BECOMING LIKE GOD

THOUGHT:
It should not surprise us that we are meant to become like God because in the beginning we were made in His likeness. We were created in the image of God. Sin changed all that. We have fallen so far from grace. But now God is bringing us back through Jesus Christ.

Becoming like God will obviously involve change, and sometimes that change is painful or difficult. Some of us have more changing to do than others. But don’t forget, humans have been far away from God for a long time, and that distance (away from God) has caused all the harm and pain we humans experience. There is no true pleasure in living far away from God.

God has made instant access available through Jesus. Relationship with God is not like confession once a month, where you save up all your sins to say sorry, waiting for the priest to pardon you and give you confidence that God accepts you. God already accepts you through Jesus.

The moment I behave in a way that is not God-like, that’s the moment I can come back to God and say sorry, be forgiven and remain close in His presence.

Becoming like God is a daily walk of intimacy with the help of His Spirit.

TIME TO THINK:
When was the last time I asked God for His help?
How much have I changed to become like God in the last few months?

PRAYER:
Father, thank you that I can come straight to You to talk about my struggles. I don’t have to wait and I don’t have to go through any other person. Help me become more like You and show me where I can change, no matter small it is. Amen.

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FOLLOWING….

“The Shocking Truth About Following Jesus”

At the end of Luke 9, we find a story about three men who approached Jesus, eager to follow him. In surprising fashion, though, Jesus seems to have tried to talk them out of doing so.

The first guy said, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus responded, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” In other words, Jesus told this man that he could expect homelessness on the journey ahead. Followers of Christ are not guaranteed that even their basic need of shelter will be met.

The second man told Jesus that his father had just died. The man wanted to go back, bury his father, and then follow Jesus.

Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” I remember distinctly when my own dad died, and I cannot imagine hearing these words from Jesus.

A third man approached Jesus and told him that he wanted to follow him, but before he did, he wanted to say good-bye to his family.

Jesus wouldn’t let him. He told the man, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Plainly put, a relationship with Jesus requires total, superior, and exclusive devotion.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of these would-be followers of Jesus in the first century. What if I were the potential disciple being told to become homeless? What if you were the one who was supposed to let someone else bury your dad? What if we were told that we couldn’t even say good-bye to our families?

This is where we come face to face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that supersedes our closest relationships in this world. For that’s what it means to live out the biblical gospel rather than our cultural assumptions of what it means to follow Jesus.

Let us determine not to spend our lives on anything but radical abandonment to our Savior.

What should you cut out of your life, starting today, if Jesus is your overriding priority?