Where are you in your walk with Jesus? Are you where you want to be? Have you moved beyond believing in Him to the point where you are now living for Him? In any growth process, it is essential to be aware of where you are today. Without knowing your starting point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to map the way to where you want to be. It’s like staring at a directory in a large mall and finding the store you need but then discovering the map has no indication of where you are currently standing. We all need the helpful “you are here” marker to know in which direction we need to move.
commitment
On Following Jesus
Sometimes I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall. I hang out with people who profess to be followers of Jesus, only to find out they are merely Christians. As Andy Stanley pointed out in a recent message, Christ -followers in the first century did not refer to themselves as Christians; they called each other disciples. There’s a huge gap between those two words. A Christian is someone who, to some degree or another, believes in Jesus. A disciple is one who doggedly pursues and obeys Christ, one who asserts He is the Lord of their life, and actually lives like they mean it. Which word better describes you?
Right Now
I turn forty-five later this week and it occurred to me that I’m probably about half-way through my life. I’m in good health, decent shape, and I take care of myself. It would seem that living to the age of ninety would not be too much of a stretch. But what if I’m wrong? What if I only have thirty years remaining? What about twenty, or ten? What if my life should unexpectedly end next week? As Jesus said, none of us have any guarantee of tomorrow (Luke 12:16-20). Any of us could find that our next breath is actually our last. That should affect the way we live. Knowing tomorrow could be our last day on earth should have radical implications on how we live today.
Lead Me to Calvary
Tomorrow is Good Friday, the day we remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. We’ve talked a lot in recent days about surrendering everything to Jesus and truly making Him the Lord of our lives. Everything we do should be to glorify Him because of what He did for us. In thinking about this post, the old hymn, “Lead Me to Calvary”, kept repeating in my head. As we prepare our hearts for solemn remembrance tomorrow, it seemed good to reflect on the words of this powerful song.
What it Means to Follow Jesus
The most popular post I ever wrote was titled, “What Does it Mean to be a Christian?” I wrote that after a close friend of mine had accepted the Lord and I wanted to give him a primer of sorts as to what living a life devoted to Christ should look like. I believe that we who have called ourselves Christians for a long time probably skim over articles such as that one, assuming they are too basic or that we already know what being a Christ-follower entails. The past couple of years have convinced me that nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of people calling themselves Christians have no idea what it means to truly follow Christ.