Eyes on the Prize

Our model is Jesus. So to be like Him in all things, in all actions, in all attitudes is what we as believers in Christ should be shooting for. Let me direct your attention to the 11^th chapter of the book of John; there is a very subtle, but profound, display of how we can pattern ourselves after Jesus.

To quickly sum up the setting of this passage, two women send a message to Jesus that their brother, Lazarus, is sick…presumably to hasten Jesus to come to where Lazarus is so that Jesus would heal him. Jesus has a close relationship with both the women and with Lazarus, but their location is a day’s journey away from where Jesus and his disciples currently are. This is Jesus’ reaction to that news in the 6^th verse of chapter 11: “Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”

If you read the rest of the chapter, you see that Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days by the time Jesus arrives. The two sisters meet Jesus on his way into town and tell him how if only He had been there while Lazarus was sick that he would not have died. Jesus is deeply moved by their grief (and probably their faith as well), and proceeds to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Today, I don’t want to talk about the miracle. I want to focus on how Jesus reacted when he was confronted with the bad news messenger.

Again, verse 6 says, ”Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” Although Jesus had a close relationship with Lazarus and his two sisters, he did not move at their request. I love how my NIV Study Bible puts it in the notes at the bottom of the page when commenting on this verse: “Jesus moved as the Father directed, not as people wished.”

I want to be like that! I want to move as the Father directs me; not necessarily how people direct me. I don’t wanna let every gripe, moan, complaint, or criticism direct and alter my path when I’m doing stuff for the Lord. Even in some situations that appear dire, if I know I’m acting upon the directing of the Lord, then men shouldn’t sway me.

You know by now that I’m all about having godly people in your life that you can trust for advice, having accountability present in your life, and having all of these types of things that are healthy…but I’m looking at what Jesus did here as a model for our behavior. Jesus ended up going to pray for Lazarus, but He did it in a way that didn’t compromise his mission. Sometimes the thing you have your eyes fixed on shouldn’t be put on the back burner when some other need arises. There is always gonna be something that could be done, something that needs attention, something that could pull your focus. You’ve gotta use wisdom, as Jesus did, and determine what is more important.

Lord, grant me the ability to know when to say ‘no’ or ‘maybe later’ when things come up. But also let me not neglect people, or their needs; let me prefer others to myself while walking in the wisdom that comes from You. In Jesus Christ’s Holy Name, Amen.

Stir Yourself Up

While leading worship last night at the Diamond Conference in Madisonville, KY (which you should’ve been at if you missed it…Heidi Baker spoke, Angela Greenig was there, too—it was awesome!), I urged people to “stir themselves up”. I also stated that the Bible said to stir yourself up.

Well, a friend of mine asked me today where that was in the Bible b/c she had a friend who wanted to stand on that verse of Scripture in their life. So I had to go look it up :) I was kind of nervous because since I couldn’t remember that exact wording being mentioned in Scripture, I was scared I had told a lie to that entire gathering last night.

To my relief, I found what I was looking for in one of Paul letter’s to Timothy. The specific verse is 2 Timothy 1:6 which reads in the NIV, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” Even though there is not an exact wording in this particular translation that says “stir yourself up”, I do think that it is reasonable to say that this is what Paul could have meant in this instruction.

Some of Timothy’s gifts were teaching, preaching, and pastoring. Paul, as Timothy’s spiritual father and mentor, was writing Timothy to encourage him in developing and pursuing these gifts. When he wrote “fan into flame”, it seems as though he was saying to “develop it”, “work at it”, or “let God work in you and make you even better”. There is a gifting there, but Timothy needed to somehow engage on his end as well to make sure that the gift grew.

Even if you are naturally talented at something you still have to put effort into things to make them grow and mature. In Timothy’s case, I’m sure he didn’t always feel like preaching; I’m sure he didn’t enjoy correcting people he pastored; I’m sure it was hard being bold amongst those who looked down on him because he was young. But to see his gifts grow, he had to make a conscious decision to fan his gifts into flame—he had to make a choice to push himself…or, put another way, stir himself up.

There are not always going to be people around to encourage you in every moment you feel down or tired. You need to learn to lean on the words God has given you and be able to stir up things within yourself when nobody else is around. It’s easy to be on fire when everything is going great and you’re around people who share you passion, but there will be times in your walk with God when you won’t have anybody around to get you stirred up but yourself.

So learn how to stir it up! Whatever it takes for you, do it….praying, reading the Bible, listening to worship music, singing out of your spirit, serving people around you, giving a huge offering, reading back over words you’ve received, giving something away, fasting, etc. Make the choice to push yourself and fan into flame the gifts God has put in you. And if you are not sure of your gifts yet, then just push into God, read the Bible, get around people who are on fire for the Lord, and follow what your heart is already passionate about—God will reveal things to you as you pursue after Him, I promise :)

In Jesus Christ of Nazareth's Amazing, Unending, and Unfathomable Love,

adam

2^nd Timothy, Chapter 1, Verse 6:

NIV: For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

KJV: Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

NKJV: Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.