Monday: We will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly—and so become more and more in every way like Christ. Ephesians 4:15 (TLB) And all of us… can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NLT) Reflection: If someone asked you, “what does God want most from you?” what would you say? I used to would’ve said that He wants me to do right, to read my Bible, to pray, to go to church… And all of those things are good things… but none of them are what saves me. As far as I can tell, God’s number one plan for you today is that when its all said and done you became more like His Son rather than less like Him. And while doing good and reading the Bible and praying go into that if we lose sight of Jesus through it all we end up in trouble. I remember very clearly a day in 1997 when I realized I knew a lot about the doctrines of the church but not as much as I’d like about the One that church and doctrines are really all about. I was listening to Max Lucado speak… He was telling about a time in the gospel of Matthew when Jesus withers a fig tree because it didn’t have any fruit on it. That always seemed like a strange thing for Jesus to do. Why use His power to wither a fig tree just because it didn’t have any fruit? Was He really THAT hungry? Max Lucado talked about how this happened just days before He would be killed. He talked about what had happened to Jesus just prior to that event (some of it from Matthew’s gospel but some of it from other gospels that told about other events that Matthew left out). He talked about what was coming for Jesus (again pulling from all four gospels to really lay out what was happening in a different way than just reading one persons account) and how that stress was impacting His human side and maybe leading Him to show that stress from time to time. I can remember thinking… “wow… Max just seems to know Jesus so well. I wish I knew Jesus that well.” (Did you notice I called Max Lucado, “Max”? Like I knew him well? Some of you are probably thinking… wow… Ed knows Max Lucado so well… I wish I knew him well enough to call him Max. Sorry… don’t know him at all but that was fun, wasn’t it?). So I began reading the gospels and really focusing on Jesus’ life. I started in Matthew and when I finished with that I went on to Mark, then to Luke, then to John and then back to Matthew. I did that for a couple of years until I felt like I was starting to know Jesus better. That’s what I’m inviting you to do in 2015. We’re going to do a year of just Jesus. Starting with His life story, then looking at the stories He told and finishing up with the great teachings of Jesus. When we’re done I’ll guarantee you of one thing… you’ll know Jesus better than you do right now. I don’t see how that can be anything but good. Prayer: Lord, I want to know Your Son better. I want to understand how He treated people, how He saw You, how He wants me to treat other people based on how He treats me and how He taught that I should treat others. I pledge today to make 2015 the year of just Jesus in my life. Show me Who He is. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 22:42:00 +0000
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