Once again, I am challenged in my growth as a follower of
Jesus Christ. I've had so many questions since I accepted the Lord way
back in the 70's during the Jesus Movement. I would read the Bible and
study the Gospels and get really excited. Jesus was pretty radical as He
walked the earth. He came as fully man, leaving His rights and
"god-powers" in Heaven, and came to earth. Yet, Jesus did
miracles; miracles that attracted people around Him to ask questions, and
some to seek more miracles. He talked to "unclean"
people. He went to places that the church people wouldn't go. He
did miracles on the Sabbath (which doing anything other than what the Church
people put into "law" to do on the Sabbath was deemed sin). He
raised the dead. He healed people. He cast out demons. He loved people.
He served people, no matter who they were. And He died for them.
Jesus was a radical leader.
Some of them called him a heretic. You know what? I want to follow
a radical heretic leader and become more like HIM!
I want to be used by the Holy
Spirit and LEAK Him, so others can see His power in my life. I yearn to be used
of God to heal. (And, I have had opportunities to do so.) I want
the power of God to be evident in my life, so that others will want to know
what is so different in my life. Serving others in different ways has become
more a part of my life. I just want more and more and more of
Jesus. I want to be lead off the map!
Bill Johnson in When Heaven
Invades Earth puts it this way:
"History provides us with a
lesson from a great military leader. Alexander the Great led his armies in
victory after victory, and his desire for ever greater conquest finally brought
him to the foot of the Himalayas. He wanted to go beyond these intimidating
mountains. Yet, no one knew what was on the other side. Senior officers
were troubled by his new vision. Why? They had gone to the edge of their
map—there was no map for the new territory that Alexander wanted to
possess. These officers had a decision to make: would they be willing to
follow their leader off the map, or would they be content to live within its
boundaries? They chose to follow Alexander.
Following the leading of
the Holy Spirit can present us with the same dilemma. While he never
contradicts His Word, He is very comfortable contradicting our understanding of
it. Those who feel safe because of their intellectual grasp of Scriptures enjoy
a false sense of security. None of us has a full grasp of Scripture, but we all
have the Holy Spirit. He is our common denominator who will always lead us into
truth. But to follow Him, we must be willing to follow off the map—to go beyond
what we know. To do so successfully we must recognize His presence above all.
There is a great difference
between the way Jesus did ministry and the way it typically is done today. He
was completely dependent on what the Father was doing and saying. He
illustrated this lifestyle after His Holy Spirit baptism. He followed the Holy
Spirit’s leading, even when it seemed unreasonable, which it often did.
The Church has all too
often lived according to an intellectual approach to the Scriptures, void of
the Holy Spirit’s influence. We have programs and institutions that in no way
require the Spirit of God to survive. In fact, much of what we call ministry
has no safeguard in it to ensure that He is even present. When our focus is not
the presence of God, we end up doing the best we can for God. Our intentions
may be noble, but they are powerless in effect."
So, you see, I want to be more
like Jesus. I need to get to know Him deeper than any "Now I lay my down
to sleep" type prayer. Though I love the Bible, I need to be living out
what Jesus did. Why else did He die? Yes, of course, to save my soul, but
that wasn't all. He came to redeem His Kingdom. When He step foot
on earth's soil He came to bring Heaven to Earth. He brought the Kingdom!
Lead on O King
Eternal!!!! I follow YOU!
