Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus
Kris Weiskittel is taking seriously the words of Christ in Matthew 25:35. On Sunday nights, you’ll find Kris sacrificing his time to go and visit those in prison. This is a thankless ministry that exists under the radar of most of us. As a regular reader of this blog, Kris was kind enough to allow me to interview him regarding what it’s like to go into the prisons and deliver hope and the love of Jesus to those incarcerated there.
I am often dismayed by preachers who teach that God wants you to be happy. This places the emphasis on us rather than on God. Life is not about you or me; it is only about our awesome creator God. He does not call us to happiness, but rather to holiness. It is through holiness that love is perfected. Perfected love brings uncontainable joy into our lives. This joy is the result of communion with our Father, nothing more and nothing less. It is not happiness we should be seeking. Instead we must long for the joy that comes from living in authentic relationship with our Savior and Lord.
Maybe you’re different from me. Perhaps you accepted Christ and immediately began serving Him with all your heart and never looked back. If that’s your story, then I envy you. My life hasn’t worked out that way. Since accepting Christ it’s been a roller coaster of obedience and outright defiance. Some days are better than others; honestly, some years are better than others. I’ve seen growth, sometimes in small increments, sometimes in leaps and bounds. Throughout the majority of my days has been this uncomfortable thread of sin. No matter how committed I’ve attempted to become, disobedience always seems to creep back in. Can you relate?
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?
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.