Do What Jesus Did

Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

If you have faith in Jesus Christ you must do what Jesus did.

To do what Jesus did you must know what Jesus did.

If you want to know what Jesus did and do what Jesus did, you are following the path that Jesus led.

If you follow the path that Jesus led, you are following Him to God the Father and meeting Him there.

Jesus said: "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." John 16:13

That is, He will do whatever you ask in accordance with His will.

But, you must remain in Him and you must follow His will and His way.

Jesus said: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:7

Because, God the Father desires to be glorified through His disciples.

Jesus said: "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:8

 Do what Jesus s desires and He will do what you desire in Him and through Him!

Jesus said it: trouble, grief, and joy

Have you ever felt like you just don't fit in? As a follower of Christ, this is a common occurrence for me. And it is often tough, when you see so many enjoying themselves, doing what they please, seeming to have such a wonderful time and a wonderful life outside of a relationship with Christ.

And it seems like this is Satan's biggest attack and his best trick for drawing followers of Jesus Christ away from Him and toward the world. Many come to Christ thinking that they are going to enjoy a better life here on earth and that it is going to be easier for them after they accept Christ's call to a new way and a new life. But that is not what Jesus promised, that is not what He offers, and that is not what He brings to us.

Instead, in John 16:33, Jesus promised us trouble; "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” You see, trouble while we are living our days here on earth, but also peace, knowing that Christ has overcome this world and all of the "trouble" that it has to offer.

Jesus had another promise for His followers concerning our days on this earth in John 16:22; "Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." Not only trouble, but grief too, is this the life that Jesus calls us to? Yes! Because, after we have endured this minute time of trouble and grief, if we have stayed the course and remained faithful to Christ, we will see Him and we will rejoice at His sight.

At another place, Jesus promised grief now and joy later; "I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy." So, while the world is rejoicing around us, we may be going through trouble, grieving, or even weeping and mourning, all while those around us are rejoicing and celebrating. But, soon, very soon, we will see the face of Jesus and it will all be worth it.

This is why we, as followers of Jesus Christ, don't fit it! It all makes sense now, we don't fit in because we aren't suppose to, we don't fit in because we don't belong here. Again, Jesus said; "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

So, when you feel out of place, take heart, when you feel like you don't fit in, go in peace, and when you feel like you can't go on any longer, keep the faith. Soon, when you see the face of Jesus, all the joy in your heart and the rejoicing in your spirit will take away all the sorrow that this world is laying on you now.

Trikes, Bikes, and Jesus

Years ago I remember the joy (and frustration) of taking our oldest daughter out to teach her to ride a tricycle. Until these early moments of training with my daughter, I never realized just how much strength and skill went into riding a trike. First comes the strength to push the pedals to keep the trike moving forward, then comes the strength to take off from a dead stop, then comes the strength and ability to steer the trike, and finally, the coordination to take off from a dead stop, propel the trike forward, keep the trike moving forward consistently, steer the trike and keep it on a smooth path, and watch for dangers around you.   

Well, our daughter has learned how to ride the tricycle, she has moved on to a bike with training wheels and very soon we will be removing the training wheels from her bike. It has been great to watch her grow in strength, coordination, and balance as she has mastered the skills of bike riding

Robert Tuttle wrote that the "Christian walk is much like riding a bicycle; we are either moving forward or falling off". There is a great deal of truth to this statement. God calls us to so much more than simply sitting still and getting by.

What if we, as Christians were happy with sitting still and just getting by? Well, it would be much like a person that learned how to ride a trike and decided to stay on the trike for the rest of their lives, relying on this small, three-wheeled vehicle for all of their transportation needs. Can you imagine a bunch of grown men and women riding tricycles to and from work on a daily basis? Quite a comical sight, you must admit.

And, if you have ever taught someone to ride a tricycle or a bicycle, or if you have ever tried to teach yourself, you understand how much time, patience, training, and concentration it requires. Likewise, you understand that it comes with its share of bumps, bruises, and scrapes and that it requires some level of risk taking and discomfort.

It is the same with the Christian journey. Many come to Jesus Christ, accepting His call to repentance and the love, joy, and hope that He brings to their lives. But, Christ call His followers to continue to  "strict training" in His ways (1 Corinthians 9). Likewise, Christ calls His followers to be disciplined (Hebrews 12) and to endure the bumps, bruises, and scrapes that come with following Him. Then, many of Christ's followers are called to a level of risk and discomfort, called to follow the will of Jesus and give up everything for Him (Acts 15).

You see, standing still is not an option, you are either moving forward or your falling down. You will not get anywhere by simply getting on the bike if you are not willing to ride it. And riding takes training, patience, and endurance. But the destination is well worth the training and the ride.

Where Are Your Habits Leading You

Habits. We start hearing about habits from such an early age, usually associating habits with the phrase "bad habits" such as biting your finger nails, picking your nose, smoking, spitting, or belching. But habits can be a good thing as well.

As a youth pastor I began speaking to students and young children about the importance of establishing good habits such as the habit attending church and youth group, the habit of daily Scripture reading and daily prayer. It is important that these habits are started early so that these young adults will carry them on throughout their entire lives. As Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Now as a Pastor of a church I find myself making these same statements and presenting the same case to grown adults. For many adults, this is the first time they have ever heard of the importance of Christian habits, but for some individuals, this is something that has been taught to them from a very early age. One Scripture that pastor's everywhere love to quote is Hebrews 10:25: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

But I don't want to talk about the habit of attending church, attending church doesn't get us the "prize" that Paul writes of in Philippians 3. I want to talk about the rest of the habits found in Hebrews 10:25 and the surrounding verses.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:24-27)

I understand how hard and how harsh these words sound, but they are straight from God's Word and so they are for us and they are for now. So, what are the "habits" we are called to in just these four verses?

• The habit of spurring one another on to love and good deeds - this is outreach and service
• The habit of meeting together regularly - this is worship and fellowship
• The habit of encouraging one another - this is teaching and training
• The habit of turning our back on sin - this is commitment

You see, we often look to the "habit" of loving God and loving others, the "habit" of doing good deeds for others, the habit of attending church and enjoying the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the "habit" of encouraging one another to stay the course as our duty as God's children, and rightly so. But, it's important that we realize that without making it a "habit" to turn our back to sin, to  no longer deliberately sin against God and His creation, we lose the sacrifice for sin that has been made for us, that is Jesus Christ. Without making it a "habit" to turn our back  to sin, we trade our eternal reward for judgement that leads to raging fire and separation from God.

Take a look at your habits, the good habits, the bad habits, and all those in between, and ask yourself where those habits are leading you.

Rest Assured

I was reading Psalm 121 the other day;

"I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:1-4)

Our youngest son is having some major issues sleeping right now, we are not sure if it is all because of his new teeth, because he feels bad, because he has established this as his schedule, or a mix of all three. Either way, my wife bears most of the burden of sitting with him and caring for him in the middle of the night. A couple nights ago, realizing how exhausted (and stressed) she was, I decided to sit up with him beginning at 2:00 a.m. Throughout the night I made various attempts to get him back to sleep and tried multiple "tricks" to make him happy and keep him quiet. Hours later, when the sun rose and the house began to stir, we were still awake, he was happy, I was not.

In the nights to come I have tried to talk my wife into allowing our son to "cry through it", hoping he will learn to put himself back to sleep and hoping that we can achieve a full night of sleep. Needless to say, his mother won't bite on my wonderful idea. She feels that when her son is awake, whether he is in pain, angry, or grumpy, she too needs to be awake and watching over him.

Thinking of Psalm 121, I find great comfort in knowing that God too won't sleep or slumber through our restless nights of pain, anger, or sorrow. The Psalmist continues;

"The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." (Psalm 121:5-8)

 God never sleeps or slumbers, you can rest on that. God always watches and cares for you, you can be assured of that.

Lead Strong, Love Stronger

Yesterday was Father's Day and we had the priviledge of having several great fathers join us for worship at church yesterday morning.

During our worship we honored these fathers but we also honored husbands and reminded them of their role. God has called all husbands and fathers to a higher standard. God has called husbands to love their wives in the same way that He loves us. God has called fathers to lead their children in the teachings and desires of  the Scriptures. God has called husbands and fathers to lead strong and to love stronger.

As a reminder of this calling we gave gifts to all husbands and fathers, including a bottle of Powerade. Remember: "Lead Stong, Love Stronger".

Follow Me

Recently the media technician at our church created a video using a song by Third Day titled "Follow Me". The video goes through various slides of our church family fellowshiping, worshiping, and such.

As soon as I saw the video I realized its appeal as a promotional tool for our church as a warm-hearted group of people striving to follow Jesus Christ and inviting others along in the journey. As we follow Jesus, we invite others to do the same.