matthew 16:24-25 NLT Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give  up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. (25) If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.  
Remember I’m praying for you!  
With love, PJ