Jesus in the Wilderness.

"I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." (John 1:23) John the Baptist said to those messengers sent by the Pharisees to find out who in fact this wild man with the mane of a beard who lived off of locusts and honey actually was. In further explanation, John says, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." (v. 26-27)

John the Baptist was baptizing the multitudes when all of the sudden, there in the crowd, stood the One to whom his life was dedicated to preparing the way for. There in that crowd stood the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the Son of David, the Savior of the World. My body reacts with excitement even thinking about being in the presence of Jesus Christ like John and the rest of the crowd that day were. But even as I think of how amazing it would be to be in the presence of the Lord like that, I wonder if my excitement in reading this passage is so great because the very presence of the Lord is here with me. And even within me, the Holy Spirit of God resides. As I read the Bible and God is revealing His word to me, this wonderful feeling of joy never ceases to amaze me as I know that here, sitting in the presence of my King, reading His word, there is nothing better than this.

My road to Emmaus.

Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus began walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. At the time they did not recognize him and this whole story presents a lot of things I could write about, starting with that, but what stood out to me this time was Luke 24:27--"And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."

How wonderful to have Jesus explaining the Bible to you! Wow. I mean, we have Greek and Hebrew Lexicons, concordances and commentaries galore, but these two men had Jesus literally explaining the Bible to them. This makes me so jealous (in a good way). I am so desirous for the Word to be made known to me in the fullness of its intended meaning.

As I thought about this more, it came to me that in pursuing Jesus, he reveals himself more and more to us, especially through his word. As I open my heart and mind to him and read the words of the Bible, the very Christ who spoke truth to those men on the road to Emmaus reveals the truth of his word to my mind and heart and spirit. How incredibly wonderful.

Die to Live.

Something that I often find myself contemplating in the paradox found in Christianity that in dying to ourselves, only then can we really find life. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:23-24 ESV).

Most of us have heard this said a million times, but how do we make it real in our lives? What sort of application does this instruction from Jesus actually have? The next verse hits the hardest: "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?" (Luke 9:25).

Over the past few months, I have been especially considering how much of my life is lived for me. How often do I find myself asking questions like "What do I want?" and "Is this the best choice for me?" when I should be asking "What is the Lord's will? How can I bring glory to Him?" and "How can I serve others?" I think life has changed for me as I have come to understand that its purpose is far more eternal than temporal. This world will pass away. I say that not in the least to suggest that things we do in this life don't matter or that we shouldn't enjoy and get the most out of our lives, but rather quite the opposite.

As we lose ourselves in Jesus, every pleasure and joy in life is magnified. For he is the Creator of all things good. As I sit at my favorite table at The Muse Coffee Co. sipping a white chocolate mocha that Brian made for me out of a red mug, I can't seem to stop this huge smile from spreading across my face as I think about how much better Jesus makes everything! The days I don't read my Bible or pray I notice such a difference.

Right now, my heart is literally racing as I revel in the joy that I have in my Savior. [Oh man, a doo wop version of "Stacey's Mom" just started playing in here. I know that's totally off topic but this is hilarious. Jesus has to be laughing too.]

Anywhays (said like Jack Black in Nacho Libre), I was just reading farther in Luke, contemplating in the back of my mind ways in which I can die to myself and live for Christ and as thoughts of being a friend to people I don't particularly like and volunteering at nursing homes ran through my mind, I came across a verse a few chapters later that really spoke volumes about the life application of Luke 9:23-25. Luke 12:33-34 says, "Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I love how Scripture all ties together.

So I'm thinking, "how can I do this?" I don't think Jesus necessarily meant the we all have to sell everything. I think he was just making a point. Rather, I think this verse means I should think about how much I have compared to how much others need. How much to I need and how can I give. I believe in giving far above and beyond "10%". The question shouldn't be how much do I have to give, but how much can I give?

After contemplating all these things and becoming very excited in my desire to live a life of generosity, giving, loving, serving and taking up my cross, I then came home and listened to a sermon podcast from Matt Chandler. He spoke about the parable of the steward in Luke. As this post is already getting rather long, I won't go into detail, but it just further reinforced the importance of giving. Not storing up treasures on earth. Making a life that serves Jesus my goal.

*Download Matt Chandler's sermon on iTunes through "The Village Church." The sermon is dated 11/22/08. Definitely worth your time to listen.