The priority of Christ for a believer is to give up your freedom and your rights and become a slave of Jesus Christ. This seems like a drastic and unfair request from God but it is the heart of Jesus for a believer. Very few believers will honor this calling from God. It is just too costly.
This has nothing to do with religion or works. Jesus wants all of you for His purposes. The commitment is to be obedient and loyal to Jesus regardless of what He does with you. Or, how long you live in the desert.
If you choose to surrender your life to Jesus He will fuse your personality into oneness with Him. You will hear the voice of God consistently and begin to think and act like Him. The beauty of abandoning yourself to Jesus is living in His presence at all times.
Walking with Jesus is painful at times and requires cutting ties with the world. You will suffer like Jesus and feel the agony of being crucified along side of Him.
The surgical work of the Cross is designed to take away your ego and pride. You learn to serve Christ in very difficult circumstances and become isolated from the world.
The calamities come and it seems like God doesn’t care about you. Life becomes precipitous with no way out.
Many times Jesus will shut you down. The visions and revelations will disappear and Jesus seems very distant.
What is the purpose of all this pain and suffering? Somehow God will use you to further His Kingdom and bring glory to the name of Jesus.
It makes no sense now but some day you will see Jesus for who He is, the Creator of the Heaven and Earth. He is from everlasting to everlasting!
Hal Hollister Ministry 