Geoff Moore has long been one of my favorite songwriters, and his most recent CD carries on his tradition of writing heartfelt songs about his walk with God. One of the tracks on the disc is called, “Overwhelming Love”, and it just floors me every time I listen to it. The heart of the chorus says, “Let us be ruined by Your overwhelming love”. For those of us aspiring to live lives wholly dedicated to Christ, this is the cry of our hearts. What would our lives look like if we were truly ruined by the love of God?
Archives for June 2012
What does it look like to follow Jesus?
Despite being the wealthiest people to ever walk the face of the earth, we still face daily struggles that interfere with our desire to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Most of us do not struggle with knowing where we will find our next meal or have to face being tortured because of our faith. Still, each of our lives brings their own set of challenges that can discourage us. Usually it becomes difficult to remember for whom we have pledged to live. When we do remember, it is a struggle to understand what it looks like to follow Jesus. I’ve got three practical applications for your life to help you put some discipline behind your devotion.
Lessons from a Tightrope
I recently watched Nick Wallenda walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Beyond the amazing spectacle of the feat, it held a special significance to me as I used to live only ten minutes away from where he walked across. I’ve seen the enormity of the rocks and heard the thunderous crash of the waters first hand. Having ridden a boat that carried me to the base of the falls, I am fully aware of the amount of mist he had to deal with during his crossing. All these things made the breathtaking event that much more intense and incredible to watch. Beyond all of this, I was struck by Nick’s faith and began thinking how life is essentially a tightrope. It is perilous as we walk along the narrow way; we face constant trials that threaten to knock us off balance and perhaps even push us to our death. Watching Nick Wallenda traverse the mighty falls, however, I noticed three key principles he followed that allowed him to accomplish his mission. We can apply these same principles to our walk with Jesus.
Keep it Precious
Every moment of our lives we are faced with a plethora of decisions. With so many choices our response is often to do nothing at all. The speed in which life moves today can be overwhelming and even paralyzing. When faced with too many options we many times choose to react to whatever result our indecision brings. This leads to a stressful and unfulfilled life, one that is a far cry from the one Jesus created us to live. We are here for a purpose, and there is a limited amount of time we all have to accomplish that mission. I want to look at three ways we can overcome the overwhelming decisions we all face on a daily basis.
Unity in Christ
I’m surprised how many people are searching for the “12 steps to Discipleship” or the “5 keys to being a follower of Jesus”. We don’t need any gimmicks to learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus. He has already clearly spelled out the process in His Word. The problem is that following Jesus is hard and requires us to make wholesale changes in our lives. That is not the Jesus most people want; they want the Jesus that spares them from spending eternity in Hell, but not much else. For too long, Christianity has been synonymous with inactivity. We have been taught that once we pray the magic prayer, our eternity is covered regardless of whatever we might do from that point forward.