How do we deal with addiction and discipleship?

Episode 20 – How do we deal with addiction and discipleship?

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How do we deal with addiction and discipleship? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? I want to say it must have been easy for them when Jesus walked alongside them, but I don’t think that is true. The 12 had to reshape their theology, mindset, and everything they thought true. How is that any different from today? Everyone has their belief system. They worship and seek comfort in/from something. When we, as believers, try to disrupt their beliefs, we are causing a crisis of faith. A change in what we know to be true. Does our truth bring us comfort from the things of this world, or does The Truth set us free? The 12 disciples were able to watch The Truth and The Life firsthand. They saw miracles happen right before their very eyes. I have been able to watch miracles firsthand. To see Jesus working in someone’s life to the point where they realign what they know to be true. To flip what they believe on its head. So, what are we doing with that knowledge? How are we teaching others about Jesus? What do we do with our idols that we are addicted to? How does our life live out for others to see that following Jesus is different from anything else in this world? Where am I stepping out in faith? How am I leading my family? What do others see in me? Am I turning the world upside down? 

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Verses Mentioned:

Matthew 28:16-20
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.28.NIV>

Matthew 10:42
42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.10.NIV>

Mark 16:15-18
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/MRK.16.NIV>

Luke 10:22
22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.10.NIV>

Luke 14:26
26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/LUK.14.NIV>

 John 8:31–32
31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.8.NIV>

John 13:35
35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.13.NIV>

John15:8
8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/JHN.15.NIV>

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Dealing with sin in our lives

Episode 19 – How do I get this log out?

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Guys, what are we doing with our lives? How are we supposed to help others when we don’t deal with the logs of sin in our own lives? How do we get this log out? This is what I am dealing with this week, and start to look toward the future of Hope Over Coffee.

Host: Jared Ogea
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Contact: Jared Ogea

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Hope Over Coffee Episode 18 Plowing Forward

Episode 18 – Plowing Forward!

How are you putting your faith into action? Are you working out your salvation? Do you advance the Kingdom of God? What kind of legacy are you leaving? Are you “Plowing Forward!” in your walk with Christ? These are the things we look at this week in Episode 18.


Host: Jared Ogea
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Contact: Jared Ogea

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What is everyday life

Episode 16 – Are you making it in the mundane?

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How are you handling everyday life? Are you making it in the mundane? What are you doing with the three-headed dragon living near you: culture, enemy, and yourself. How are you overcoming the obstacles that the dragon presents? What in your life is a hindrance? What is it going to take to surrender it to Jesus?

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him,” the writer J.R.R. Tolkien advises.

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Host: Jared Ogea
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Website: Hope Over Coffee
Contact: Jared Ogea

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Authentic Freedom

Romans 6:5-9

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old self crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again, death no longer is master over Him.

Here Paul is reminding us of our place in Christ. If we are a believer, then we are united with Him. In death and the resurrection. We have been made new through the cross, and our old nature has been laid on the altar. This means we are no longer a slave to the things that displease God. We are free to choose a life of pleasing God. In choosing a life with Christ, we should not fear death, for we are also united with Him through eternity’s future. We cannot be separated from the God of the universe.

United

What exactly does being united with Christ in the likeness of his death really mean? Yes, it says that our old self is crucified, so our body of sin might be done away with and no longer slaves to sin. But how do I live that out in my life? Is the goal to follow rules that measure up to a righteous life in Christ? Am I to read the bible cover to cover every year? Take notes on what and what not to do. Is that how I become free from the slavery of sin? Overcoming my broken flesh by working harder at righteous things so that my works win out?

That sounds like a painfully long, excruciating life. How does any of that set me free? I would be trading the master of sin for a master of works. Neither have grace involved. But when we find the One full of grace, the bible still calls us slaves of Christ. I thought I was finding freedom in Christ and still being called an enslaved person. I get that Jesus is our example of holiness and righteousness, but He was also perfect. I am an imperfect man living in an imperfect world that is broken and wants something more significant than self.

What does it mean

I think our issue is we are applying a modern definition to an older word. Slave, servant, and bondservant in the Greek text all are Doulos. A bondservant was someone indebted to someone else. If the indebted individual could not pay the debt, the individual would become a bondservant to pay off the debt. They would use work to free themselves from debt. A bondservant/slave was not a lifetime requirement. However, when the individual reached the end of the term to repay the debt, the individual had a choice.

Do I go back out in the world with what I have, or do I stay with the master willing? Will my life be better if I try to do things on my own, or will my life be better under someone else’s authority? I am making a choice. But in that choice, I must be fully committed to that choice. There was no halfway. In my decision, the individual was marked, and everyone knew that the individual belonged to a master freely chosen. No one decided to be marked and six months later changed their mind. You were all in, or you weren’t.

Overcomer

Where do you fall in your choice? Have you been freed from the bondage of sin, or do you still free trapped by the sin that so easily entangles us? Do you call Jesus Lord? Has the master marked you? Does it mean that being under the authority of the master, we won’t ever struggle with sin? Of course not. We are still broken people who do the things we don’t want to do. But now, we at least have the ability to be an overcomer. Before believing in Christ, we had no chance of moving past our sins controlling us. We were at the mercy and will. Could we have good days when the struggle was lighter than others? Sure.

But to overcome and be free to choose not to follow through in sin comes from being united with Christ in death and the resurrection. We now have the option and opportunity to choose to follow God instead of our flesh. Our freedom comes from knowing Him and the power of His name in our lives. We can do nothing in ourselves; it is Christ living in us. His power is the power to overcome, to say no to disobedience. It is his righteousness that the Father sees in us. I think the church needs to understand better who we are in Christ and what it means for Christ to live in us.

Prayer

Father, help us understand what it means to be free in Christ.

compass, hand, lake-4891499.jpg
compass, hand, lake-4891499.jpg

Counterfeit Freedom

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4

Here Paul starts with a question. Do we get to sin more because God’s grace covers us? Is the freedom given through the abundance of God’s grace in Christ a free ticket to indulge in every sinful activity under the sun? Paul has an emphatic no! Them asks if we are new in Christ and died with him, how are we still living in sin? Do we not understand? Those who proclaim to be Christ followers through the example of baptism proclaim a new life. One that died to sin and is raised to walk in this new life.

Counterfeit

The word or concept of counterfeit has been coming up a lot in my life lately. Most of the time, it is a preacher, sermon, or a Cristian-based book discussing the idea of something being counterfeit. What does it mean to be counterfeit? Merriam-Webster dictionary says counterfeit is made to imitate something else with intent to deceive or insincere. Have you ever had something in your life that you thought was authentic only to find out later it was a counterfeit? Or did you purchase an item knowing full well that it was an imitation?

Years ago, I worked with a guy that used to buy boxes of “Oakley” sunglass and sell them to the guys he worked with. He never tried selling them to us at the price of Oakley sunglasses; it was always much lower. They looked like the real thing, but I knew they weren’t. I broke a pair or two just putting them on. The item was from a distance; I could look like I could afford hundreds of dollars in sunglasses. The reality was they were twenty-dollar knockoffs that were cheaply made. But I knew that when I bought them.

Imitations

Where is the counterfeit in your life? Do you know that it is counterfeit, or do you walk around believing that whatever it is authentic? How can you tell the difference between the two? What do you use to measure what is real in your life? What if you are the thing that is being counterfeit? Does depending on where you are, make a difference in how you are perceived? Is there a church version of you, a work version, a party version, or any version of you that has the intent to deceive or be an imitation of the real you?

We live in a culture of death, but as Christ-followers, the wrong things are dying. Instead of dying to sin, we kill that still small voice of God. When we should be dying to ourselves, we indulge in what the world has to offer. We find ourselves immersed in political views, sides of opinions, and dealing with distractions of every kind. Instead must be focused on a life of freedom in Christ. If we are made new in Christ, we are free from this world’s pressures. We should find our “want to” of loving our neighbor instead of tiptoeing around what can and can’t be said.

Authentic

Are we in Christ? Or are we slaves to sin and bondage, living in fear of men and this world? I think we all want to live free. To sever others. I want us to encounter God regularly and be stirred in our souls to be Christ-like. But our distractedness, we miss out on that stirring and turn to those fleshy things that help us deal with the pain of life. We will encounter hard things. Life is not promised to be easy. What will it take for us as believers to take that step toward a holy and just God? To die daily for things I want in my flesh and strain for the Kingdom of God. We can do it! But will we do it?

Prayer

Father, we are sinful people who get wrapped up in our kingdoms and neglect Yours. And your loving kindness always leads up to repentance. It is an absolute miracle that you are always there waiting for us no matter how often we choose sin over holiness. Let us never get to thinking more sin equals more grace from you. Let us find the will and want to choose You over everything. To bring you glory in everything we do. Amen.

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What does it mean to be discipled?

What does it mean to be Discipled? – Part 7

Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are the last two verses of the gospel according to Matthew. These are the final instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before ascending to heaven. It is better known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus has wrapped up His earthly teaching to His disciples with one last command. Go and make disciples. Take all your life experiences and everything I have taught you in the past three years. Please bring it to other people in your life. Follow my example and find those to follow Me through your example. And Jesus’ last statement is, “no matter what happens; I will be with you!”

Teaching Them?

I never considered myself a teacher of anything until recently. The idea of trying to get someone to understand something always seemed out of my capacity. I feel that way my brain views the world through the eyes of a puzzle solver. Breaking things down or building them up is easy for me. “There is no way to teach someone how my mind works, so just let me go do what needs to be done.” “I can get this done quicker if I do it and don’t have to stop and show somebody else what to do.”

Could the fear of failure have kept my teaching abilities at bay? Or that I struggle with relationships and the fear of being misunderstood was more prevalent? The idea that I would open and share a thought, and no one would listen to me paralyzed me. Feeling insecure and insignificant was easy to hide when I never opened my mouth. The problem was God had me with a purpose and calling. I was not living up to that calling, and I was allowing the spirit of fear to control my life. I didn’t see myself the way God sees me.

Goals?

So now I am looking at verse 20 of Matthew 28. And it is Jesus’s final words before he ascends into heaven. He says disciples are to teach disciples to observe all that He commanded. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, this statement belongs to me. The guy who struggles with the concept of teaching anyone anything. I would say that I wrestled with this for a while, but that’s not true because I was not intentionally making disciples. And If I wasn’t intentionally making disciples, this verse doesn’t have a lot of weight in my life.

The preacher we listened to this past week made an interesting observation about these passages I have talked about for the past seven weeks. If Jesus’s last words on this earth were to make disciples, teaching them to follow what He commanded. Could His first question to us in heaven be, “Where are your disciples?” If nothing else, his observation had me thinking. How are we, “the church,” living a life worthy of the calling? Where are the disciples making disciples? How important is it to the men in the church to lead their family or the guy next to them?

My Goals?

Last week in part 6 of this series, I talked about how broken-hearted I am because of the state of children in this culture, how they are trying to cope with life with all the wrong things and are headed down paths of destruction. Do you think it could be that they were discipled to be who they are becoming? Were they taught to run to sex, drugs, and alcohol instead of Jesus? How many kids at a church camp do you think have church-attending parents? Does it add up to you? There is a gap between men being Godly disciple makers and men just being in the church, and the next generation is paying for it.

Is there a perfect generation? No. Does every generation suffer the consequences of ages before? Sure. But right now, in this time, what I see is time for men to step up and be Godly men. To quit being passive in their leading of the family. Stop being blinded by how their inability to allow self-control in their life impacts the spiritual needs of those around them. We need to wake up! Stop being so self-centered! Find our purpose and become who God has called us to become! What are you becoming? A consumer of God or a servant of God?

Prayer

Father, I need Your help teaching others to follow your commandments. I need help following Your commandments. I am a prideful sinner who tends to do what I want instead of what you want. But you are a gracious God that loves me, and through your loving kindness, I am led to repentance. Thank you for being a marvelous God!

What does it mean to be discipled?
What does it mean to be discipled?

What does it mean to be Discipled? – Part 6

Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are the last two verses of the gospel according to Matthew. These are the final instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before ascending to heaven. It is better known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus has wrapped up His earthly teaching to His disciples with one last command. Go and make disciples. Take all your life experiences and everything I have taught you in the past three years. Please bring it to other people in your life. Follow my example and find those to follow Me through your example. And Jesus’ last statement is, “no matter what happens; I will be with you!”

Authentic?

Have you ever been part of a group you believed was a true community? Were you able to be vulnerable with those in the group? Did any of those group members know you at your worst and your best and yet love you just the same. Was something inside you challenged, disrupted, and elevated so much that it caused you to be long to know God better? Was life poured into you as you were pouring that same life into someone else? We are desperate for security and significance. There is a hunger in us to be known, loved, and feel like we belong somewhere. We search for the perfect community, and I think few of us ever find it.

God is a triune God. He is in a perfect community with Himself. All three persons of the trinity equally pour into each other. When God created Adam in His image, I believe we received that desire for a perfect community. I feel far too often His people are given counterfeit community and drink it as if it were the real thing. All the while, they are drowning in death instead of receiving Living Water. Then the lies they consume are passed on to the next generation continuing the cycle of living off scraps of what a true community could and should be.

Camp?

This week I went to church camp with the students from our church. Long days, little sleep, and 100-degree heat are always fun. Watching the kids during worship, recreational games, and bible study has been remarkable. The guy preaching was phenomenal! His messages were ringing truth through the air, and I hope that some of these kids snatched them right up. Words that point us to the Cross and the good news of Christ. Truths that they could take home at the end of the week and apply to our lives.

On the flip side, I became very broken-hearted for every young soul on the campground. And paralyzed to do anything about it. We live in a culture determined to drag our children into any depth to find peace from everything other than God. They will do anything to try and fit in and find a community that accepts them. They will find anything to try and numb the pain of life. All the while, they are getting further away from the one who can provide peace. They will destroy their bodies to find the security and significance that only God can provide.

Burden

The revelation of how much our children are trying to cope with life in all the wrong ways was staggering. All these souls cry out for relief and peace in their lives, not knowing what to do to “fix” it. How are the communities that they call home working for them? How much abuse, neglect, and apathy are they enduring? Not every kid at that camp had a relationship with Christ when they got there or left. But the droves at the alter calls make me believe they realize they are missing something. Are they getting “fed” at home? Is their student ministry the only place they can find some semblance of what authentic community looks like?

Coming from a background of working through my addictions to sexual sin and overeating, I carry a burden for those who struggle as I did. With today’s culture and trying to be careful of not overstepping boundaries, I wrestle with how do I help? Pornography is hitting our children as young as six years old. We are way behind the curve if we must wait until they are eighteen to start helping them deal with it. That’s twelve years of training a body to live outside of God’s purpose before they can begin to find real help.

Freedom

I think discipleship and finding an authentic community is crucial to helping the next generation. I can’t see every discipleship group, and to be honest, I only know of a few. As the Church, we need to step it up. We must figure out what hinders our walk with Christ and start dealing with it so God can work through us. Then we must stop being passive. Men lead your families first and then find the next guy to disciple. Women, there are other women out there who need you to walk alongside them in the same struggles you have dealt with. Be a part of an authentic community. Allow God to use your struggles of brokenness as something beautiful.

Prayer

Father, thank you for allowing me to be a part of camp this week. To be reminded that the next generation needs You just as much as I need You. It’s just that I was able to find a community that helped me find freedom. I want these kids to find freedom in you as well. To find the healing that comes from doing life together.

What does it mean to be discipled?

What does it mean to be Discipled? – Part 5

Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are the last two verses of the gospel according to Matthew. These are the final instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before ascending to heaven. It is better known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus has wrapped up His earthly teaching to His disciples with one last command. Go and make disciples. Take all your life experiences and everything I have taught you in the past three years. Please bring it to other people in your life. Follow my example and find those to follow Me through your example. And Jesus’ last statement is, “no matter what happens, I will be with you!”

Baptism

Have you ever publicly declared anything about yourself? Maybe in an ice breaker game for some group. The game was “Tell us the most interesting fact about yourself.” It goes around the room, and people say the most exciting thing about me is “blank.” By revealing this fact, did it change the definition of who you are to the group? Did you start feeling more self-conscious about your actions after revealing this fact and the need to fulfill your life with this new definition? And if it weren’t for the truth being told, you wouldn’t change anything in your life?

How are you living out your faith? Does anyone know that you are a Christ-follower? Do your convictions align with the words that come out of your mouth? Are you conscious about your actions, and are they on a path that is becoming Christ-like? Do you have people in your life that know you and can point out shortcomings in your daily walk of faith? We are our worst false prophets, and living a life of secrecy prevents us from having accountability. Accountability begins with publicly declaring we are Christ-followers.

What examples!

I think of the demonstrations of baptism in the bible and wonder what life was like in that period for those that chose to follow Christ.  Most examples I can think of were people becoming a believer and immediately going to a body of water to declare their confession of faith—the bible talks of thousands coming to faith and being baptized. There was no hiding what you had done. The word was out that you believed and followed Christ!

I am not saying that we hide our faith today or that thousands don’t know of our faith. But how are people seeing what you believe? The command is to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them. We must live out our identity in Christ, including our baptism. Our profession is we are buried with Christ. A profession that we died to worldly things. We declare that we take up our cross daily and do the will of the Father. We give up our pride, lust, and control to crucify it daily so that we are raised with Him. A new creation!

Put on the new!

Our baptism signifies that our old self has died, and we a new in Christ. Why would we keep living a life where we say we are new, and yet it seems that our life professes nothing is new. We can’t seem to get away from our addictions. Our thoughts race and focus on the immediate pain relief sin offers and never really get to the point of trusting God with our pain. Again, not saying we are perfect people. But are you becoming? Are you trying to know God amid your pain and trusting that He is good? Or are you reading scriptures daily, which is good, but why? Are you reading to solve your problems? Are you begging God for something to be different in your life, a problem to be solved? Would you rather have a handyman in your life, or would you rather know God and have a relationship with Jesus?

Is that what we need? A solutions expert in alleviating all the pain points. I know God is completely capable of solving all the problems. But if he solves all my problems, does that make Him good and just? For me to get what I want? No, we must believe and demonstrate our faith that even though life seems out of control, God wants what is best for His children. And through the chaos, He is a good Father, and I can trust Him.

Prayer

Father, help us live out our professions of faith. Guide us in being a light for this dark world. To know You and reflect Jesus to those searching, those who need hope and encouragement. Let us press on to the prize of Christ Jesus toward the ultimate goal of knowing God. Then live it out by obeying His commandments and teaching them to others. Amen

What does it mean to be discipled?
What does it mean to be discipled?

What does it mean to be Discipled? – Part 8

Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are the last two verses of the gospel according to Matthew. These are the final instructions that Jesus gave his disciples before ascending to heaven. It is better known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus has wrapped up His earthly teaching to His disciples with one last command. Go and make disciples. Take all your life experiences and everything I have taught you in the past three years. Please bring it to other people in your life. Follow my example and find those to follow Me through your example. And Jesus’ last statement is, “no matter what happens; I will be with you!”

Greek

When I am studying a passage of scripture, and I want to understand what it means, I take the passage and refer to it in its original language. Here this passage was written in Greek. So, Matthew 28:20 is

διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ’ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος.

And a direct translation from Greek of this passage reads, “And behold, I with you am all the days, until the completion of the age.” Next, I look at the meaning of keywords in Greek.

Behold – to see, perceive, attend to, experience, discern

I – the first-person pronoun (Jesus was speaking)

With – among, in company with

All – every, the whole, every kind of

Until – as far as up to

Completion – a joint payment, consummation, end

Age – a cycle of time, one of a series of ages stretching to infinity

So, in straining to understand this passage, I reword the selection using the definitions provided. I could say I am to perceive that Jesus is with me in total every day until this series in time passes to the next series in time in the grand scheme that stretches to infinity.

What do I see

What does this mean for you and me? Do I perceive that Jesus is totally and completely with me daily in my relationship with Christ? The definition of perceiving is to become aware of something directly through your senses, primarily through sight and hearing. Do I see or hear Christ every day in my life? I want to go with a churchy answer and say, “of course I do!” But to be honest my everyday life, I would say I struggle with seeing tangible evidence of Jesus being with me. What evidence do I even look for?

Should I notice that a parking space opened up when I pleaded with God not to walk a mile into the store? Is that evidence of Jesus in my daily life? That seems like a Santa Clauseish view of God and Jesus. Does he care for me? Absolutely! Does getting a closer parking space advance the kingdom of God and give me evidence of Jesus for the day? I offer pause on answering yes. On the flip side, does a terminally ill child not being healed through prayer prove the absence of God or Jesus in everyday life? I’m not sure that it does.

Perception

Maybe perceiving Jesus daily takes more than what is happening around me. Could it be that I can still have peace and joy in good or bad circumstances? Should I still notice the happening and embrace the blessing or trial? And in the happening, have the knowledge Jesus is with me and use the experience to help someone else? My perception should be based on my ability to know God and how he works in others. To see a need in someone else and to fulfill that need spiritually, emotionally, or physically.

I guess I am trying to say that if we are the actual church body, then we should be representing Jesus. Our daily pursuit of Christ should be the thing that everyone sees, and that would be enough for everyone to say, “Oh, there go those Christian people. They just overflow with love for everyone.” But I’m afraid we have fallen far into selfishness from secular culture. We live in denial of our pain and the pain of those around us. Our self-medication in every indulgence to numb our emotional hurts and become highly ineffective in our ministry. We can’t see or display Jesus because we can’t get past ourselves.

Clarity

Some of us desperately need an “Aha!” moment. A moment of clarity with Christ changes their trajectory from one of self-medication to one of others’ motivation. What if the only perception of Jesus for others was you? Yes, the heavens declare Your glory, but we should be in the world and not of it. Would others see any glimpse of who Jesus is in your life? Could they see an eternity future from what you display? Is that eternity with Christ? What keeps you from being a whole-hearted committed Christ-follower who picks up their cross daily? What are you going to do about it?

Prayer

Father, we are desperate people in need of You. I pray that Your church will turn and focus on You. That we would wholeheartedly pursue what it means to be Christ-like. That we would lay down anything that separates us from You. And in doing so, we are effective in the Kingdom of God. Nothing of our strength or even victories by human standards. But to be who you called to be. How could the community I live in be different, from the city to parish, to state, and the country? If we would surrender to You? Move among your people and teach us what it means to be a light in a dark place. Amen.

What does it mean to be discipled?