Author: Craig

Leak Jesus

/ Craig / 2 Comments

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7But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  2 Corinthians 4:7-11

When the pressure is on may we leak Jesus. He’s on the inside making the difference. He is the treasure contained in our lives now as we are filled up by Him. God raised Jesus from the dead that now by His Spirit we who have been given grace to know Him, may demonstrate that the power for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, come not from us, but from Him. We are living from the inside out.

Like you… or not.

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6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

7let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:6-9

 Religion

God could be the invention of human need.
And so it is with false religion.
The construction of God in the mind seeks to mediate our brokenness.
And so we have idolatry.

 Seekers

So what do we do with the seeking heart?
The person who is seeking God must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who come to him. (Hebrews 11:6)

 God reveals

When God is doing the revealing we are inevitably confronted with the difference.
His thoughts are not our thoughts.
His ways are not our ways.

And then the seeker may want to run, hide, and settle for a weaker or more distant version of God.

Wait, stop. That’s the time to turn toward Jesus, confess, change your thoughts, change your ways in His power according to His revelation. In His grace. Through Him. Then, you will become… like Him.

Illustrated from Luke 5:1-11

1On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

 

In the grip of shame or the grip of God?

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1But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
Isaiah 43:1

When you are in the grip of shame, you feel disowned.

When you are in the grip of shame, you believe you are unlovable.

Shame keeps you attached to sin.

But here is our assurance through Christ:

He redeems us; has gone to great lengths, all the way to the cross

to cover our shame.

11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.  Titus 2:11 – 14

When you are in the grip of God, you arrived there because He called you by name.

When you are in the grip of God, you know you are His.

God frees you from the grip of sin.

 

What do you know?

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1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  John 13:1

Sometimes we find what we know or don’t know to be paralyzing when it comes to decision making. Jesus kept an enlarged view of life that included eternity. But it wasn’t just that he knew what was ahead (Judas’ betrayal, the cross, the disciples scattering), he knew WHO was ahead. He knew He was returning to the Father. And this knowledge fuelled His service and His love.

These verses introduce the Upper Room dinner and discourse Jesus had with the disciples before His crucifixion. What an extraordinary evening! In the next moment in John 13 we see Jesus taking the servant’s role and washing the disciples’ feet.

When you are under stress what knowledge dominates your life? 

The knowledge that you are out of time? That you are under appreciated? That you deserve better treatment? That you have an enemy? That there’s possible conflict behind “that door?”

Or

The knowledge of your relationship with Jesus? The knowledge of the Father’s love for you? The knowledge of the greater vision of where you and your coworkers, friends and family are headed?

Under great stress the first thing likely to go for us if we are not being trained by our troubles in faith is our awareness of the Father’s great love. Servanthood and love will go soon too.

So, where are you headed? Its not just a question of destination. Its a question of who. Jesus is our destination! Its His character through these life stresses that the Spirit desires to form in us.