Who’s in charge?

Banias, Northern Israel

Who’s boss in your life? We all have many different ‘bosses,’ people who make demands of us, who require us to act in specified ways.  Most deal with a manager at work. A healthy marriage includes moments when one spouse or the other requires a reasonable effort from the other.  Every social relationship involves mutual engagement and giving away some of our ‘freedom’ so that we can function as a healthy, productive part of the group. If we attempt to live on our own terms all of the time, we will create chaos, alienate ourselves from others, and likely find ourselves in the hands of the law.  

Let me rephrase that opening question – who is in charge of your life?

 Last week I stood at the northern end of Israel at a remote place where Jesus asked, “Who do people say that I am?”  As I stood on the stones on which they walked, I reviewed the story and thought about the question of the Lordship of Christ Jesus in my life.  In that place, Ceasarea Phillippi, Jesus challenged His friends on a new level.  When He asked about who they thought He was, Peter made the bold proclamation - “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16, NLT) 

Commending him for his faith and his openness to the Spirit, Jesus went on to tell those men that His time was coming to close, that He would suffer and die in Jerusalem, in a few months. Naturally that news was unwelcome. Peter once again spoke up - “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s.” (Matthew 16:22-23, NLT)

Like Peter, have you responded to the Spirit and declared that Jesus is the Savior, God’s Anointed One Who brought redemption to the world? Great!
Now, are you prepared to make Him Lord?

When Peter protested the ugly and hard fact of the Cross, Jesus was direct. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life." (Matthew 16:24-25, NLT)   

Surrender can be oh so difficult, can’t it? I like my own way and I am fairly certain you do as well. That’s natural to us. But, we cannot know the richest experience of Christ until we are prepared to ‘take up our cross’ – a way of saying ‘die to Self.’ It is not a once and done thing. Paul reminds that he ‘dies daily!’  He faced the same choice we face, will I choose my own way or will I let Jesus lead?

Part of the purpose of the Lenten season is to re-discover submission and surrender to His will. Many Christians fast, giving up some usual food or activity. A fast does not impress God! We do not fast like hunger strikers, hoping to convince Him to act. Our fast, whatever form it takes, is to remind us that life is more than our stuff, our food, our comfort.  Hopefully, fasting turns our eyes heavenward, in renewed faith.

Struggling with letting Him own your heart, your mind, your life? That does not mean you are a terrible Christian, it shows your humanity. Overcoming the love of Self does not happen only with self-discipline or denial. It flows from faith, a willingness to trust His ways, even when, like Peter that awful day in Caesarea Philippi, the Way makes no sense

The word from the Word is a familiar text. May we be inspired to surrender, to renew our hope in Christ, our Lord.
"The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see." (Hebrews 11:1) "It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. " (Hebrews 11:6)

 “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! " (Hebrews 12:1-3, The Message)

Lord, lead me. Amen

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Build My Life

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