Following in the footsteps of Jesus is not easy. Christ was selfless, passionately driven, fiercely devoted, and unwavering in His mission. This is how He lived every second of His life; He never let up. How can we possibly ever achieve even a modicum of that in our lives? When we ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life and put our total trust in Him, His spirit empowers us to do everything He did, and more (John 14:12). It’s not up to us to figure out the “how”, we simply need to acknowledge our weakness and obey Jesus anyway. As Steven Furtick puts it, “Your greatest limitation is God’s greatest opportunity.”
John
Inside Out
I read a great quote from Steven Furtick recently: “Sin offers a temporary fix for your pain – while it slowly destroys your purpose.” When the going gets tough, it seems the tough give in to sin. It is a paradox how those of us who know that comfort and peace can only be found in Christ can be so quick to lean on the crutch of sin when something breaks in our lives. Our first instinct should be Jesus in everything, yet instead we run purposefully into the arms of the enemy. This makes no sense and only emphasizes how weak and desperate we are for a Savior to rescue us from our penchant for self-destruction.
Election Results
As the dust settles on another election in the United States, about half the country is depressed and half is elated. Listening to the radio and various conversations today, it seems that a good number of Christians find themselves deflated, defeated, and depressed. This is the result of putting our hope in earthly governments and finding at least some of our identity in our nationality. As followers of Jesus, we must remember that we are not of this world (John 15:19). We have a higher call to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are to reflect the light of God’s truth into the dark world around us. Carrying out the mission of Christ remains our commission regardless of who happens to be in residence at the White House.
Simple Truth
Søren Kierkegaard once said, “The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.” He’s absolutely correct. The Bible is very easy to understand. The question really is whether or not we want to hear what it has to say. With knowledge comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes obligation. If we know what the Word says, we are either compelled to obey it or reject it.
True Greatness
Do you ever look at the lives of fellow Christ followers and marvel at what they’re doing for God? You can get into a form of hero worship when you see the impact others are having for the Kingdom. It’s easy to rejoice over the glory God is receiving through their ministry, but at the same time I sometimes get a gnawing in my soul that says I should be doing more. Of course this is often accompanied by the niggling thoughts that I could never do what they do. Forget “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13). Apparently, that verse is for a select few according to my thinking in that moment.