My heart was hard this morning - Jason Brown

My heart was hard this morning - Jason Brown

I woke up this morning and realized my heart was hard to Jesus and the Spirit.  For a video teaching I'm doing later today,  I had to revisit the commands Jesus has given us in Luke.  I was overwhelmed.   I see the inherent goodness of following Jesus.  I see that the world desperately needs authentic followers of Jesus.  It is the only hope for this world.  It's what my heart wants to do.  And then I take a look at much of my activity and wonder, "Am I really following this guy?"  When I saw the full picture again last night, it's like I threw up my hands in the air and said, "Alright, Jesus.  You win.  I CAN'T DO THIS!"  I don't know if any of you have felt this as you've read through Luke . . . but I have.  

Here's what I want. I want to live like a Christian.  I want to bring the Kingdom of God in my words and deeds.  I want to be like the good tree Jesus describes in Luke -- the one that produces good fruit because it IS good.  I don't want to keep duct-taping good fruit to a tree that isn't good.  I don't want to keep battling with my own heart over my time and money and fears. I want to produce good fruit -- naturally, not in an engineered way.  I think this is what it means to live by the Spirit.  


 
Posted on Thu, February 21, 2008 by Jason Brown

3 comments (Add your own)

1. C. Helton wrote:
Me too!!!!!!!!!! Great blog...well put! May the sweet fruit of Christ be evident in all of our lives who follow Him. Nice web site! I attended ERC way back in the 70's and it is a blessing to see where God has led the church in being a light to the community around them. "Well done my good and faithful servant."

Fri, February 22, 2008 @ 8:50 AM

2. Jim Augustine wrote:
Thanks Jason..I think we all can ditto your comments. I think since we live in this flesh as well...and God is constantly "refining" us, it's always a struggle. I believe we cannot just have a little struggle, worry or concern. I think God takes us to the edge so there is no doubt who fixed / solved the problem....it has to be God! I'm trying to develop a deliberate attitude towards my struggles saying "God, what would you have me learn from this?"

Tough stuff >> Thanks so much Jason for your transparency!

Jim

Sun, February 24, 2008 @ 7:14 AM

3. Sarah Brown wrote:
In our life group study of Luke 9, I discovered that I have the same worries & doubts.

- Luke 9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go". - I made, or thought I made this decision to follow Jesus and go on this journey to be an "authentic follower of Jesus" & produce those good fruits. I wasn't prepared for what came next -

Luke 9:58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes & birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. - Huh?! Talk about overwhelming! It took me a while to decode this, but this is what I have come up with so far-

His words tell us what it really means to follow Him. "No place to lay His head" shows me that along this journey, I don't get to take a break from being a Christian. I believe that following Jesus means that I am going to struggle (with money), I am going to be challenged (with my time & my patience) & I am going to ask a lot of questions (what do You want from me!? am I doing this right?). I want to follow Jesus wherever he goes, but I have to learn to put him first - which I feel can be near impossible at times. As I try to figure Jesus out, I often feel like I just can't make it either.

One thing that I have learned from Luke - If following God were easy, Jesus wouldn't have had to come to earth to show us the way.

Sun, February 24, 2008 @ 8:55 PM

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