“And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles…Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place” (Luke 6:13, 17).
IN ORDER TO MOVE FROM INTIMACY with the Lord to ministry, we must cross over the bridge of community. This is what Jesus did in Luke 6:12-19 as He chose His disciples.
Intimacy is being with God and God alone. Is there any space for that in your life? How intimate are you with Christ? What about your prayer life? We need to be deep in our relationship with God first and foremost. This is the well from which we must drink in order for our life to flow to others (see John 7:37-38). It is our greatest joy and our greatest challenge. Solitude is an initial anchor, one pillar of the bridge. It is in my aloneness with God that I know I am “beloved.” If I don’t know this, I will manipulate people and situations to gain it. Or, I will take credit for ministry that God has done.
Ministry is the other side of the bridge. The cause of the Gospel is our anchor to keep us on track. This cause of evangelism and discipleship is something we are all committed to.
Community is the bridge that connects intimacy with God and ministry of God. People not only deliver the Gospel, we live it out day by day by Christ indwelling us (see Matthew 5:16). It is in how we handle our difficulties and how we deal with and love people and one another that the world knows that we are disciples (see John 13:34-35). Knowing we are beloved, experiencing acceptance, healing hurts, expressing forgiveness—love is the light that shines in darkness, brings the dawning of a new day. This is the bridge that takes courage to walk across; there are no shortcuts.
“This competitive spirit, when a person has to take credit for what he’s doing—this will hurt a team. His security is wrapped up in what he is achieving so he sets aside those he is able to lead to Christ. This is not from God, it doesn’t come from the Bible—it comes from somewhere else. If we come together only in our strength, it sets us up for pride because I have a strength in this area. How I look is important to me. The only contribution I make is because of a life pretense.” — Jim Petersen
BW
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Purchase the Entire Devotional – “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”
The devotion above was taken from the 52-week Devotional entitled “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”.
Many give a mental assent to this teaching yet are often asking, “What do I do? What does Christ as life look like?“ Too often Christians err by moving too far to one side or the other—reducing the Christian life to a list of do’s and don’ts, or they actually do nothing.
These inspiring weekly devotions are just some of the actions that reflect the life of Christ in each of us, and they explore four areas as we follow the One Leader, Jesus Christ –
- A Foundational Focus
- A Personal Focus
- A Relational Focus
- A Missional Focus
Be challenged, encouraged, and spurred on to a deeper walk with Christ.
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