In the life of every true follower of Christ, there comes a moment when lip-service faith is no longer good enough. At some point we recognize that the status quo isn’t getting it done. The things we have always been taught begin to ring hollow. We recognize how shallow we have been swimming in the ocean of love that is the spirit of God. This is when we must choose to dive deeper and discover what it means to live life as an authentic follower of Jesus or to continue living in dangerous mediocrity (Revelation 3:16). This is the moment of truth, and our eternity hangs on the decision we make.
John
The Light of the World
There are a lot of great songs that have been written about the light of Jesus. From classic hymns like Phillip Bliss’, “The Light of the World is Jesus” to more modern hits like Charlie Hall’s “Marvelous Light”, the light of Jesus has always brought us comfort as we seek to bask in it. There is something reassuring about light. We get energy from light. So why is it that we can sing about the light of the world, yet in reality the world grows darker every day? As followers of Jesus, what are we missing?
Culture Wars
It is virtually impossible to be a disciple of Jesus Christ without living a life of self-discipline. Following Jesus means our focus shifts from being self-focused to others-focused. While this sounds noble and good, it is ridiculously difficult to implement. Our culture has so indoctrinated us with the pursuit of things we “need” and “deserve” that it becomes extremely easy to rationalize spending our time and money on things of earth rather than Heaven. Even within the church there are those that preach that following Jesus leads to prosperity and good fortune. This is contrary to what the Bible teaches (2 Timothy 3:12; Luke 9:58); serving God is all about thinking less of ourselves and more of others.
What does it look like to follow Jesus?
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.
Keep it Precious
Every moment of our lives we are faced with a plethora of decisions. With so many choices our response is often to do nothing at all. The speed in which life moves today can be overwhelming and even paralyzing. When faced with too many options we many times choose to react to whatever result our indecision brings. This leads to a stressful and unfulfilled life, one that is a far cry from the one Jesus created us to live. We are here for a purpose, and there is a limited amount of time we all have to accomplish that mission. I want to look at three ways we can overcome the overwhelming decisions we all face on a daily basis.