Be Led By Jesus

When seeking help, being discipled, being shepherded or following leadership these are 3 things you should ponder and pray about.

Read, Ponder, Pray and Set Expectations

 Humility

Colossians 3:12 - “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, tapeinophrosunē [humility].”

The uncommon virtue of humility. Virtues are habitual exercises and inclinations of the heart for good things. Virtues are truly valuable, important or yours when you desire them want to receive and you want to provide for others. Virtue consists in the beauty of those heart-exercises and of the actions that flow from them. Uncommon virtues are in limited supply both in world and in the Body of Christ, sounds weird doesn’t it? But mainly, and most importantly, uncommon virtues are those habitual exercises of the heart rooted in what makes us disciples of Jesus. In other words, the uncommon virtues flow from our union with Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, by definition, no unbeliever exercises any uncommon virtue. They exercise common virtues, which have external similarities to the uncommon virtues, but they are radically different because they have no roots in a person’s relation to Christ. Humility involves the possibility that you are wrong in your thinking, words, actions, and emotions no matter how smart you think you are or how many times you have read the scriptures. More importantly, it means allowing Jesus to lead you even when it does make sense to you.

Sacrifice

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,...”

To be “a living sacrifice” is to be fully at God’s disposal—to be available and willing to obey Jesus in whatever he asks, invites you into or commands. Come with a total allegiance and submission to the Bible — the Christian Scriptures — as our only infallible authority. This means you come with no authority except what you can see in the Scriptures, to savor in your own soul, and to show in the power of the Holy Spirit for the upbuilding of others. John Piper: “Christ’s sacrifice was so complete, so glorious, so full, so decisive that it secured an eternal redemption. If you have Christ, you have eternal forgiveness for all sins.” Offering your body as a living sacrifice to God is to make a daily decision that your desires must die so that you can be free to do with your body what Jesus desires. In the same way that you once used your body to serve yourself and fulfill the lusts and passions of your flesh. In the Old Testament, when someone offered an animal to be burned, it was meant to symbolize a larger truth—that everything they have is at God’s disposal. Don’t give Jesus your leftovers.

Trust 

Jesus gives you the strength to endure grief, disappointment, or hopelessness but the process can be lonely and scary. You have two alternatives: you can cry in sinful disdain over the work that Jesus is doing in and through you, or you can lament deeply with hope in the joy that is set before you. The weeping itself is not the issue — that is probably the most God-glorifying response. But if your weeping comes simply from angered pride, or the shattered shards of your sinful nature, others' sin or your brokenness or other’s brokenness, you’ve moved away from lamenting the way things are to resenting that things are not the way you wanted them to be. The author of Hebrews tells us Christ’s cries were heard because of his reverent submission (open to reason, decided to put Himself) to God (Hebrews 5:7). You are broken. The great thing about being broken is that if God is the Maker, your Maker, He always puts you back together in a way that looks more like Christ than before. In the process, painful though it was or it might be, you will see He also has a son or daughter with special needs: YOU. Relying on God is not a matter of mental willpower; it’s a lifestyle. It’s a holistic shift in daily focus, and it involves mind, body, and soul. Your anxiety/worry is often rooted in trying to avoid suffering. You rely on God by trusting He will do what’s best, even when you experience suffering, loss, and sacrifice. You rely on God that He is a loving Father.

 Read, Ponder, Pray

 His Grace and Peace Be with you!