journey onWord with us

It is my firm belief that most Christ-followers really don’t know Christ. Now before you think the words I just stated are heresy, think about them for a moment. I didn’t say that Christ-followers were not followers of Christ or not real believers, but that they didn’t really know Christ. At least not in the way He wants us to!

It’s likely that most of the people reading this article have made a decision for Christ in salvation, and your eternity is secure in heaven. But have you really taken the time to get to know Him, to really experience the wonderful privileges that are available in Christ? My thoughts on this topic really began to take root a couple of months ago when we at Journey onWord were preparing our Bible reading plan for 2014. One of the men shared that for much of his journey as a Christian, he didn’t really know Christ. His words got me thinking.

It’s my assumption that you can recite a great deal of facts about the Savior. You’ve probably read through the gospels and internalized a lot of information on His life. You have heard the Sermon on the Mount taught, you probably love reading about the feeding of the 5,000 and you have wept looking at His pain in Gethsemane. I could go on with how much information most believers know.

Knowing Jesus, however, it less about possessing facts and reciting Scripture and far more about truly experiencing Jesus. All who know Him as Savior have a grand opportunity to live with His attitude, look at life from His perspective and enjoy the peace that He gives.  Frankly, I just don’t see that happening with most Christ-followers.  How about you?

To be honest, I had a hard time framing this article in my mind. During my personal reading time, I found so many verses that caused me to think about Jesus and reflect on really knowing Him passionately.  Romans 13:14(a) reminded me of this:

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The picture of clothing ourselves with the presence of Jesus goes far beyond intellectual facts, Bible stories and just drifting through life as someone who calls Christ our Savior without really seeking Him. If you are like me, you want to experience in a very real way the joy of clothing yourself in the presence of Jesus.

For a moment, think about how Jesus would handle the stress and pace of your life. Would He be frantic, frustrated and often overwhelmed? Think about how He would handle abuse, and anger toward Him. Would He forgive or choose to live with anger and bitterness?  When there’s a chance to lie or shade the truth, what would Jesus do?  I think we all could recite what He would do in these situations, because we’ve read the stories. And we’d probably be quick with the answer.  But have we ever sat long enough with the story to see what’s beyond the quick answer.  Or have we genuinely applied what we “know” and genuinely followed His example when He’s led similar people or circumstances into our everyday?  I firmly believe that you and I can live with the attitude and actions that characterized His earthly walk.  But if we don’t really spend time getting to know Him, looking at His responses and committing ourselves to His purposes, we won’t act much different from those who really don’t know Jesus as Savior.

Our passion at Journey onWord for 2014 is to spend the entire year reading and studying all the words of Jesus in Scripture. As we immerse ourselves in His words, attitudes, and actions … we will change!  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to end 2014 with the words Christ is my Savior and my best friend. Over the next few weeks we will share how you can journey with us through “the words of Jesus”.

I want to share something I read just today in Beth Moore’s book, Jesus the One and Only.

He is Jesus. The One and Only. Transcendent over all else. To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to long for Him. To long for Him is to finally reach soul hands into the One true thing we never get enough of. Jesus. Take all you want. Take all you need. Till your soul is fed. And spirit freed. Till dust is dust. And Face you see. Jesus Christ. He’s all you need.

Amen.  And with expectancy, we look forward to journeying with you in 2014 through “the words of Jesus.”