Skip to main content

Do as I do, AND as I say

We've all heard the familiar adage: "Do as I say, not as I do." It's a cover up of our own shortcomings. It's a way of saying, "Look, I know what the right thing to do is here, but I probably won't do it, but you should." At any rate, at some point we all have felt like the victim of this phrase and we have probably all used it, much to our own chagrin.

A couple days ago I was reflecting on Jesus challenge to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them everything I have commanded you." (Matt 28:19-20)
If we are called to be Jesus' disciples then that means we ought to say and do the things that Jesus says and does. It's only logical, right? Well I have spent much of my life reading through the gospel narratives, listening to weekly sermons, reading Christian literature, and studying the Bible in small groups. While I consistently learn something new every time I read the Word of God and focus on Jesus' teaching, I can't ever say that I have focused solely on what Jesus did. I know what He said, what He taught, but I don't usually focus on what He did.

Jesus' disciples had direct access to Him 7 days a week for 3 years. They were familiar with His teachings but they also would have been familiar with the sleep patterns He practiced, what He ate, how often, when he fasted, what time of day He prayed, how He prayed, etc. etc.

Jesus wasn't just about saying the right thing or providing insightful teachings from the Old Testament at the local synagogue; no, Jesus was all about healing the sick, rebuking the hypocrites, and changing people's lives. "The Son of Man came to serve, not to be served." (Mark 10:45)

Jesus was full of action and He called His disciples along to that action as well. He warned John and James that they would have to drink the cup of suffering he would drink if they followed Him (Mark 10:35-45), He sent out His disciples in pairs to teach in the surrounding areas and gave them instructions on what to do (Matthew 10), He warned them that they would have to leave their family and even hate their own father and mother in order to follow the way of God (Luke 14:26).

Jesus calls us to action and to knowledge. He asks us to do as He says and as He does.

I would challenge you to read through one of the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) and focus on the actions of Jesus. What did He do? What made Him cry? laugh? What did He become indignant about? Who did He heal? spend time with?

This morning I woke up early to go on a training run for the Flying Pig and I took my phone with me. I was able to listen to the entire book of Mark by the time I finished. It is amazing what you can pick up from God's Word when you go through an entire book at one time. Especially when you have a study plan in place (like focusing on the actions of Jesus).

I pray that the Holy Spirit teaches you something new about Himself as you pursue Him today.

PS
Did you know that there is one account in the Gospel of Mark that mentions something Jesus could not do? Mark 6:5 says that Jesus could not do any miracles in His home town of Nazareth and that He was amazed at their lack of faith. I firmly believe that Jesus was fully capable of healing people in His hometown, and that Jesus fully wanted to perform miracles there in Nazareth, but that the people's lack of faith in Him (because they had known Him from when He was a child) prevented them from being able to witness God's mighty hand at work.
God is always ready to do great things in your life, but you have to have the faith in Him that He will do such things. I pray that we can all be like the man in Mark 9:24, "I do believe, help my unbelief!"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Let's Stop Singing

S omeone recently shared an article with me titled " Let's Stop Singing These 10 Worship Songs ." The author, Corrie Mitchell, is making a point that there are some songs that have made it into the mainstream worship scene that are lyrically weak at best. I believe her ultimate goal is to encourage song writers both to be more conscientious of their lyrics to not neglect theological accuracy at the expense of prose--which is a noble and applauded effort. But with that said, here is my response to her article. Let's stop singing these 10 worship songs. That's right, there are too many important theological statements that are getting left out of worship songs. If congregants don't have the opportunity to proclaim the entire Gospel message in the course of one song then it isn't worth singing. After all, what if that is the only song they ever hear in a worship service? They will be left thinking that the Gospel message is incomplete. That Jesus only die

Casting A Conscientious Vote

Here's the thing America: you nominated two terrible representatives for public office--one "Republican" and one Democrat. Both of their campaign managers have decided that the strongest approach to get elected is to basically claim " at least I'm not them ." Both parties have released ad campaigns to bash the other candidate and both, I might argue, do so quite effectively. Now that I have successfully been persuaded that I should vote for neither candidate (thanks to the other candidate), I am left wondering who there is left to vote for. Certainly there is some candidate who is both qualified as a politician and as a person of reasonable morals?? Enter the 3rd party system. America was founded against a national party system (you can read about that here  for an enlightening time). And yet it is this national party system that has allowed a Democratic convert like Donald Trump to represent the Republican party. Trump knew that the only way to have a

Jesus Doesn't Care Who You Vote For

There. I said it.  Of all the things Jesus cares about that you get to decide on a daily basis, who you cast your ballot for in the upcoming 2020 election is far from the top of the list.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Jesus doesn't care who the next president is--the Bible is pretty clear that God does care who the governing authorities are (Daniel 2:21)--fact is, he already knows who it will be!  What I am saying is that you have thousands of tiny decisions to make throughout your day. Most of which, God doesn't really care about: Do I wear my red tie or blue tie to work today?  Should I leave my house before rush hour traffic or at the last possible minute? How many helpings of Lucky Charms can I get away with before someone notices how light the box has become? Each decision has its own ripple effect and you have to live the consequences of each micro-decision. But most of our decisions on a day-to-day basis are pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of thing