ARE YOU LOOKING FOR JESUS?

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OK, so Jesus says, "Where two or three gather together in His name, He will be in their midst", but is there any other indicator about seeing Jesus at work in your life? I think there are a few helpful guidelines in finding Jesus at work all around you.

FIRST-Jesus is focused on those in need, therefore look for Jesus as you are able to show concern for and offer help for the needy around you. This is where His heart is. He even says that when you feed, clothe and love those in need, you are actually ministering to Jesus, Himself.

SECOND-Jesus is focused on children, therefore look for Jesus to be hanging around them. Children do see things differently and say things innocently from the heart.

THIRD-Jesus doesn't make appointments; He will show up unexpectedly. If your day is interrupted, look for Jesus to show up in that interruption. Instead of being annoyed with your schedule being interrupted, look for Jesus there. In examining the life of Jesus you will see that He walked in and out of people's lives on His calendar.

Although there are a few times Jesus initiates encounters with people, most of the time people seek Him out personally or on behalf of loved ones. In either case, when Jesus encounters a person in need, His touch is always healing and life-giving. None of these encounters were on anyone's appointment book. Each was an interruption to their daily routine.

If you are met with irritations or troubles, look for Jesus to show up through these. I have found that some of the most irritating people I know have been used by the Lord to teach me something I really needed. Look for Jesus to show up in the midst of your troubles, too. It's not that Jesus causes us these irritations or troubles; He is always present to use them for our benefit.

You see, the reason why you can find Jesus around you throughout your day is that Jesus is relentlessly searching for children and child-like faith, those who are in need and those who are caught up with irritations and troubles. And He uses all of these players and situations to grow us up spiritually.

No matter what the touch of Jesus accomplishes in the life of a person, there is always the same result. Each and every person comes to the point of life-change-a turnaround in his life's direction. It is usually referring to turning back to God-getting back on track. I like to think about it as simply coming to your senses.

There is an interesting encounter with Jesus that Jesus actually initiates. It's when Jesus met a tax-collector by the name of Zaccheus. Zaccheus was so short that he climbed up into a tree in order to see Jesus better. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

NOTE that Jesus invites Himself to lunch at Zach's house. And even before they made it to his house for lunch, there is an immediate change in the heart of Zaccheus. It's amazing to me how quickly Zaccheus wants to rectify his wrongs against the people he had over-taxed. He repented. He came to his senses about what he was doing.

I see this all of the time with people. When they encounter Jesus, there is a dramatic coming to their senses about material things, about their family responsibilities, about their finances and about their sense of mission. This initial response to an encounter with Jesus indicates a genuine heart decision to follow Jesus.

Now note what Jesus' response was to the changes in Zaccheus. Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:1-10) When you're looking for Jesus everyday, you will find Him actively seeking those who have lost their way. What Jesus wants from you is to be aware of His activity, cooperate with Him in His many encounters with people around you and to do whatever you can do to advance the conversation of Jesus in the marketplace. You see, when you are looking for Jesus every day, you begin to partner with Him. To be a partner with Jesus is to participate in bringing people to their senses. By the way, your life will begin to make more sense, too.

So, seek for Jesus and you will find Him every day. He is setting up all kinds of random appointments every day. All He wants you to do is to show up!

GOD WITH US THROUGH JESUS

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One of the topics Jesus taught from the beginning and throughout most of His teaching was the Kingdom. The Kingdom is all about God's presence among us. The Kingdom is the way of living life according to and in the presence of the King-Jesus. We seem to ignore this kind of thinking much of the time. I want to suggest three observations that may be helpful here.

FIRST-Jesus came to dwell among us-TO BE WITH US: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "GOD WITH US"). (Matthew 1:23) GOD WITH US! Christmas is all about God wanting to come down here and make Himself at home with us.

SECOND-Jesus called a few TO BE WITH HIM: He appointed twelve that they might BE WITH HIM. (Mark 3:14-15) Jesus set out to accomplish the work God, the Father, had asked Him to do-to be with the few the Father brought to Him and to teach them about His name. Jesus said: "and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:26) Imagine that! The love with which the Father loved Jesus can be in us and Jesus be in us at the same time!

THIRD-Jesus continues TO BE WITH US TODAY. Jesus shares with us the plan for continuing to dwell WITH US today: "If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home (our dwelling place) with them." (John 14)

Jesus also shares with us how He will show up and make Himself known among us. "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will show up in their midst." Jesus will show up as a few of us gather in His name. He still is inviting a few for Him TO BE WITH THEM today!

You see, Jesus through His Spirit is present WITH US right now and welcomes us. After seeing how the Gentiles (the non-Jews) readily believed Jesus enough to follow Him, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him." (Acts 10:34-35)

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, Jesus gave His disciples one final command to make disciples of all nations and cultures. He envelopes this command with these words: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." Then he said: And surely I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, to the very end of the age." (MT 28:19-20) He doesn't say I will be with you again someday. He says "I am with you always-right now on into eternity!"

Jesus came as Immanuel-TO BE WITH US and HE IS STILL HERE WITH US today, therefore: · We don't have to ask Him to be with us! He already is! · We don't have to ask Him to bless us! He already has! · We don't have to look for Him! He is invisible, but dynamically present! · We don't have to conjure Him up through powerful charismatic experiences! He is the one who has powerfully come to dwell WITH US! · We don't have to be anything other than we are! He wants to dwell with you just as you are!

A friend in Jesus recently said it this way: Jesus became like us so that we might become like Him and He came to live WITH US for a time so that we might live WITH HIM forever. And guess what? Forever starts the moment you realize that Jesus is Immanuel and you decide to follow Him.

Now to me, this makes Christmas the merriest of holidays! GOD WITH US started 2000+ years ago and He continues to be WITH US today. This is why I talk to Him throughout the day. This is why I am in a constant conversation with Jesus asking a very simple question, "What do you have for me today, Jesus?" And when I ask, He shows up. And when I don't ask, I don't see Him or even think of Him. Since I know God is WITH US, I am so much more at ease about my day. GOD WITH US!

An extremely effective way of seeing ourselves with God and God with us is to read through the Acts of Jesus. Beginning this Friday, January 1st, to begin the new year of 2010, we will be going through Acts for 28 days in a row and that includes weekends. Plan on joining me on this venture. You will be able to see Jesus more clearly in your life today and how He is working among His people. Come along this Friday and check Jesus out for yourself.

JESUS LEFT BEHIND

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One of the all-time bestselling series was LEFT BEHIND. It was based upon bible prophecy with the premise that someday those who are faithful followers of Jesus will be snatched away and the non-believers will be left behind. Although Jesus used the context of "in the days of Noah" where only the believer/followers were the ones left behind and not the non-believers, this teaching is very pervasive today.

Whatever teaching is true-Jesus' words or the popular prophets of our day-I am more concerned about Jesus being LEFT BEHIND. I especially think about this at the two most revered holidays within the Christian world-Christmas and Easter.

As you know we have set out to do the most difficult thing we've ever done in our lives. We are trying to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus and embrace Jesus as a lifestyle. One of the reasons for not being able to do this in the past is that we had our focus on something closely related to Jesus year after year, yet quite different with disappointing results. We were either adding something to Jesus as if He needed our additions or we were diluting the awesomeness of Jesus by packaging Him in our comfortable, spiritual boxes. Because our focus was not on simply Jesus, many times we have caught ourselves just going through the motions of the spiritual life. We had effectively left Jesus behind as we set out to live our lives.

I found out the hard way that leaving Jesus behind proved to be disastrous. Life doesn't work well without Him and I didn't know what to do to work well for Him. I kept leaving Jesus behind!

This Christmas morning I want to suggest the three most common ways of putting Jesus in the position of being left behind in your life. FIRST-We tend to leave Jesus behind in the manger! Jesus is no longer in a manger or cattle feeding trough. Both the Bible and the Qur'an teach that Jesus was born of a virgin and He is called the Word of God. In the first chapter of John it says the "Word" became flesh (not a book nor a religious organization), grew up and "dwelt" among us (made Himself at home among us), being full of grace and truth. Jesus is not still in the manger, so don't leave Him there. Learn to relate and interact with Jesus out of the manger.

This reminds me of the program for a Christmas pageant several years ago that listed out all of the actors by name. When it came to Jesus, it said, "The baby Jesus is played by a 60 watt light bulb." When you leave Jesus behind, an impersonal light bulb may be the only light you'll be able to see and share.

SECOND-We tend to leave Jesus behind on the cross! Whether you are Catholic with Jesus visibly hanging there or you relate to Jesus with the symbol of an empty cross, the story and dynamic of Jesus is so much more than a cross. He's been there-done that and now wants you to enjoy Him as the resurrected one-the one who knows you best and loves you the most!

THIRD-We tend to leave Jesus behind in the clouds! Those who are so focused on Jesus' 2nd Coming tend to be looking up into the clouds and looking ahead to the sweet bye and bye. So life becomes all about Jesus coming in the clouds to get us out of this mess. This is not what Jesus taught and lived. He wants to dwell among us as our King-our Master-right here in the nasty now and now. There is no escape clause for those who believe and follow Him. And, if Jesus does snatch those who believe and follow Him out of this world, it is only to bring us right back down here to dwell in His amazing presence on earth. In other words, there's a U-turn right back to earth. That's where the streets of gold, etc. will be-right here!

So, why do we tend to leave Jesus behind in the manger, on the cross or up in the clouds? Three simple things come to mind. It seems to be a natural, human tendency to leave Jesus behind or leave Jesus out. To do this (1) localizes Jesus to some place where we can visit or not, (2) limits Jesus from doing things that might be out of my comfort zone, and (3) leaves me alone to my own thinking, so that I can salvage some sort of fantasy of being in control.

To leave Jesus behind is to worship an impersonal God. And, if He is impersonal, then we tend to worship and lift up religiosity, traditions and man-made commandments. Hey, this Christmas do everything you can do to make it all about personalizing Jesus. Release Jesus from the manger. Remove Him from the cross. Refocus your eyes out of the clouds and be a part of what Jesus is doing right here on earth right now. Jesus is awesome, alive and actively desiring to make Himself at home in your life. Will you let Him do just that this Christmas?

SPECIAL INVITATIONS

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The Christmas holiday season is filled with parties, invitations and Evites looking for a response. We have attended several parties this season and also quite a few charity events. This year we have looked forward to each of the parties and have enjoyed them all.

Jesus, being the reason for this Christmas season, the one who is ultimately the reason for any and all of the parties of the season, had an original party that was the party of parties. On this Christmas Eve I want to briefly walk through the many party invitations sent out for the anticipated birth of Jesus.

In the first chapter of Luke's Gospel two invitations were sent out in an indirect sort of way. Zacharias and Elizabeth were invited to the birth of God's Messiah. They were notified that they were going to have a child who would prepare the way for the Messiah. And when it came to naming their baby, instead of naming him after his father (according to tradition) they went with their instructions and named their son John.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was invited in a dramatic way, naming her as the one God had chosen to bear this baby in her body. But her invitation didn't stop there. Her fiancé, Joseph, was also given a special invitation by God to this supernatural birth. The angel explained to Joseph that Mary's pregnancy was a God-thing and not a sinful or negative thing at all. And, just like John was not named after his father, so Mary's son was to be called Jesus, not Joseph. Can you imagine what went through Mary and Joseph's mind with these special invitations to the birth of God's Messiah?

A special group of shepherds in the hills of Bethlehem were sent a dramatic invitation while tending their flocks. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Luke 2:8-20)

There were two people who were looking for God's Messiah to show up during their lifetime. One was a priest by the name of Simeon and the other is a prophetess by the name of Anna. They apparently were very familiar with the specific prophecies of the prophet Daniel and believed God's Messiah was about to show up. Their enthusiasm was intense upon finding Jesus.

One more invitation is the most fascinating to me. There was a group of religious astronomers who received an invitation to this unique event-the magi. This was probably a group of serious astronomers who were researching when God's Messiah was going to appear. They were studying the stars for this information. Their invitation came in the form of a star. Note what they said when they came to the region. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." (Matthew 2:1-2)

Three observations come to mind here: #1-You are the sum total of the invitations you accept in life! #2-Some invitations are more important than others! #3-God has sent you an invitation-inviting-calling-everyone to follow after Him through Jesus. Think of it this way. Jesus has a special calling on your life. What will you do with this invitation? Accept it? Reject it? Or will you simply ignore it?

SECRET #75 OF FOLLOWING JESUS

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We have arrived at the final secret of following Jesus-secret #75. I began with the intent of listing out a few key principles of following Jesus that might help all who are interested to follow Him more closely. When I first responded to the challenge to make such a list, I thought there might be 30 principles, 50 at the most. Then, after spending more time, it was clear that the list would be much larger. So, on a flight to Washington DC to meet with some friends this past July, I took out a pad and the list of 75 principles flowed out. It was amazing. Since the day I started writing, I have kept the discipline of not looking ahead. Each day I faced the next secret freshly and wrote it out. I kept this particular secret as the final one.

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) SECRET #75: The follower of Jesus lives life one day at a time.

I've said it many times: YESTERDAY is a canceled check! TOMORROW is a promissory note! TODAY is the only cash you have! We waste so much of our lives regretting the past or fearing the future.

Alcoholics Anonymous and all of the other Anon groups operate upon the theme of "ONE DAY AT A TIME." This is exactly what Jesus is saying here-one day at a time. Worry has little to do with the past, but mostly has to do with the future. We worry over what might happen or what might not happen. It's not in our control, but we spend lots of energy as if our worry could make a difference in the outcome. Jesus says "Don't bother!" Each day has plenty of trouble of its own without worrying about the tomorrows.

Jesus is teaching that if you are seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, He will take care of everything else you need. He will do this ONE DAY AT A TIME. This is what He did with the children of Israel about one month into their 40 years of wandering. He rained down bread from heaven-manna-each day, except on Sabbath.

Each day the manna came down from heaven. Each day they were to gather enough for the day, never thinking of storing up some for tomorrow. Each day there was enough. Jesus is the "new manna in town." Jesus is our daily bread. The word "manna" means a surprise like "What is it?" I see Jesus giving each of us a surprise of His manna, His leadership, His sustenance each and every day for those who seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

We practice these habits in order to gather the manna for today, which helps in minimizing our worry factor. 1. Walking with Jesus. 2. Walking with others who are walking with Jesus. 3. Waiting on Jesus to lead out with orders and opportunities. Remember, these aren't doctrines or just things to know, but habits to practice every day-all day long.

Have you noticed that when you think about tomorrow or next week, then the worries become overwhelming? I have to constantly focus my thinking and reflection upon today. It's learning how to live in the present-to live in the presence of Jesus. This is SECRET #75: The follower of Jesus lives life one day at a time.

This goes along with the message of the book of Ecclesiastes. King Solomon had tried everything to fill his life with satisfaction and all was found to be empty-luxury, liquor, lust, etc. He sums up his life's search with two summary truths: 1. Fear God and keep His commandments. 2. Enjoy your blessings every day!

Now, that's living life ONE DAY AT A TIME.