Sounds exhausting right, and it is, if your try to do and be these things on our own. But that’s not what God intends.
He wants to be these thing in us and through us.
When we give our lives to him he lives in us, that’s why we die to ourselves (not literally, spiritually) We let Jesus live through us.
But we have to nurture that relationship and feed it. By reading his word, talking with him and surrounding ourselves with what draw us closer to God not further away.
The more time we spend with God, the more we know him the more he pours out of us.
Jesus was not a back up plan, he is God, he is creation, he is the very word that created us.
He loves us and in loving us gave us choice. For it would not be love if we were forced. God is gentle and he will never force us into anything we do not choose. We make choices in life that either brings us closer to him or further away from him.
He knew we would make mistakes and he planned from the very beginning to sacrifice himself for us, to make a way for us to come back into right relationship with him.
Jesus choose us because he loves us. We either choose to accept his sacrifice or we don’t but in choosing we also choose to let him love and forgive us or we choose not to.
Its easy to excuse away our behavior by saying ‘that’s just the way I am.’
But if we are are made new in Jesus, then we are not who we used to be. We are like him.
By saying ‘that’s just the way I am’ we are resurrecting our old self and saying that Jesus in us, is not enough to kill off our old selves.
Jesus makes us new when we invite him into our lives, he gives us new life a new identity.
When we say we die to self, we are spiritually no longer that person and are given new life in Jesus and that new life is to be him.
So when we find our selves reverting back to our old ways and our old habits we don’t need to try to change, we need to realize that, that is not us anymore.
That’s why knowing Jesus is so important, because the more we know him the more we know our new selves, its how we find our identity in him.
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4
We are meant to think like Jesus, act like Jesus and be Jesus. But we are not meant to play act, we are supposed to let him shine instead of us.
Think of Jesus as your boss in a way, but imagine he is the best boss ever, who only ever wants the very best for you and others. You wouldn’t make decisions without your bosses approval so why would we make decisions with out first going to Jesus.
He knows everything and therefore knows the best way, the most efficient way and the funniest way to do things. So why wouldn’t we look to him for guidance.
We are meant to set our mind in heaven where Jesus is and bring heaven to earth to those around us.
Jesus is with us all the time. He is our constant companion. We can talk to him anytime anywhere, in a traffic jam, at work, with our family, anytime he’s like your best friend that you can text anytime but you don’t need a phone to communicate with him.
We have the creator of the universe with us at all times, why wouldn’t we use that to our advantage?
We are meant to see the world through his eyes not him through the worlds eyes.
Everyone fills their heart and their head with something.
What we focus on first in the morning will be with us all day and what we focus on at night will be with us in our dreams and may even wake us up.
How we start and end our day impacts how our day goes. That doesn’t mean that we can’t change our focus through out the day, but we will be trying to counteract something instead of starting out on the right foot.
Starting our day with God sets the tone for the day, putting him first gives us the energy, wisdom and stamina to not just get through the day but to strive.
When we let him fill us up in the morning and ask him to direct our step through the day, our days go smoother. We have more peace and calm, because he gives us all we need, helps us do what we need to better, more effectively and more efficiently and helps us to avoid the pitfalls that can drain us or steer us in the wrong direction.
Let God direct your steps and you’ll be surprised how amazing your day will go.
Where we draw our strength is what lets us stand in the storm.
Our faith is built on Jesus and when we root ourselves deep in him, we can weather the storm. When we draw our nourishment from Jesus, our roots grow strong in him and we can withstand more then we can imagine.
When the storm is over we may see damage to branches and leaves but its what you can’t see deep down the roots that give the us strength to grow back bigger and stronger that matter.
Let’s root ourselves in Him.
So when the storm comes it’s his words, his love, his strength and his character that we depend on to weather the storm and come out stronger.
Life and death reverberate throughout all creation. In creation the dead brings life to the living. Plants draw nutrients from the compost of the creation that has died and gone back into the earth.
If you look and listen God is always teaching us, echoing his message throughout all creation.
Death brings life.
Jesus died to bring us new life. His sacrifice paid for our mistakes and makes us new creation before God, so that we might have freedom from guilt and shame, so that we may have a pure, loving, deep, intimate connection with him.
Jesus’s death brings life and so does our own. When we die to our selfishness and let him live through us it’s like a light being turned on in dark room, we can finally see and find freedom from the darkness that once surrounded us.
Find freedom in him and let his love and sacrifice lead you to the light of forgiveness.
When we hear of new believers there is an excitement and a joy that comes with knowing that others have found the same love and peace that we did when we surrendered our lives Jesus. Knowing that more people have found Jesus and are in turn sharing Him with others is something that over joys all believers.
Often we divide ourselves by what church we go to or what denomination. But God never intended for us to be divided. We are all believers in Jesus and His grace and that is what brings us together.
Something I’ve been thinking about lately is how when we meet other believers our first responses is usually. ‘What church do you go to?’ And then we immediately begin to either bond or judge each other based on the answer to that question.
But what if our first question to other believer when we find out we share faith in Jesus is.
“What has God been doing in your life or teaching you recently?”
This question can direct our conversation to encourage and uplift each other by focusing instead on what draws us together, instead of what separates us.
Ministry is so much more then the person with the microphone.
There are always others, working to make events, outreaches and ministry happen.
When was the last time you thanked the person who faithfully makes the coffee each Sunday or the person who cleans your church, how about the person who opens their home up for your small group. Ministry is a group activity, we can reach other on a one on one basis but to reach multitude is hard without a team that supports each other.
Paul acknowleded that in this passage. He appreciated the work and support of Epaphroditus.
If you are a leader remeber to thank those that make it possible for you to do what you do, if you serve encourage and lift up those who serve with you.
Have you ever thought about how we greet other believers.
We are really good at saying a quick ‘hi’ or ‘welcome’ on Sunday morning. But do we ever ask how people are? Or do we just plaster on the fake smile hiding what’s going on in our life or let others pass by with the same fake smile hiding there own struggles.
We are the body of Jesus. We are meant to help each other.
Yesterday I talked about not earning God’s love. All he asks is our faith, our believe in the sacrifice he made for us.
The apostle Paul before he met Jesus followed all the rules and regulation to try to earn his salvation. But once he me Jesus he realized it was all in vain.
God gives salvaion freely, it can’t be eaned by good deeds and following the rules, because we have all done something wrong in our life and we can’t make up for that to a holy and perfect God, but he can. Jesus being both God and man lived a sinless life and paid the price for us so that we could find righteousness through him. He did what we can’t, because he loves us.
Stop striving to earn salvation and accept what he freely gives.
Circumcision and baptism sound like religious terms that many of us don’t understand the reasoning behind.
Circumcision and baptism symbolize our choice to die to our selfish ways, cutting ourselves off from our old life and being reborn into a new life in Jesus.
That new life in Jesus frees us from the guilt and shame of our past mistakes.
Jesus dying and being raised back to life gave us the gift of doing the same spiritually. We can die to our old selfish ways and be reborn into the new life that he gives us.
It is a spiritual circumcision, its cutting ourselves off from who we use to be and finding new life in Jesus.
Baptism is a public declaration, a symbolization of that new life, of being made new, being reborn into the life Jesus paid for and originally interned for us to have. A right relationship with him.
One where we can laugh and talk with God, where we can feel free from our past and share that same freedom with others.
Don’t shy away from what you don’t understand or think is just tradition or old ways. Talk with God, ask him what it means and let him show you his true intent.
How do you act, speak, think when your alone? Is it the same way you are in public, at work, at church?
Would you be ashamed to share who you are at home or what you do?
Does who you are change depending on where you are? Or who your around.
If we have Jesus living in us and we are living by the guidance of the Holy Spirit we should be the same person whether we are alone or surround by thousands.
Graham Cooke has taught me so much about growing in my relationship with Jesus. This teaching helped me through one of the toughest times in my life and helped me see my relationship with Jesus from a whole new perspective. I hope it helps you grow closer to Jesus.
I love to share people who have influenced my walk with Jesus. Todd White is one of those people. His testimony and his passion for Jesus have inspired me to grow closer to Jesus and to find my identity and calling in Jesus alone. I hope this message blesses you!
We are meant to stand out by our words and by our actions. We are to be know by how we react. We should have peace in times of trouble and pour our lives out for others.
Jesus never complained, he served people without prejudice or regard for himself, and we should do the same. Not out of obligation, but out of love. We are to serve, to demonstrate his love to others, to stick out like stars in the sky because of our compassion.
If you are serving or volunteering out of obligation or because you think it will earn you points with God. Stop.
Ask God how he wants you to help others and ask him to show you those you serve the ways he sees them.
I have been on many missions trips and seen destitution and poverty but I have also learned from the people I have served because I saw them as equals. Don’t serve people because you see them as less fortunate, uneducated or less then you. Serve because he asked you to and learn from those you serve.
We are all people and we all have the capacity to share God’s love with each other.
Freedom from guilt and shame is amazing. We have all done something we regret in our lives or the word ‘sorry’ wouldn’t exist. We all have days where it feel like the world is ending either by choices we have made or choices others have made that affect us. But its when we dwell on those and let them consume us that we give it power over us.
Forgiveness is powerful; God’s forgiveness gives us freedom from the guilt and shame of all our mistakes and forgiving others takes away their power over us.
When you are forgiven its like a ton of bricks is lifted off your back, forgiving others gives us that same freedom.
Don’t let a simple choice keep you from lifting the load.
This is Pauls common greeting when addressing other believers. It’s easy to gloss over and say yeah ok, but it’s important.
How we greet each other matters, it’s sets the tone for our whole time together. Nothing’s worse then coming into a social situation and feeling awkward, ignored or unwanted.
When we greet each other we should make everyone feel at peace and that means giving grace. Grace to that person that might get on our nerves and that gives everyone peace because there is no strife or conflict.
It’s easy to be envious of other’s ministries or success, but we are each called to our own ministry.
God made each of us unique and has called each of us to our own ministry. I can’t reach someone the same way you can and in the same respect; you can’t reach someone like I can. We are all special, all chosen by him and he has a calling for each of us. For some it’s to minister to thousands, for others it’s to reach the person no one notices. The point is we are each special and unique and we were all met God in different ways and now we are to be those different ways for other people.
We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and start seeking what God has special just for us.
What has he called you to? Who has he set on your heart? Seek him for how he wants you to reach the people he has given you a heart for and enjoy your unique calling.
Limiting you perspective to what you know and not being willing to believe or even conceive of something out side your current knowledge, limits your ability to grow.
