Jesus

Jesus didn’t write a book.

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17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.  Matthew 4:17-22

Jesus didn’t write a discipleship book. Instead He invited people to put their faith in Him. Instead He called disciples to be with Him. And in the process, the Scripture He inspired speaks to us today. We can truly say, Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2) For He is the subject of our faith and He is the one who animates our faith for His glory.

But it starts with the invitation to be with Him. Discipleship is in relationship. All the reflective processes are engaged and the Spirit of God brings change. Discipleship is not just about knowledge. Its about the adjustment of obedience generated by Jesus in our lives.

Jesus called disciples into relationship:  Follow me.

Jesus promised to change them: I will make you…

And Jesus promised to engage them in His Kingdom mission: I will make you fishers of men.

So, when we read His book, the Bible, our ambition is to get to know The Author… the author and perfecter of our faith.

 

To Be a King

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1The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.

3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. Proverbs 21:1-4

The folly of kings is to believe they are above judgment. Their position gives the illusion of independent movement and the illusion of being untouchable.

But God… can move them.

But God… weighs the heart.

But God… values righteousness and justice.

But God… considers pride and contempt as sin.

Careful… we all want to live like kings. And their folly is too easily mine.

Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords full of truth and grace. If He can move the hearts of kings, He can move my heart too.

Leak Jesus

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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.

God Put On Our Shoes

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14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.  John 1:14-18

Jesus is God entering into our human relationships. Literally. In the flesh Jesus is God entering in to our relationships and therefor our experiences. He comes revealing God the Father. He comes full of grace and truth. He came to walk in our shoes.

A Cherokee proverb says, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.” But Jesus didn’t “walk in those shoes” in order to judge us. He walked in those shoes to rescue us. His journey in those shoes brings us God’s grace. In fact Jesus went the extra mile for us… straight to the Cross.

How Much Faith?

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5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Luke 7:5-6

Jesus prevents a lie from taking root in the disciples’ hearts. It goes like this: Hey if I only had more faith, then I could do more and see more dramatic things happen.

Jesus stops that in its tracks.

“If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed…”

When it comes to that, I just need a little faith.

The issue must be in the one in whom I am trusting.

The issue must be in what I am expecting.

The issue must be in what motives I am having.

Hold this thought: Awesome Jesus! + My Small Faith

What are you trusting Him for today?