Is this for real?

Whoever said we could walk through this life without worries, difficulties, or unresolved issues was probably not a well person! Choosing to serve Christ does not elevate an individual above the ebbs and flows of life. In fact, it almost guarantees a few more hurdles! If we really are living for Christ, we will face challenging people, circumstances, and moments of potential compromise which we may not have encountered otherwise. Worries are still going to come, simply because we all have a tendency to want to 'hold everything together' ourselves. We just don't get used to turning things over to God quickly, bearing much more weight upon our shoulders than we really need to bear.

You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you, and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!—taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble. (I Thessalonians 1:5-6)

As we all know, increased troubles can easily come as we enter into relationship with Christ. Sorry, but you may balk a little at this revelation, but the important thing to see is with our great trouble comes the revelation we are being accompanied by the one who would walk us through it unscathed! WE sometimes forget this, but GOD doesn't! He gives us gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) nudges to remind us we are not walking alone. He wants us to lean into him, handing him the trouble to 'manage' and the obstacles to 'remove'. Look at the progression we see in this passage - they paid careful attention to their examples in the faith. In other words, they kept their eye on the actions and attitudes of those who had been walking with Christ longer than they had. In so doing, they became imitators of what they saw. Let me caution each of us here - not every example is worth imitating. Just because something bears the label 'Christian' doesn't ensure it is the true product!

Whenever we are imitating what we see, we are "molding" to a "model" we have before us. This makes it doubly important for us to have accurate "models" so what is "molded" within us is solid, reliable, and free of compromise! I have personally followed some pretty bad "models" in my years on this earth - both before and after choosing to follow Christ. The things produced were definitely different depending on the "model" being followed. If you have ever followed "bad directions", you know what I am referring to here. Just because you invite Christ into your lives doesn't mean you won't be tempted to follow wrong paths - in fact, those paths still present themselves repeatedly. We have to choose not to take them!

There are all kinds of "knock-off" jeans, but only one Levis brand! There all kinds of Coach purse knock-offs, but a genuine Coach purse bears the evidence of genuineness in many ways I wasn't even aware of at first. Noticeably enough, the thing which sets both of these "real things" off as originals is their cost! The "knock-off" brand gains its popularity simply because it LOOKS LIKE the original without the COST! We need to be aware many 'knock-offs' in life look good, but there is a significant difference in the cost to us. The reason we have "knock-offs" is simply because somebody sees something worth imitating! Yet, the knock-off will never measure up to the quality of the original! This is why it is so important we have good examples! We don't want to imitate a "knock-off" - we want to imitate the original! This is why it is important to evaluate the ones we hold up an examples, or models, in our lives once in a while - comparing them to the Word of God and the telling truth revealed by the Holy Spirit.

These believers learned to take the troubles with joy, and the joys with the trouble. How? Simply by having an example to keep their eyes on through the troubles - the Holy Spirit guiding them step-by-step. They became imitators of Christ - allowing the Holy Spirit to create within them the "staying power" and the appreciation of the supreme blessing of the trouble, not just the good! They learned each ebb had a purpose to expose something otherwise hidden from their view - each flow had a driving force to propel them forward. In each, they found joy - not because of the circumstance, but IN it. My hope is for us to become imitators of the original - solidly molding our lives to the pattern laid out for us in Christ Jesus. My goal is for us to never become cheap "knock-offs" - wanting the original, but not being willing to pay the price! Just sayin!

Sermon Lessons: Cost

^13-14"Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention."

(Matthew 7:13-14)

The cost associated with acquiring something is sometimes not important to some people - they seemingly don't really think the associated cost is a big deal.  Then there are others of us who are a little more frugal (not stingy) in our spending, so we pay attention to the cost associated with both acquiring and maintaining whatever it is that we are getting.  We look at the length of the warranty and read up on the reviews registered by others who have acquired the product.  We'd say that we were wise "consumers".

The fact that God looks for us to be wise in our approach to him is clear evidence that he appreciates a wise "consumer" who counts the cost associated with obtaining eternal life.  He is encouraging us to not only look at the cost of "obtaining" eternal life, but also the "cost" associated with our daily walk (we might call this the "maintenance" of our walk).  We don't "do stuff" to "maintain" our position of salvation and eternal life, but there is a daily cost associated with maintaining closeness in our walk with Christ.

We are always looking for shortcuts.  Traffic is too heavy on one road, so we cut over to the other road going the same direction in hopes of avoiding the busy streets.  The results we hoped for in our change of diet aren't shedding the pounds fast enough, so we opt to add some new "miracle" diet drug to speed the process.  It is part of who we are to want to take a few shortcuts in life.  There is one place where shortcuts don't work - our daily walk with Christ.  If we are so focused on the shortcuts, we miss out on the rewards of the journey!

Christ tells his disciples that this walk is a vigorous one - it demands our total attention.  That speaks to the fact that we cannot have mixed motives.  We are either "in this" with Christ, or not.  We cannot have one foot in the walk and the other not.  In case you have not noticed...your one foot determines the course the other foot will go (even if it is being drug along!).  

The "cost" associated with our daily walk is vigor - having a strong, robust, and vital walk.  Have you ever noticed that when you deny your physical body rest and proper nutrition, it begins to drag, mental acuity goes to pot, and you just cannot function at peak capacity?  The same is true in the spiritual sense.  When we neglect the "rest" we need - those times alone with God just soaking in who he is - we lag behind.  When we don't take the time for the proper spiritual nutrition - good teaching in the Word, time in the Word ourselves - we are not "fueled" for the walk.

The cost of salvation that is associated with our "part" (what we do) is really in the commitment we make to the everyday stuff.  Jesus paid the initial cost (his life on the cross for the salvation of all who would come to him).  We make the commitment to the maintenance of the walk.  That is our part.  So, consider the cost (the price you are willing to pay) for the maintenance of a close walk with Jesus.  If you find you have been trying to take "shortcuts" in maintaining that walk, you will find yourself falling short of what you are truly capable of enjoying!