When Following Jesus Costs Something | Restoring Warriors Daily Devotional | Matthew 27:57

At a moment when everyone else was scattering, Joseph stepped forward to honor Jesus, even though it cost him his status, reputation, and relationships.1

Joseph’s life reminds us that true discipleship isn't proven when following Christ is easy—it’s revealed when obedience carries a cost. It is never too late to courageously stand for your faith.

Reflection:

Are there areas of your life where you have kept your faith quiet out of fear? What would it look like for you to courageously identify with Christ today?

Daily Challenge:

Take one intentional step today that publicly identifies you as a follower of Jesus. Whether it's praying with someone, sharing your faith, or standing for biblical truth, choose to be bold.

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Transcript

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Could cost him his repu reputation, influence. It could cost him some of the relationships that he had. Hey, welcome back to the Restoring Warriors Daily Devotional where every day we challenge men to boldly pursue the calling that God has placed on their lives. Hey, and if you're a man that's looking for some community, I want to direct you over to our school community. All right, we've got a Restoring Warriors school community where iron sharpens iron, where brothers show up for one another, and uh discipleship happens every single day. I can't wait to see you over there. Go to restoring warriors.com, click on join a group, and we'll direct you over to the school group. All right, we're diving back in. We're in Matthew 27, verse number 57 today, where it says, as evening approached, there came a man, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. All right, so Joseph of Arimathea enters the story now at a surprising moment. All right, he wasn't one of the twelve, he wasn't standing at the foot of the cross, yet when nearly everyone else had scattered, everybody else was away, Joseph stepped forward. He stepped forward, he felt called and he stepped forward. And as a wealthy and respected member of the Jewish council, right, which is confirmed in this in the book of Mark, uh 1543, is where you can reference that. Publicly identifying with the crucified Jesus could cost him his repu reputation, influence. It could cost him some of the relationships that he had. Up until this point, John tells us in his gospel that he had been a disciple in secret because he feared the Jewish leaders. You can read that in John 19, uh, verse 38. All right, but the cross, it changed something. It changed something. Right. When others walked away, this is when Joseph said, Hey, I'm gonna walk towards Jesus. All right, real discipleship, it isn't proven when when following Christ is easy. No, it's revealed when obedience carries a cost, when you might lose something because of it. All right, there comes a moment for every single believer when faith moves from private to public action. All right, and Joseph reminds us that it's never too late to courageously stand with Jesus, even when the world believes his cause is lost. All right, so I want to hit you with the challenge today. Today is take one intentional step, one intentional step today that publicly identifies you as a follower of Jesus. All right, it might mean praying for somebody at a coffee shop. It might be sharing your faith with somebody at the grocery store or inviting somebody to to church or or your small group. It might be sharing this devotional with somebody or standing for biblical truth with both grace and courage. All right, do that today. I want to leave you with a prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for Joseph's example of courageous faith. Lord, forgive me for the times that I've hidden my relationship with you out of out of fear of people and what they might think. Lord, I ask that you give me the boldness today to stand with Jesus regardless of the cost. Father, help me live a life uh uh of faith that's visible, courageous, and faithful, and help my life point others to Christ. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Hey, thank you for tuning in today. If you were encouraged by us devotional, I encourage you to share with a friend. Make sure you like, make sure you subscribe to the channel, leave a comment. It helps us spread the gospel to more and more people. It's an absolute pleasure doing the ministry with you every day. I can't wait to see you on the next one.