“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.” (Isaiah 5:20-22 NLT)
If only we were as good, smart, capable, attractive, spiritual, wise, and had it together as much as we thought we were and did. Being a Pastor was a privilege I never took lightly, but it was also a role that enabled me to keep who I was in clear focus.
There are basically two categories of people in any given church: those who are lost and those who are saved. But you also have those who are saved and fear they’re lost, and those who are quite confident they’re saved, but don’t have a clue as to what that means.
If we’re ever going to be effective in our walk with Jesus, the first step is to recognize who we are. We’re either going to see clearly that we’re a sinner who needs salvation, or a sinner who believes they’re okay the way they are. The first category has hope. The second category has no hope unless and until they see themselves for who they really are.
Derek Rishmawy said: “’Repent’ is how Jesus says ‘welcome’ to sinners in the Gospel.” Our best and only first step if we desire to have any kind of meaningful relationship with Jesus is to humbly bow at the Savior’s feet, recognize we’re a sinner in need of a Savior, then, by God’s grace and in His strength, determine to repent – turn from our sin and begin the lifelong journey of following the Lord Jesus.
God’s will for us is to be Christ’s disciple. What does that mean? It means basically two things. First, a disciple is a Jesus follower whose primary goal is to learn to be like Jesus. We can never accomplish that if we’re bent on doing our own thing. If we ever begin to believe we’ve got this discipleship thing mastered, that should be our first clue to rewind and start over.
The second part of being a disciple is teaching others what we’ve been taught. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:2: “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” A disciple learns in order to teach others. But a critical piece of this process is, a disciple never stops learning.
You don’t have to be a college graduate to teach a first grader, you only need to be a second grader. As Jesus followers we pour into others what we’re learning. Have you learned to make reading the Bible and prayer a priority? Great! Teach someone else who’s just starting their walk with the Lord. Are you struggling? Does a Pug have a soft belly?
Of course, you’re struggling! We all struggle. Struggle is part of the DNA of being a believer. When you stop struggling, you’ll be in heaven. Thabiti Anyabwile wrote: “Sometimes we have to have more hope for people’s change than they have for themselves.” Another critical part of the Christian Faith is being in community.
There’s no such thing as a “lone ranger” believer. That’s why the Lord established His Church. If Satan can keep you alone it really doesn’t matter what you know, how smart you are, or how close you are to Jesus. If you’re not allowing others to speak into your life and you’re not speaking into someone else’s walk you’re right where Satan wants you. On some levels we never leave our “first step” of repentance. We continually seek to correct our course and stay close to Jesus while He’s ever so patiently instructing us in how to become more like Him – together!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 