He lives in us

by Morgan Lunsford | Aug 5, 2015 | Gospel of Luke

In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Colossians 3:11

Let’s just be honest: humans are not perfect. Far from it, actually. We compare ourselves to each other to try and justify our insecurities. We all have flaws, and that’s just the truth. But, despite all our imperfections, our perfect God chose to rescue us from our sin. We aren’t perfect and we can never be perfect, but Jesus was. Jesus lived on earth and experienced life as we do and yet, still, he is pure. Christ is flawless and yet he still CHOSE to live within us. If He is all that matters, everything else is insignificant. So why do we argue? Why do we compare ourselves to one another? Why do we find the fault in others before we find the beauty? Jesus is the one who binds us all together and he is perfect. Because he lives in us, Christ is the one who defines us. We are no longer defined by our humanness but by God. When we look at each other, we should see a reflection of God, not human imperfections.

So stop the comparison. Stop pointing out the flaws in each other and begin to see the body of Christ as a group of believers who are simply a reflection of a holy and matchless God.

In the Word.

by Maison Tiradoegas | Aug 6, 2014 | Gospel of Luke

God has used this chapter to radically reshape my life. Through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, these are three things God has taught me:

1. Work really hard to make someone else’s vision come true before trying to make your vision come true.

I did an unpaid internship at a church for a few years and many times I had to do things I didn’t care about, and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t always do these things with the best attitude. Instead of thinking how I could make my leader’s vision better, I would dream about the time when my vision would happen. “God when are you gonna give me the keys to the kingdom?” I’m embarrassed to admit this but it’s nothing God doesn’t know already. Now as I lead the Press Bible team, I’m very thankful for our team’s inspiring loyalty to do the small things. I believe that God will bless each of them as they begin to experiment with their own dreams. My encouragement is do what I didn’t do. Be inspired to work for other people. And really care.

“And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?” Luke 16:12

2. Nobody likes a dirty liar.  

Liars are the worst. I used to work at a restaurant and would notice my co-workers cheat customers by charging them a little extra and pocketing the extra cash. At the end of the night, my co-workers would have an extra fifty bucks. In high school it may be funny, but sadly some of them carried those habits into their lives to this day, never really growing out of cheating people. Their lying and cheating reputation made them sketchy to others, and they were often excluded. Be honest, you’re not really hiding anything, just hurting your relationship with God and with others. They may seem small at times, but lies have the potential and power to ruin your life.

“And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? Luke 16:11

3. Cut the Crap.

Recently, my brother and I watched “Leave it to Beaver.” My favorite character is Eddie Haskell. Eddie’s the kid who acts polite on the surface, but inwardly is a schemer and a brat. At the climax of the movie, Beaver’s mom finally sees through Eddie and tells him to “cut the crap.” Our Almighty God who sees all and knows all isn’t fooled by our faux righteousness. God can see through any ploy. Our hearts matter to Him. If there is one thing God would tell us I fully believe it would simply be: “Cut the Crap.”

One More.

by Maison Tiradoegas | Jul 28, 2014 | Gospel of Luke

I hate when my Instagram photos don’t receive love. Let’s just be real. I’ll work so hard perfecting my filters and crop hoping for at least a few hours of Instafame! Imagine taking the best picture with the best filters and writing a warm, heartfelt caption only to be welcomed with one little heart…

If this happened to me, I would honestly delete my pic and repost it later.

How do you think God would react? “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “ Luke 15:7

“Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

My hearts battles with always wanting “one more,” but God just wants more of one.

Each day, we battle with this internal struggle of wanting one more. “If I had one more ________, then ________.” The kingdom of God is not like this. Jesus is relentless at pursing the individual. Have you ever been at 99 likes and you need one more to get to 100? We get worked up and hope someone, anyone, will just “Like” our picture. If we’re honest, we could care less about who it is, we just want to see the numbers. As silly as an Instagram comparison might seem, doesn’t this represent the nature of our hearts?

Jesus, our amazing savior teaches, us to forget about the 100 and focus on the one.

Jesus revealing this characteristic about the Father teaches us the value we hold to God. If God holds such a high value on just one of His creations, then that must affect how we treat each individual person.

My prayer is that we may treat each person, whether a stranger, close friend, or social media follower, with the insane amount of worth they hold. Let’s take a moment to celebrate what that person means to God. This attitude will compel us to break our routines and begin to love others so much that we begin to share what Jesus has done.