keeping up

"Jesus is intense;casual discipleship won't keep up with Him."- Chris Tiegreen



I haven't been keeping up.

Not that anyone will ever be able to compete with Jesus or be on the same level, but how incredible would it be? To live a life that is keeping up with Jesus. Where He goes you go. When He moves you get to see it. When He speaks you hear every word. When He leads you follow. When He cries with compassion you are so close that you get wet from His tears. You aren't only hearing stories of others, but you are letting God write stories through you.

Jesus is intense, so a life following Him should be nothing less.

Being with God

So I'm reading this book, which I highly recommend-

Christlike: The Pursuit of Uncomplicated Obedience by Bill Hull

This book has conjured up many thoughts throughout my reading sessions and I want to share some of those thoughts.

Being with God

Revelation 3:20 (NLT)

 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends."

who are the people that you open up to the most? the people that you share your everything with, emotions, frustrations, shortcomings, joys, ideas, plans....

you share those things with your best friends. and what makes them your best friends? you don't feel judged. you don't feel as though they are trying to change you every time you are together. you don't feel like you have to impress them.

you don't feel uncomfortable.

yes, our God is the Judge, He is the Lord of lords, He is power and might, but He is also Mercy, Love, Forgiveness, and our Father.

I say time and time again that I desire to have intimate quiet time with Jesus. devotion that is unhindered by time or objectives. I don't want a check list. I don't want to do it because it is seen as a "must" within Christianity.

If we approach God as a checklist we will never feel comfortable. intimacy doesn't happen out of duty. we need to take a step back, clear our heads and see God for who He truly is. If we do that then we will be in a place of awe. A place of joy. A place that puts us within the defending walls of Jesus.

yes, Jesus has the power to change our hearts in order to change our lives, but that doesn't mean we can't be comfortable around Him. See He doesn't change out of duty. Jesus doesn't do it so that we will see Him as the boss ruler who has power over us. He changes us out of love. Our God is the architect of life. He has the plans. He knows what works best. He changes us for the better so that through us experiencing the most abundant life in Him, He will be glorified.

STOP.

we have to stop turning to God out of duty. Jesus promised that He would enter into our lives and that we would share a meal together, as friends.

How intimate is that!

here is the reality that i see:

if we can't feel comfortable in the arms of the Father, if we don't experience the most intimacy with Love Himself

then what do we find comfort in?

everything else is fleeting. people come and go, but our God is never fading or fleeting. all else fails in comparison.

so let's all live into the life of abundance that Jesus has already promised and given.

that life, the life of full breaths, complete love, joy that overcomes the enemy...

it comes through seeking and knowing the One who created and designed it all.

enjoy the Lord.

Simple

I have come to find that within the world of Christianity we far too often busy ourselves talking about the non-essentials. We get lost in the do’s and don’ts, carry on about what if’s, and argue religion.

I have been a fan of simplicity. Not because it’s easy and I am lazy.

 Simplicity brings clarity.

 Simplicity takes away the fluff.

Simplicity gets to the point.

I know that I am not the only one who has been absolutely blown away by a sentence, a statement, or a quote. And the amazement always comes when it is so simple. Simplicity doesn’t have to mean stupid.

I have this professor that often times says the simplest things that blow me away. The other day in class Dr. Ledbetter said,

“Death could not hold Jesus because death was the result of sin…Jesus was without sin!”

We try to fluff these things up and sound so smart in order to prove to others that Jesus is Savior. The reality is simple.

Death was the best that the enemy could work up and Jesus defeated it hands down.

He came.

He resisted temptation.

He was blameless and pure.

He defeated sin.

He rose from death because death could not hold Him!

He paid our price and made a way.