7-day plan: Following Jesus
Jesus calls us to follow him: what it costs, how to remain in him and how to help others.
One passage a day, with a question to think it over. Your progress stays on this device, no account needed.
Day 1 · Come, follow me
Jesus calls fishermen, and they leave their nets
And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you become fishers of people.” And at once they left the nets and followed him. And going on a little, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. And at once he called them; and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they went away after him.
Mark 1:16–20 · Read the whole chapterTo think about
Jesus rose early to pray alone (v. 35). What quiet moment can you set aside in your day?
Day 2 · The cost
Following him means denying yourself and taking up your cross
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for the sake of me will find it. For what will it profit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what will a person give in exchange for his life?
Matthew 16:24–26 · Read the whole chapterTo think about
Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). How would you answer in your own words?
Day 3 · Remaining in him
Jesus is the vine; apart from him we can do nothing
Remain in me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like the branch and withers; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
John 15:4–8 · Read the whole chapterTo think about
“Remain in my love” (v. 9). What simple habit would help you stay close to Jesus this week?
Day 4 · Making disciples
Jesus sends them to make disciples of all nations and teach them
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So go and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all things that I have commanded you. And look, I am with you all the days, until the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18–20 · Read the whole chapterTo think about
Jesus promises, “I am with you all the days” (v. 20). How does remembering that promise change your day?
Day 5 · Come, follow me
Matthew, the tax collector, gets up from his table and follows him
And passing on from there, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he says to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
Matthew 9:9 · Read the whole chapterTo think about
Jesus saw the crowds with compassion (v. 36). Whom around you could you look at with more compassion today?
Day 6 · The cost
Jesus says to sit down and count the cost, with a tower and a king as examples
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and turning, he said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own life as well, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see whether he has enough for completion? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while he is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So then, every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:25–33 · Read the whole chapterTo think about
Jesus suggests inviting those who cannot repay you. Whom could you invite or help without expecting anything in return? (vv. 12-14)
Day 7 · Remaining in him
Remaining in his word is what makes someone a true disciple
So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31–32 · Read the whole chapterTo think about
The accusers left one by one when Jesus spoke about sin (v. 9). When is it your turn to look at yourself before pointing at others?