Does my life reflect an active walk with Jesus?

Let’s take an inventory of our spiritual lives

Looking back over the last year, are you closer today than you were a year ago?

Jesus was attentive to the Holy Spirit and was a person of prayer…He knew His mission here on earth was only for a season…He never lost sight of His identity and His mission 

What about us?

Here are 10 questions we can ask in an honest assessment of where we are in our spiritual walk:

What am I doing that I without the Holy Spirit’s enabling, it wouldn’t be happening? 

Is my first reaction to a problem to pray, or do I usually use that as a last resort?

Is my love for people increasing?

Do I hate sin more and more?

If God wanted to get a message through to me, would I recognize His voice?

Do I take time for God? 

Do I trust Him? 

Do I really know Him?

Are there areas of my life that are “off limits” to God? 

Do I read the Bible on a regular basis not out of duty, but out of desire?  

We are coming into the final stretch on reflecting on our reflection.

Area # 5 to examine…Our Physical lives

At the end of Jesus’ life He prayed to His Heavenly Father saying "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. (John 17:4)

Notice He didn’t say, “I would have finished the work You gave me to do, but I just didn’t have the energy. I guess I ate too many pizzas, spent too many hours in my recliner in front of the television and didn’t exercise enough.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 If you are a follower of Jesus, your body is the home of the Holy Spirit. "Don't you know that you're bought with a price.  You're not your own.  Therefore glorify God in your body." 

The way we appear sends a message to others…

Do we represent a life of moderation and health or of obesity and fatigue?

Psalm 46:1does NOT say, “Food is our refuge and strength; Twinkies are a very present help in trouble.”

Several studies have shown that Christians are the most overweight people on the earth which is interesting in that self control is one of the fruits of the Spirit

Some people eat when they are stressed.

Do you glorify God in your body?

When we don't take care of our bodies, it affects everything else. 

You have to ask yourself:  Am I constantly complaining about being tired?  "I'm so tired…Fatigue, no energy…

·        Are you getting enough rest?

·        Are you getting exercise?

·        Are you eating healthy foods?

“Do I come across to those around me as one who is full of the joy of the Lord, or as someone who is full of fatigue and living on the edge of burnout?”

Is this how God intended His children to live?

Can you imagine an owner of a professional football team paying top dollar for a player only to have the player let his body go to pot? No exercise and no self control with his diet and very ineffective for advancing the team?

What is going to be my major physical focus for this upcoming year?

The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We only get one shot at this…

Moving along, we come to the fourth area of our lives to reflect on our reflection of Christ to those around us.

Our financial lives

Does your view of money, your pursuit of it and your interaction with it reflect the heart of God?

Sixteen out of the thirty eight parables Jesus taught had to do with money, around 15% of His total teaching dealt with the subject of money and He taught that money is the number one spiritual indicator of where our hearts devotion is.

Couple questions we each need to wrestle with:

·        Do you have control of your money, or does it control you?

·        What am I doing to advance the kingdom of God with the resources He has entrusted me with?

·        Are you coming into this year with a financial plan or with a financial hangover?

·        Do you have a budget in place?

At New Life, we’ve helped dozens of families develop a plan to get out of debt and get on the road to financial freedom using principles right out of the bible. 

Some might question the connection between our approach to finances and our reflection of Christ to those around us…

I’d suggest it’s VERY connected!

What we treasure is a reflection of our hearts.

The way we talk about our money is a reflection of our attitudes. You have either convinced yourself, “I worked hard for this” or you acknowledge, “God provided this for me”. He gave me the skills to earn it. He allowed me to manage His resources.

·        Have you ever wondered why God allowed you to be born into a country of incredible wealth rather than in a part of the world where surviving often times comes down to how often you get a bowl of stew?

It comes down to gratitude or pride.

Do you see your finances as a tool or an idol?

Do you really believe the promises found in (Malachi 3:10-11) (Proverbs 3:9-10) and (II Corinthians 9:6-8)?

I do…

As we trek along, we approach the third area of our lives to reflect on our reflection of Christ to those around us.

Our Relational life

Does the way you interact with others reflect the way Jesus did?

In the life of Christ, we read of His interaction with 3 people groups:

His family In His final moments on the cross, Jesus was concerned about His mother’s wellbeing.

Do we have that same concern for our family members? How’s your relationship with your parents? Your spouse? (what’s their love language?) Your kids? (what’s on their minds?) Your siblings? What steps can you take to enhance these relationships? Date night? Marriage conference

His followers  Think about the way Jesus interacted with His followers; His disciples in particular. He rebuked them, got in their faces, challenged them, held them accountable, encouraged them, prayed for them…didn’t hold anything back. He poured His life into His disciples through teaching, mentoring and sharing life experiences with them.

The New Testament is filled with examples of believers that make up the local church coming together to study the word, pray together, be there for each other and make a great impact in there regions together.

I just can’t seem to find any passages of scripture when Jesus instructed His followers to hunker down in there homes and stay away from the “flawed” church of the day. (Hebrews 10:25) The New Testament was written to CHURCHES and church leaders doing life together.

·        It’s interesting that some will want to study a letter written to a LOCAL CHURCH COMMUNITY, but won’t plug into one themselves...

Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” Unfortunately, many isolation Christians are looking for what will bring personal benefit rather than what will exalt Jesus.

A couple indicators of our relational health with other followers of Christ:

·        People call or text you and ask you to pray for situations

·        You have a network of people who have a genuine concern for your spiritual health

·        Others enjoy studying the bible with you because you don’t belittle them or make them feel like they are ignorant

·        You have many memories of seeing God doing a work through unified efforts you were a part of

·        Other Christians know you are there for them and they can count on you

·        You know where you fit into the body of Christ

·        You recognize God at work in others and you encourage them

There is one more group of people Jesus interacted with:

Those who weren’t His followers

Jesus was constantly surrounding Himself with the hungry, the broken, the poor, the lonely and those who didn’t have an understanding of the kingdom of God.

He found bridges to reach out to those around Him

He ministered in real practical ways and met people at their point of need.

Could this be said about you? Looking over this past year, how many times did you INTENTIONALLY interact with those far from God with the desire to get an opportunity to share Christ with them?

Do you have a genuine heart for those far from God?

In summary…

·        Do others see the love in Christ in me or do they see grudges and bitterness?

·        Do I purposely add value to others or am I self centered?

·        Do I have a heart to build bridges to those who don’t know Jesus? 

Final thought… Ask the Holy Spirit what your next step is to reflect Jesus relationally…

Your next step might be to come back to church, join a small group or get involved in serving others in the body.

We continue on with reflecting on our reflection of Christ to those around us.

Here’s the 2^nd area of our lives that Jesus ought to be seen through…

Our INTELLECTUAL LIVES

Are we growing in our understanding and application of knowledge?

Luke 2:47 says, “When those around Jesus heard Him, they were astonished at His understanding and His answers.” By the way, this was when He was 12 years old.

·        Jesus was a student of the scriptures and it showed.

Throughout the pages of scripture we read of men and women who APPLIED themselves (Ecc 7:25) to learning and God used them in great ways for His purposes to be fulfilled. Dan 1:20

·        They grew in wisdom

·        They were all coachable

·        They desired to know more

·        They were readers; they read a lot

What about you? Are you growing in knowledge and understanding?

Most professions require Continuing Education credits to keep practicing…

Dentists, Drs, Mechanics, Technicians, Accountants…why? To stay sharp…They represent something much bigger than themselves. Couldn’t this apply to the life of a Christian? Certainly!

As a pastor, I make a point to absorb into my head three types of books…

·        The Bible

·        Books on ministry

·        Books and materials on leadership.

I want to stay as sharp as I can in my calling.

What are YOU reading? Who is YOUR coach? What steps are YOU taking to grow in understanding, knowledge and insight?

Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord!!

As the moon and the stars reflect the sun and provide light in the darkness, Christians reflect Christ to those around them. As followers of Christ, we ought to stop and reflect on how we are portraying the One we claim to represent.

I'd suggest there are 6 key aspects of our lives that we either reflect the light of Jesus accurately or we send a self generated light that is not of Christ at all.

Here's a list of the 6 areas of examine:

#1. My emotional life...

How are you doing emotionally?

When those around you look at you, do they see a reflection of Christ in your emotions?

Do your emotions resemble a roller coaster or a locomotive? Are you stable or all over the place?

When you think about the life of Christ…not once do we read of Him stressed out over His work load or responsibilities…

He never over reacted to a situation. 

·        He never snapped at anyone because He was wound up tight like a rubber band.

·        We don’t read of anyone being afraid of Him exploding in their face because they looked at Him wrong. 

If you find yourself emotionally unstable or drained, ask yourself why?

Are you taking on more than you should?

Are you doing things that you could delegate to someone who actually enjoys doing that task?

Are you trying to control situations that are really not yours to control?

Do you doubt God’s ability to see you through a circumstance?

God will indeed enable us to carry out ALL He asks us to do. (Phil 4:13)

One of the most common phrases Jesus used when He encountered people whose emotions were being triggered was, “Peace…don’t be afraid”.

Phil 4:6-8 has been a promise I’ve stood on countless times, and God is ALWAYS faithful to His word!

If we don’t purposefully take care of our emotions, know for certain the enemy will mess with them.

We had another great weekend service at New Life as we continued with the Family Feud series. Looking at the life of Joseph as recorded in Genesis 37-47, we see how he had to go through an incredible shaping and maturing process to be effective in the role God had destined him to be in.

God was preparing him to be a key player in an upcoming famine, much like God is preparing His people today to be key players in our day. Yet for Joseph to be completely effective in God’s plan for provision to hungry people he would need to know their language.

Joseph had to learn a new language in this foreign land he found himself in.

I don’t know about you, but I like English

I don’t really want to learn another language.

Yet we have to realize part of God’s plan for our lives often involves learning new languages.

The language of betrayal

The language of sickness or cancer

The language of bankruptcy

The language of the pain

                        Physical pain

                        Pain of divorce

                        Pain of abuse

Whatever language you’ve been forced to learn…you can be assured it’s going to be a contributing factor in providing for hungry people that speak that language.

Don’t resist learning a new language…embrace it as God’s method of preparing you to relate to others going through the same.

Joseph went from a lengthy time in a prison to a place of great promotion in a matter of minutes. His learned language set the stage for provision of people crying out in desperation. You too, will be the source of nourishment to those around you if you are ready.

We had great weekend service at New Life as we came together in unity and not only prayed for our nation, but praised our Lord and Savior through music and song. As we reflected on the wounds inflicted on our nation 10 years ago, we were reminded of how this is for many, a magnified picture of what goes on in our homes. 

Through the messed up family of Jacob as recorded in Genesis 37, we see how damaging favoritism and jealousy in a family can be. 

Couple points from yesterday:

1. If you continually crave acceptance and affirmation from others, you will be let down             
2. If you embrace our heavenly Father’s love (1John 3:1) you will find incredible fulfillment         
3. If you show favoritism among family members, you are fueling jealousy                                  
4. If you are mourning the loss of what appears to be the death of a loved one, (holding a shredded and bloody robe) be encouraged to know you only see part of the picture. Sometimes when all seems to be crashing in, the stage is often being set for God to do a great work in them.                                                                                                              
5. If you are mourning over a stained bloody robe, take it and throw that blood stained robe at the foot of a blood stained cross and become an intercessor!! 

WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!