A Heart Like Jesus - Max Lucado

What if, for one day, Jesus were to become you?

What if, for twenty four hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, assumes your schedule? Your boss becomes his boss, your mother becomes his mother, your pains become his pains? With one exception, nothing about your life changes. Your health doesn't change. Your circumstances don't change. Your schedule isn't altered. Your problems aren't solved. Only one change occurs.

What if for one day and one night, Jesus lives your life with His heart? Your heart gets the day off, and your life is led by the heart of Christ. His priorities govern your actions. His passions drive your decisions. His love directs your behavior.

What would you be like? Would people noctice a change? Your family - would they see something new? Your co-workers - would they sense a difference? What about the less fortunate? Would you treat them the same? And your friends? Would they detect more joy? How about your enemies? Would they receive more mercy from Christ's heart than from yours?

And you? How would you feel? What alterations would this transplant have on your stress level? Your mood swings? Your temper? Would you sleep better? Would you see the sunsets differently? Death differently? Taxes differently? Any chance you would take fewer aspirin or sedatives? How about your reaction to traffic delays? (Ouch, touch a nerve). Would you still dread what you are dreading? Better yet, would you still do what you are doing?

Would you still do what you had planned to do for the next twenty four hours? Pause and think about your schedule. Obligations. Engagements. Outings. Appointments. With Jesus taking over your heart, would anything change?

Adjust the lens of your imagination until you have a clear picture of Jesus leading your life, then snap the shutter and frame the image. What you see is what God wants. He wants you to "think and act like Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5

God's plan for you is nothing short of a new heart. If you were a car He would want to control your engine. But you are a person, so God wants to change your heart. "...let the spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy." Ephesians 4:23-24

God wants you to be just like Jesus. He wants you to have a heart like His. I'm going to risk something here. It's dangerous to sum up grand truths in one statement, but I'm going to try.

God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.

God loves you just the way you are. If you think His love for you would be stronger if your faith were, you are wrong. If you think His love for you would be deeper if your thoughts were, wrong again. Don't confuse God's love with the love of people. The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God's love. He loves you right where you are.

God's love never ceases. NEVER!!!! Though we spurn Him. Ignore Him. Reject Him. Despise Him. Disobey Him. He will not change. Our evil cannot diminish His love. Our goodness cannot increase it. Our faith does not earn it anymore than our stupidity jeopardizes it. God doesn't love us any less if we fail or more if we succeed. God's love never ceases.

God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way.

Be blessed,
Steve

Silence...

Why are we so uncomfortable with silence?

Our lives are surrounded by noise. We seem to fill every moment of every day with some kind of activity. Even during our down time we watch tv, listen to our iPods or have the stereo on. Do we ever take time in silence to "listen" to God? Does your schedule, the way you spend your time, the way you live your life look like someone who wants to hear from God?

You are in control of your priorities. If you chose to fill your life with noise and not make time for God that is your choice. But in Matthew 5:14 Jesus calls us to be a "city on a hill" and a "light to the world". That light can't shine if it isn't plugged in to the light source! We can accomplish a lot for ourselves but if we leave God out our efforts are pointless.

God wants you to grab the remote control of your life and shut the busyness off. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God!" We need to be silent before God and listen to what He is trying to tell us. He will point out those things in our life that offend Him, Psalm 139:24, yet verse 17 tells us that His thoughts about us are "precious". He loves us! He wants to restore, refresh and renew our relationship with Him! He wants to encourage and strengthen us!

I have Matthew 6:33 tattooed on my arm but do I remember to live it? We add all this stress to our lives trying to do so much on our own when Jesus told us that worry won't accomplish anything. We should be focused on Him and He will make everything else fall into place. Why do we fill our schedule with so much busyness and noise and worry and stress when all it does is sap our strength?

I challenge you this week to spend time alone with God every day. Try turning everything off and allow God to speak through the silence. Good communication is essential in any relationship, and that involves listening as well as speaking. Don't be uncomfortable with the silence. Quiet your heart and really listen to what God is saying to you.

Be blessed,
Steve

At The Refuge we get naked...

Do I have your attention now?

I wish other churches would be brave enough to do the same. It is hard to be naked, even in front of your spouse. When you are naked you are vulnerable, EVERYTHING is visible. But when we are in total humility and surrender before our God that is when He can begin to poke and prod and weed out all the secret sins and rebellion that we try to keep hidden deep inside where no one can see. God knows us so well...Psalm 139 reminds us that God knows all about us...even our very thoughts...we can't hide anything from Him. But still we try. We go along day by day living our lives and telling the world that we are following God but maybe what we are really following is a set of beliefs set down for us by some institution.

In the book, Jim and Casper go to Church, author Jim Henderson says this about the way he sees Christians attempting to live their lives:

"Beliefs are part of life, but when we make them the central identifier of our lives, they can make us mean at worst and shut off to good ideas at the very least. I simply think Christians need to make a small change. We need to major in otherliness and minor in beliefs, that's all."

Are you guilty of practicing "beliefism" or "otherliness"? Is it about religion or a relationship?

God, the God who created the universe, loves us and sacrificed His only Son for us!! We need to prostrate ourselves before this incredible, holy and righteous God! In total submission we should ask Him to reveal to us anything that offends Him (Psalm 139:23-24) and to cleanse us from that sin and renew in us a passion for Him! We need to remember that we are sinners, just the same as the drunk at the bar, no better, no different. We need to humble ourselves before God and cry out to Him like David did after sinning with Bathsheba:

Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.
For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
Psalm 51:1-17

I urge you today to get naked! Be broken and repentant before God. Until you do you will never be able to move on...to truly experience God's grace and mercy...to really be used by Him.

Experience intimacy with God as you never have before...be real...be humble...be open...be transformed...get naked!!

Be blessed,
Steve