It seems few of us live our lives with any recognition of the very real spiritual battle raging all around us. Real angels and real demons clash in ways that affect our physical world in tangible ways, but we carry on oblivious to it. In his book, “You and Me Forever”, Francis Chan says, “He has given us a clear mission – to make disciples. Yet Christian[s]… can most typically be found… skipping through life, ignoring the battle that rages around them. We have made happy families our mission. That is not the mission Jesus gave us.” We are to tell people about the trustworthy character of God, the sacrifice of His Son, and to make them aware of the battle that rages around us all. We are to help them follow in the footsteps of Jesus and strike back at the forces of Satan.
Archives for March 2015
Jesus at the Center
I love this thought from A.W. Tozer: “We should see God at the center, and everything else just at the edges.” Can you imagine being so consumed by God that anything that was not God appeared only in your peripheral vision, and slightly blurry at that? This is the goal of my life and for the life of every true disciple of Jesus. When Christ walked the earth, He did so with His focus firmly and always on the Father. He made it clear that the things He did were only because He saw the Father doing those same works (John 5:19). As people-centric as Jesus is and was, those same people still were only on the edges of His vision. He lived His life so consumed by God that nothing could compromise His mission.
God on a Leash
I recently heard Daron Earliwine preach a sermon where he relayed a story about having to keep his new puppy on a leash when they walk. After giving it some thought, he surmised that the reason he keeps his new pal on a leash is because he doesn’t trust him. They haven’t developed the level of trust where Daron can rely on his dog to stay with him in every circumstance. Since the dog can’t be fully trusted, Daron feels safer keeping him on a leash where he can exercise a modicum of control over his actions. His point was that we often treat God in the same way. We keep Him on a leash, so to speak, because we don’t fully trust Him. Let me explain a bit further.
Pride
A.W. Tozer once said that “The proud man cannot worship God any more than the proud devil can worship God.” Pride is a relationship killer. When we love someone, we make everything about them. Pride makes everything about us. The only relationship that thrives in the midst of pride is the narcissistic one we have with ourselves. If we would follow Christ with all of our hearts then we must love as He did (John 15:12). We must be humble as He was. There is no room for pride in our relationship with God. We’ve got to let go of every feeling of self-sufficiency and rely fully on His character and promise of provision (Matthew 6:25-34).