12 January 2022
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him… (Colossians 2:6)
In one very real sense, when we name Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are making a lifetime decision. And in an even higher sense, Jesus is ruler and King of all creation, above all things, holding all things together. (see Colossians 1:17)
But there is a deeper and more immediate sense of the Lordship of Jesus in our lives that is comprehended and applied in an ongoing way:
Will I make Jesus the Lord—the captain, the commander, the boss, the judge, the director, the instructor, the overseer, the leader—of my day-to-day, my week-to-week, my months, my year, and all the goals and decisions, relationships and events, trials and triumphs it will contain?
Yes to this question means Jesus is Lord…and I’m not.
I try all the time to be king and ruler of my life and it never works. I’ll never be the Lord and leader, the King and captain Jesus is. But when we live like we believe Jesus is right about everything and worthy of anything (in other words, when we continue to live our lives in Him just as we first received Him—as Lord), we will truly enjoy life as He gives it.
PREACH IT, RICH…
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important."
C.S. Lewis in God in the Dock
FROM MY READING…
I admit, I’ve encountered this more than few times and it always breaks my heart as it misses such an essential point of what it means to be a Jesus-follower in our world. I’m finding this book by Kaitlyn Schiess to be profound.
“Lobbying a claim of ‘getting political’ communicates that someone is unnecessarily divisive, harboring ulterior motives, or is stepping outside the bounds of their role. …Political is practically a dirty word. It’s constantly pitted against the gospel, as if anything political stands in opposition to mere faithful living. We haggle over what counts as a political issue—marking out boundaries that include the issues we’d rather avoid and all the ones where disagreement won’t be tolerated.”
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WORD UP
The earth was filled with what?
I found this explanation of the Hebrew word “chamas” to be fascinating. Turns out, treating others with contempt and injustice is pretty bad...like game over bad.
A PRAYER TO BREATHE…
“Lord, less of me is always good. More of You is even better.”