The Story Behind My New Name
View all responsesI was once given a new name. I treasure it so much that I don’t use it. I just keep it close to my heart. A great leader once spoke to those who followed Him and said: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)
To my amazement Jesus calls me friend. Knowing that I am a friend of Christ has continually changed and improved my life. If you would like to hear Jesus call you friend, try this:
If Christ is in you (Colossians 1:27) but you’re unaware of His presence, you’re ignoring Him. (Hebrews 12:2) Don’t just occasionally analyze Jesus. Continually absorb His presence. (Matthew 28:20)
Don’t just study the Bible, savor it and soak it up. (Psalm 119:11) Bible study is good, but Bible savoring is much better. (Joshua 1:8)
Don’t just pay attention in church. Ponder Christ throughout each day. (John 1:29) Don’t just hear a sermon. Hear the heart of God. (John 10:27)
Don’t just go to church. Go all out all day to follow and obey the risen Jesus. (John 14:15) Don’t just sing a song about God. Pour out your heart and humbly (James 4:6) worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
Don’t replace direct divine revelation (Matthew 16:17) with religion. Jesus came so that you can have an intimate ongoing personal relationship with Him. (Matthew 11:28)
Don’t just converse about Jesus. Continually connect with Him heart-to-heart. (Matthew 15:18)
Don’t just say an occasional prayer. Pour out your heart to God in penitence and in praise for His glorious mercy and forgiveness. (1 John 1:9)
Don’t just be religious. Be a light that radiantly reflects the glory of God. (Matthew 5:16 & 2 Corinthians 4:6) Don’t be satisfied with preaching about Jesus. Demonstrate His presence and power in your day-to-day life. (1 Cor 2:4-5)
Don’t just give some money. Personally encourage and serve somebody. Give your heart. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
This morning after writing this about Jesus I felt inwardly prompted to step outside. When I did, I saw the sunrise and the bright Morning Star. I didn’t allow my mind to analyze and explain the scene. Instead, I let my heart savor it. As I was pondering and absorbing the heart-moving sights a low-flying plane was taking off in front of me. That plane reminded me that the way to let Jesus, the Bright and Morning Star, rise within me isn’t to analyze, study, or explain Him. It’s to ponder, absorb, and surrender to His presence and will.
How closely is your heart connected to the living Jesus right now? (Isaiah 29:13) Get closer every day! For more keys to an intimate, ongoing, daily friendship with Jesus, google: Beyond Church Ekklesia.
Focusing on studying religion is like focusing on studying a sunrise. The more someone studies a sunrise the less he allows himself to be deeply touched and transformed by its beauty. The same goes for studying theology. When studying the Bible replaces soaking it up and continually savoring the presence of Christ through its pages, that shifts people’s awareness away from inner absorption to mental analysis, away from the heart to the head, away from inspiration to information, away from Spirit-prompted wonder to prideful scrutiny.
When it comes to Christianity, experiential knowledge is much more important than mere intellectual knowledge. When there is a famine of direct, personal, awe-filled revelation of the presence and power of the risen Jesus, Christianity becomes just another religion. God wants churches to train people to connect heart-to-heart with and to obey the risen Jesus, not just to fill people’s minds with Bible analysis or motivational speeches. It’s time to focus on, seek, savor, surrender to, and obey the presence of Jesus.
