Everything We Need

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us....He has given us His very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the Divine nature." - 1 Peter 1:3-4

What's holding you back from living like Jesus today? Is it your sin nature? Is it your addictions, or your temptations, or your brokenness?

Is this why you don't believe that it's possible to actually put the words of Jesus into practice? Is this why you hardly ever attempt to love your enemy, or to forgive those who have hurt you, or to turn the other cheek whenever you're insulted?

Do you read things like "Be holy even as your heavenly Father is holy" and just say, "Yeah, right!"?

Do you doubt completely the idea that anyone could ever actually walk like Jesus did?

If so, you are not alone. Most Christians I've met are in the exact same place. They fully and aggressively deny that anyone could ever do the things that Jesus did, or love like Him, or live a life in the here and now that is marked by holiness and humility and sincere compassion for others. 

It just can't be done! 

He was Jesus and I'm an imperfect sinner!

I'm broken! 

I'm a worm!

Let's sing those songs about how God's Amazing Grace has "saved a wretch like me" or how we are all "...prone to wander, Lord I feel it!"

A Christianity like this loudly proclaims that the death of Christ on the cross was only capable of providing me with a ticket to heaven, but it was not nearly powerful enough to transform my life into one that resembles His own.

The real trouble with this sort of Christianity is that it can't be found anywhere in the New Testament.

Nope. I've checked. It's not in there.

What we do read about is how God's Amazing Grace has not only saved us, it's gone on to do something most of us doubt could ever be true: Saved us - AND - empowered us to live a holy life like Jesus did!

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men..." [Titus 2:11]

Yep, there's the salvation part, but look at what he says next:

"...instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age..." [Titus 2:12]

See that? Grace not only brings salvation to all men, it then goes on to "instruct us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly IN THE PRESENT AGE."

But wait, that's not all!

"This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to be in him must walk as Jesus did." [1 John 2:5]

Yowza!

Are you in Christ? If we claim to be in Christ we must do one thing: "live as Jesus did"!

How can we do that? Isn't that impossible?

Alone, yes, it is impossible. We can't even come close to obeying the words of Jesus apart from His indwelling presence in our daily lives.

That's why Jesus said: "Apart from me you can do nothing." [John 15:5]

But what if we abide in Him? What if He abides in us? Then, and only then, can we "bear much fruit." [John 15:5]

This is why Jesus can promise us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light even as he calls us to do things that seem impossible, like love our enemies and forgive those who hurt us, and turn the other cheek.

How can Jesus say that? Because we're not expected to do it alone.

Remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" [Phil. 4:13]

When Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you..." [Matt 11:29] he's saying that He will be right beside us, all the way, and that we won't have to do everything in our own strength, but in His!

Jesus expects you to put His words into practice. He empowers you to do exactly that. He filled you with His Holy Spirit to enable you to do the things that He did.

All we have to do is to trust in Him and daily seek to allow Christ to live and breathe in us by His Spirit.

So let me encourage you today: If you are in Christ, you have everything you need to live a godly, Christ-like life right now!

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." [Galatians 2:20]

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Impractical Jesus

Is Jesus’ teaching on non-violence really practical? The real question is, “Is anything Jesus taught practical?”

Is it practical to love your enemies? Is it realistic to bless those who curse you? Is it convenient to turn the other cheek?

This is not the point. The point is that if you are calling yourself a follower of Jesus and you’re refusing to do what He said, you’re not actually following Jesus. You’re fooling yourself.

Non-Christians don’t seem to have a problem seeing Jesus as a non-violent messiah. He sort of invented the concept in the Western world. Even Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. point back to Jesus as their guide when it comes to the practice of non-violent resistance and radical love in action.

Only Christians (especially those in America) seem unable to see Jesus for who He really is – the leader of a non-violent movement based on His original example of love and self-sacrifice.

Most Christians will bristle at that last sentence because I have neglected to mention the Deity of Christ. But I think the real reason some people want to point to Christ’s deity is so that they can disqualify themselves from obeying Him.

See, if Jesus was God and if He was perfect then that explains how He could do all those wonderful things like forgiving His enemies and loving those who hated Him and laying down His life for others. That also means that if the only way He could do all of that is because of His Deity then I am exempt.

However, Jesus was pretty clear that He really did expect us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, forgive others, and let go of our worldly possessions in order to embrace the glorious riches of His Kingdom.

It should not come as any surprise to us that the teachings of Jesus are at odds with the conventional wisdom of the day. It’s the Gospel of the Kingdom. It’s upside down in comparison to the world we live in.

Jesus calls us to love our enemies because He has a plan to release the transformative power of love into those situations. Jesus wants to invade the lives of those people who hate you. He wants to show them the power of His love, and your loving response in the face of their hate is the catalyst that brings transformation.

And, while we do not follow Jesus based on whether or not his teachings are practical, the truth of the matter is that history proves to us that nonviolence does work. It has been the catalyst to many historical civil rights movements around the globe for centuries now, from Liberia, to India, and Africa - even in America.

Are the teachings of Jesus practical? Yes. But even if they weren't our calling is to obey Jesus without questioning His authority or doubting His wisdom.

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