Talking About Jesus

I love talking to people about Jesus. The night I said yes and surrendered control of my life to Jesus and began the journey as a follower, I immediately wanted to spend my life telling others about Him. That is what Jesus has allowed me to do. I get really excited when I talk with someone, especially if they know little about Jesus, and we discuss the most amazing person who ever lived. We can see his influence in many aspects of life, from the calendar to the way people communicate, even if they don't recognize it. I’ve talked to three people in the last week that have almost no knowledge of Jesus, the Scriptures, or why people believe and go to church. The “church” world is completely foreign to them. I love talking to them. It’s all new, interesting, and challenging. Unfortunately, those who have been around the church can become bored with living a life of faith. I often wonder how someone who follows Jesus, the most intriguing and impactful person in history, can ever get bored. I’m baffled by bored “Christians.” The immense interest in Jesus, has caused both the TV series “The Chosen” and the movie “Jesus Revolution” to become popular. People want to know about Jesus. Take advantage of the season we are in and invite people to join you for Easter. Engage in conversations with them. It's likely they want to know about the King of Kings. Easter is coming. Jesus, help us! Give us the courage to share the wonder of the Most Wonderful One. Amen.

Easter Is Coming

We are only a few weeks away from one of those times when people are more likely to accept an invitation to a church gathering. It’s Easter. There are people in your life that you want to know Jesus in the way you do. You want them to experience His love, grace, hope, and forgiveness. Easter gives you an opportunity to invite them to join you for our Easter Celebration. There is a month until our Easter Celebration. Now is the time to pray for your friends and for opportunities to invite them to join you. Jesus is more concerned about your friends and family than you can imagine. He loves when we pray for people to come to faith. The Apostle Paul wrote: God “wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4 (NLT) The Apostle Peter wrote: “The Lord … is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) Jesus sacrificed Himself for the people you are praying for. He is working in their lives and desires to use you as a messenger of compassion and mercy. God “brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NLT) Jesus gave me a couple opportunities to talk to people this week about Him. During our conversation, I invited them to join us for our Easter Celebration. It’s never too early to invite people to our Easter Celebration.

Fruit Of The Spirit

Paul the Apostle wrote to the Galatians about the “fruit” that is developed when the Holy Spirit is given permission to work in the lives of His believers. “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) The last sentence always pops out to me. “There is no law against these things.” Every one of the fruits the Holy Spirit produces are totally and always legal. There can’t be a law against love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Jesus was the epitome of the “fruit of the Spirit.” Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control define Jesus. The “fruit of the Spirit” shone in His teaching, His healing, and His suffering. Hanging on the Cross, Jesus spoke words of hope to the thief, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” To the Father he prayed, “Forgive them they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus wants to produce in us the “fruit of the Spirit.” Producing fruit often requires the pain of pruning (John 15.) He prunes us to produce LOVE by bringing people into our lives that are hard to love. He prunes to produce PATIENCE by leading us into and permitting situations that try our patience. If the fruit came naturally, He wouldn’t need to prune us and it wouldn’t require the Spirit to produce fruit. The fruit doesn’t come naturally so it requires pruning and the flow of the Spirit to produce. That is why it is called “fruit of the Spirit.” Next time you are in a tough situation, ask yourself, “What is Jesus pruning in my life? What fruit is the Holy Spirt trying to produce or ripen in my life?”

Jesus Never Stops Working to Transform Us

God’s ultimate plan is to transform His children into the image of Jesus. Everything God does in His children’s life is about that transformation. The Apostle Paul instructed the followers of Jesus to “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.” Colossians 3:10 (NLT) God created Adam and Eve in His image. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (ESV) The image of God in Adam and Eve was altered when they disobeyed and ate the forbidden fruit. Their rebellion did not destroy the image of God in people, but disfigured it. God has been working since Adam and Eve’s “fall” to restore His image in his creation. Jesus is God’s key and ultimate work, enabling the restoration of people “in His image.” Followers of Jesus “all show the Lord’s glory, and… are being changed to be like Him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NCV) People often wonder what God is doing in their lives. I can tell you what God is doing. He is working to transform you into the image of Jesus. Our transformation will only be completed when we finally see Jesus face to face. As the Apostle John wrote: “… we have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like Him, because we will see him as He really is.” 1 John 3:2 (NCV) Jesus never stops working to transform His followers. He’s working in your life to transform you! Don’t fight the transformation! Work with Him.