Bob's BLOG: DTR with JESUS

How did Jesus DTR?

Do you know what DTR stands for? Well let me give you a hint, it is a conservation that many young men want to avoid AAC (at all cost). It can really scare a guy to know that it is coming, in fact some of them will only use the initials when they talk about it. Well DTR is not only something young men don't want to talk about. I know a lot of Christians who do not want to have the DTR talk with Jesus. I am getting ahead of myself so first I need to tell you about DTR. There are four parts when you DTR. These are not made up by me. They were set up by Jesus.

DTR is about - priorities. What is really important to you so that it takes precedent over other events or people?
DTR is about - commitment. It is about how long you expect it to last or are you in it for the long hall.
DTR is about - sacrifice. What is it worth to you? What are you willing to give up or do without because of it?
DTR is about - direction. Where will this lead you to? Are you headed in the right direction?

What conservation does the young man dread and was defined by Jesus. Well, it is the one that DEFINES THE RELATIONSHIP. Jesus was talking to his disciples and he had the DTR talk with them. He Defined The Relationship he expected to have with them, and with us.
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9.23-27 NIV)

Let us look at how Jesus DTR (Defined The Relationship) for the believer.
What are your priorities?
Jesus said "If anyone would come after me..." This is about personal choices we make. 'If' says you do not have to follow him. Jesus is not forcing anyone to follow him. We have to choose to be with Jesus and we cannot be ashamed of him IF we want him to speak for us before the Father when the times comes. If you made a priority list would Jesus be at the top, or would he even be on the list.
How committed are you?
Jesus says we must "deny ourselves" if we are going to be in a committed relationship with him. We can gain the whole world, but that could cost us to forfeit our relationship with Jesus. A key here is the need for a stop doing list in your life. When a young man get engaged one of the things he needs to stop doing is dating other girls. There are items each of us needs to stop doing when we come to Jesus as our personal savior. I read about a group of vegetarians who are flexible when it comes to eating some meat. They consider themselves FLEXITARIANS. They really like being vegeterians but sometimes they want to have some meat. That is like the Christian who sometimes leave things into their life that should not be there if they are in a committed relationship with Jesus. They could be called Christian Flexitarians. They like being with Jesus most of the time, but there are items that they should have on the stop doing list, but instead they are Flexitarians. Not 100% committed but they think it is enough.
Are you willing to Sacrifice?
Jesus says we "must take up our cross..." A cross is a place where you do not get to make choices for yourself. If we lose our life for Jesus then we will find that it has actually been saved. This is a paradox of Christianity. Jesus died (physically) so we could live (spiritually). Remember the wages of sin is death. That is why Jesus stepped in and died for us. We die (spiritually) daily on our personal crosses of sacrifice so we can live (spiritually) eternally.
Are you going in the right direction?
Jesus said "You must follow HIM." This is not a momentary decision to follow Jesus. It will take you the rest of your life to get where you are going. Jesus is leading and we are to follow him. The final goal of our life is the eternal kingdom of God.

When Jesus defined the relationship it was about priorities, commitment, sacrifice and direction. It was about all or nothing. It is not a flexitarian relationship when you get involved with Jesus. If you are really following Jesus and someone starts following you they should not end up lost.

It comes down to four simple Questions: