In my reading this morning, I came across this question. It seems simple enough, but man did it hit me hard. It is just four words. It’s very basic, very simple. But at the heart, it asks a question that we have to ask ourselves every day. It’s a question I have to ask myself every day.

See, the question came from Jesus. In John 1, as Jesus is first “arriving” on the scene, John the Baptist was proclaiming who He was. John the Baptist had two disciples, Andrew and John, and they immediately started following Christ. Literally. They were walking behind Him, just following Him. In verse 38, it says, “Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.”

Can you even imagine? The opportunity to just walk with Jesus, and then He looks at you and asks you what you want. Why are you following me?  This is a time for introspection my friends. The commentary in my Bible put it this way; if we are following Christ to advance our cause and our will, then we are actually asking Jesus to follow us! Oh wow. How many times have I done that? How many times have I looked at Jesus and asked Him to follow me? How many times did I just not get it? Father, forgive me.

Today was humbling. I don’t have much to write. I simply wanted to share that. I think it’s going to be a day of introspection. I had to pray this morning for a new heart, a new desire. I don’t want Jesus to follow me. I’ve seen how my life turns out when I think I’m leading. I want His will, not mine. I want to follow for His glory, not mine. So, friends, let me ask you the same thing Jesus asked;

What do you want?

Category: Stand Up
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My wife sent me a text the other day while she was in Home Depot. She was telling me about a conversation, a game, that Caeden was trying to get Crewe to play. He told Crewe, “You be Jesus, and I’ll be God.”

Now, I’m not sure which was funnier, the way he says Jesus (Jee-Jus), or the role he was wanting to play! They are always talking about it though. I hear them, while coloring at the table, say, “Jesus is God, God is Jesus.” It’s like they are teaching and trying to grasp it at the same time. I’m like that sometimes.

It got me thinking though. When was the last time I checked to see if I was getting closer to God? If my goal is to become more like Christ, how am I doing? What do I need to do to get there? What do I need to change? Surely, if my boys can figure it out in Home Depot, I can come up with something!

Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” What a great starting point. Paul gives a list of where to start by describing characteristics of Christ. So, let’s focus on this one today.

Don’t be selfish. Check. What does that look like? It means what is mine, is not mine. It means that what I have is given to me from God, who expects me to, in turn, use it for others. Many may read this and think, “I live paycheck to paycheck. How can I give what I don’t have?” Well, the answer may not lie in your paycheck. God asks that we give of our treasure, time, and talents. What God gives me; the talents I have, the time I am blessed with, and the money I’m given are all things that I can look at and give. Hey, I’m talking to myself here.

Here’s a tough one. “Be humble. Think of others as better than yourselves.” It is hard for me to put others ahead of myself. It is hard for me to see the needs of those around me. So, I started changing my prayer. I ask the Holy Spirit to make me sensitive to the needs of those around me. I don’t want to live in a Colby-bubble. I want to go out there and be the man God wants me to be. I need to learn to find ways to help those around me.

So help me. I’m open to ideas. What do you or your family do to instill this in your kids, yourselves, your family? How do you keep from living in a bubble? Or, maybe you’re like me, and you have been in that bubble, but you have an idea of how to break out of it. What would you do? How would you change it? How do you plan to be more like Christ? Surely, if our kids can figure it out, then there’s got to be a way for us to do the same.

Is it really that easy?

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Yesterday was an amazing day. Not only was it a gorgeous, sunny June day, but at 5:30 yesterday my daughter, Michaela, was baptized. She’s nine years old, but her heart is God’s. She loves her church, and more importantly, she loves Jesus. I love hearing her sing along to Christian music in the back seat of the car. Yesterday was an incredible day, full of emotion, love, and actually– a lesson.

See, after the people were baptized (and I’ll get to that in a moment), Steven (our pastor) asked if there was anyone else who wanted, or felt led to be baptized. The little lady just to my right raised her hand. She was 80 years old. We helped her in the pool, and there she was, in her “church clothes” getting baptized. Isn’t it amazing how God can work? Isn’t it a beautiful picture that God loves us all? That’s because there are no barriers when it comes to God’s love. It is available to everyone.  There’s not an age limit, no race involved, and no matter your economic or political background. Just as the Jews and Gentiles once were separated, through Christ we all have the opportunity at true unity.

Paul addressed this in Ephesians 2, but I want to focus in on verses 19-22:

¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

We all make up the church (as believers). God gave us salvation (through belief) to make us His. Adoption into His family. We are the “whole building.” The church is not the building where people gather. I’ve been in churches that met in really nice buildings, rented buildings, rented churches, schools, auditoriums, and old supermarkets. To say that the church is where God is would be folly. The church is made up of the believers, regardless of where they meet, regardless of what they look like on the outside, regardless of the mix of people. One of my friends and pastors, Scott, always said “A beautiful mosaic” of believers. I like that.

I’m going to go backwards in the scripture now and look at verses 15-18.

His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

What Paul is saying here is that Christ died so that all of us have access to Him, and to salvation. It’s not for one set of people. Salvation was for all. And it is through Him that we are saved, not through what we do for Him. Verse 8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is not God’s plan that our good deeds or good works bring salvation. Rather, it’s that after we are saved, the good works of those in the church would show God’s love to a watching world.

One of the cartoon movies that the kids watch (Robots) has a very unique line. “See a need, fill a need.”  Shouldn’t that be a mantra for us today? Isn’t that how the church can show God’s love? I’m not saying they try to fill every single one of them, but every community is different and unique. Each community has a very specific way that the church can be “Jesus with skin on” to them. It’s an awesome challenge.

Whether you are a 9 year-old, or 80 year-old, God has a specific plan for you. No matter where you’ve been, or who you think you are, God has a plan for you. No matter how bad you think you’ve been or you just realized that all the good “stuff” you’ve done just isn’t enough, God has a plan for you. There are no barriers. There are no hoops. Only salvation, and no walls.

Category: Stand Up
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