You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below.
Enter your Email
Author: Chuck & Deb
Chuck & Deb love Jesus!
The Moses / Joshua Connection
Ezra’s Secret to Spiritual Health
Your Reputation Precedes You
Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee. (Mark 1:28)
“I know who you are, your reputation precedes you.” These introductions can be a little awkward. You are at a distinct disadvantage knowing little about a person who knows much about you. And as your mind kicks into high gear, you wonder, “What do they know?! Is it good or bad?”
The Lord Jesus’ reputation spread throughout the land. There was much talk about Him and they were trying to decide whether they liked Him or not. But what really mattered to Jesus was not what the people thought, but His reputation in the Father’s eyes. He strove to please the One Who’s opinion really mattered (Jn 14.31). And the Father was pleased (Mat 3.17). Is our reputation managed by those around us or by aligning our thoughts and actions with what the Father desires? Be like Jesus, surrender your reputation to God.
Please leave me your feedback by clicking on “comments” below.
© 2008, 2009 Following Jesus by Chuck Wood All Rights Reserved
You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below.
Enter your Email
A DISCIPLE LOVES JESUS BY OBEYING
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
(John 14:21)
I really connected with the conference speaker and made a beeline to him after the message. I invited him to coffee so I could pick his brain about his relationship with Jesus. He had some great things to say about abiding in Christ and then he asked me about my relationship with Jesus. I excitedly agreed with his story because it sounded very similar to mine. And that’s where the similarities ended. He blew my mind when he said, “I’m so glad you never mentioned the word obedience.” What?! The conversation took an abrupt turn south. How in the world could a person divorce obedience from their relationship with Jesus? He is our King and our Lord. He commands us to obey Him. He says if we love Him, we will obey. Jesus’ disciples are not only commanded to obey Him, they want to obey Him.
You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below.
Enter your Email
A DISCIPLE HAS FAITH IN JESUS
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
(John 6:29)
I was dangling underneath a helicopter on a rope 100 feet off the ground. Needless to say, I was a little nervous and the thought had crossed my mind more than once was, “is all this equipment strong enough to hold me?” It took a lot of mental discipline to trust my equipment and training and by the time I hit the ground, I had worked up a pretty good sweat. Trusting Jesus can be a lot like my experience. Sometimes, when people talk about faith in Christ, they make it sound so easy. Well, for those of us who have been down the trail a little bit and have had to wade through some of the tougher things in life, we know that faith takes a little work. It’s resolve in the fact that Jesus has our best interest at heart. It’s enduring and pressing on because we know He holds the victory. And ultimately it’s believing He will use our lives to advance His kingdom.
You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below.
Enter your Email
A DISCIPLE LOVES LIKE JESUS DID
 |
| Naked Mole Rat |
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
(John 13:34–35)
Have you ever tried to love the unlovable? Sure you have. And if you’re like me, you found it very difficult. We’re confronted every day with people who are rude, insensitive, and downright mean. But we know better than to write them off, because when we take a close look in the mirror, we can see some of the same characteristics in our own lives. The Scripture says that “…while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God” (Rom 5.10). We really didn’t have the image of a cute little puppy. It was probably more like trying to hug a buzzard. In fact, our actions proved us to be hostile to Him (maybe more like a ticked-off Naked Mole Rat). And yet, He loved us…to death. That is how Christ loved us and how He commands us to love others. We have the ultimate example to follow. Keep loving the unlovable.
You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below.
Enter your Email
A DISCIPLE SUBMITS TO JESUS AS LORD
“You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.”
(John 13:13)
So you’re smokin’ down the interstate and suddenly you see a Trooper’s car in the median. What is your automatic response? Apply the breaks to slow down, Right? Even if you’re doing the speed limit, it’s an automatic response. Why? Because you know the Trooper in the car has the authority to give you a ticket. There is a healthy sense of fear attached to violating the law. But in today’s prevalent preaching of grace without the balancing principle of responsibility, there is almost no such reaction when we sin. I believe we have lost the sense of Jesus’ lordship in place of not grace, but licentiousness. So in many cases in American Christianity the State Trooper is treated with more respect than the Creator of the universe. We need to regain the reality of the “Kingship” of Jesus and rightfully have Him rule and reign over our lives. Those who do not may be in for a very unpleasant surprise (Mat 7.21-23).
You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below.
Enter your Email
A DISCIPLE IS A SERVANT
“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”
(John 13:14–15) It was going to be a long night — especially since there would be no sleep involved. On top of that I had missed dinner. I was looking at the double whammy of sleeplessness and hunger pains for the next 12 hours. But just as I had resolved to be miserable for the duration, my friend Randy and his wife Carol brought me a huge home cooked fried chicken dinner. Randy had taken me under his wing and was discipling me. One of the things he was good at was seeing a need and meeting it. He showed me how to be a servant and love people into the kingdom. I ate that meal more than 30 years ago and I’ve never forgotten that act of kindness. Jesus calls His disciples to serve those around them in powerful ways. Let’s serve others the way He served us.
(John 13:14–15) It was going to be a long night — especially since there would be no sleep involved. On top of that I had missed dinner. I was looking at the double whammy of sleeplessness and hunger pains for the next 12 hours. But just as I had resolved to be miserable for the duration, my friend Randy and his wife Carol brought me a huge home cooked fried chicken dinner. Randy had taken me under his wing and was discipling me. One of the things he was good at was seeing a need and meeting it. He showed me how to be a servant and love people into the kingdom. I ate that meal more than 30 years ago and I’ve never forgotten that act of kindness. Jesus calls His disciples to serve those around them in powerful ways. Let’s serve others the way He served us.
You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below. Enter your Email
A DISCIPLE GLORIFIES THE FATHER
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
(John 15:8) When I ask people “What is the Christian’s ultimate purpose in life?”, the number one answer I get is “To glorify God”. I would whole heartedly agree with that answer (Isaiah 43.7, 1 Corinthians 10.31). Amazingly, when I ask “How does one do that?” the answers are usually pretty vague. Jesus gives us both a clear answer and example of how to glorify God. Jesus said, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” (John 17:4) But Jesus had not yet gone to the cross. What was the work He accomplished? In the context, it was raising up obedient disciples (John 17:6–7). Just two chapters earlier, He tells them (and us) how we can glorify the Father: bear much fruit. (John 15.8). In other words, if we want to do what almost every Christian says we ought to be doing, “glorifying God”, a clear and surefire way to do that is by being and making disciples of Jesus!
(John 15:8) When I ask people “What is the Christian’s ultimate purpose in life?”, the number one answer I get is “To glorify God”. I would whole heartedly agree with that answer (Isaiah 43.7, 1 Corinthians 10.31). Amazingly, when I ask “How does one do that?” the answers are usually pretty vague. Jesus gives us both a clear answer and example of how to glorify God. Jesus said, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” (John 17:4) But Jesus had not yet gone to the cross. What was the work He accomplished? In the context, it was raising up obedient disciples (John 17:6–7). Just two chapters earlier, He tells them (and us) how we can glorify the Father: bear much fruit. (John 15.8). In other words, if we want to do what almost every Christian says we ought to be doing, “glorifying God”, a clear and surefire way to do that is by being and making disciples of Jesus!
You can receive “Following Jesus” via email by subscribing below. Enter your Email
ToBeLikeJesus 