There’s something very wrong with Christianity today. There are too many saying they believe in Jesus but living their lives as if He doesn’t exist. There are many others who at least put on a show to make it look like they love Jesus, only to revert to their true selves when no one else is watching. Our churches are filled with people proclaiming the name of Jesus every Sunday morning, but once they leave they do everything they can to hide their so-called faith. The result of this is a world that is increasingly violent and hostile. Until true believers in Jesus, people like you and me, begin to live out our calling and the mission of Christ, our world will continue to spiral downward. And we will be accountable.
Discipleship
The Only Name that Matters to Me
My wife is a big fan of the band Big Daddy Weave. While they’re not exactly my cup of tea, as a writer I love a great lyric, and their song “The Only Name” certainly qualifies as that. The song begins with the following words:
“Yours will be/The only name that matters to me/ The Only One Whose favor I seek/The only name that matters to me“
The song is a huge hit, and thousands upon thousands of people are singing it all over the world. While attending a different concert recently, I looked out over the huge crowd of Christians gathered together singing in one voice. I thought of the Big Daddy Weave lyric and wondered, what if we all actually meant the words of that song?
Becoming
Earl D. Ramacher said, “I become today, by what I do with what God gave me, what I will be in the life to come. Today is a day of becoming. Then will be a day of being what I have become.” This is a truth that followers of Jesus must keep foremost in their minds. It’s something typical Christians scarcely consider. What we do today has massive implications on how we will spend eternity. Much like the metaphor of a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world causes a Tsunami in another, our small actions today ultimately will shape and define our spiritual destiny.
Hard Questions
Kyle Idleman, author of the fantastic books “Not a Fan” and “Gods at War”, recently wrote of his experience with the persecuted church in Southeast Asia. When someone there is contemplating becoming a follower of Christ, they are asked some very difficult questions: “Are you willing to lose your job and home?”; “Are you willing to be beaten and thrown in jail because of your faith?”; “Are you willing to die for Jesus?” This is in stark contrast to how the Western Church leads people into the Kingdom. We ask them to raise their hand, pray a prayer, and maybe come to the front of the group; and we have the audacity to say these actions require great boldness!
Discipline for Life
Discipline for many is a dreaded word. For most it means doing something that at best is uncomfortable. Without a doubt, discipline means not doing something that would be easy, and doing something that is more difficult instead. We see discipline as engaging in a less enjoyable exercise instead of just doing what we want to do. Spiritual disciplines generally mean spending time or effort on God’s behalf rather than our own (although I would argue that anything we do that glorifies God is ultimately better for us anyway). Craig Groeschel gave a great definition of discipline in a recent message he preached. He said that, “Discipline is doing the right thing regardless of how you feel in the moment.”