After a hundred episodes, I decided to pray and evaluate what we accomplished for God’s kingdom. While we’ve done some good things, I was firmly convinced there’s a lot more we can accomplish for Christ. As I prayed and sought Jesus for guidance, I think I received solid direction about moving forward for the next hundred episodes. Since in the beginning, I told you Sonday Life would be a journey of faith, I want you to witness God’s life-changing process through the Spirit in my own life.
To begin with, when realizing how quickly *time is slipping away from everyone, I’m reminded of some thoughts from James 4:14. James was the brother of Jesus, also known as James the Just, to believers. He was a leader in the community of Christians in Jerusalem. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, around 62 AD, thirty years after the crucifixion of his brother, when James was about 55, the Jewish leadership threw him off the highest point of the temple because he wouldn’t stop teaching about Jesus. One minute, he was preaching in the streets, and the next minute, he was lying dead in those same streets.
As I considered James 4:14, I was reminded of a man who took James’ word to heart. That man was CT Studd. From his youth until his mid-twenties, CT was a renowned Cricket player in England. At twenty-five, he had a profound spiritual conversion to Christ. He gave up his career and his wealth and dedicated himself to Christ. At twenty-seven, he married his wife Priscilla, who was as committed to Christ as he was. They became missionaries together and served in China, India, and Africa. He died on the mission field in the Belgian Congo at age seventy. CT Studd wrote the words that he and his Priscilla both lived by, “Only one life twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
John was probably about sixteen years old When he walked away from the family fishing business with his brother James to follow Jesus. Remember, a boy became a man at thirteen in the first century. Interestingly, a girl became an adult at twelve in the first century. It seems women have always been a little ahead of men. It’s believed John died naturally at around ninety-six. For eighty years, he dedicated his life to the service and glorification of Christ. He saw it all and lived through some of the most dramatic and intense times of the foundation of Christianity. And John, like James and CT Studd, lived and died with the undeniable truth he wrote in 1 John 2:17.
Learning from believers like James, CT Studd, and John, and many more heroes for Christ, I realize I can do more. When the things of this world vanish away, what you and I do in Christ will forever stay. What can you and I do in Christ? In Christ, we can affect the lives of others: family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. In Christ, we can do things and bring the message of Jesus to people we’ve never met and don’t even know. And when you and I finish in this world, what we’ve done in Christ will remain here and precede us to our eternal home with Jesus.
So, as I move forward for the next hundred episodes of Sonday Life, I will make some changes to serve Christ and his kingdom in the world. I’m going to level up my journey in Christ. I will give you some things. Jesus is leading me to change my life. The things you may need to do can be completely different, or some things may be the same. Any leveling up in your walk with Christ is between you and him. But here are five things I’ll be doing moving forward to level up my journey in Christ.
I need more openness, less fear, less preparedness, and speaking from the word as the Spirit leads me (Galatians 1:10).
I need more personal interaction with others. I’m thinking of having a monthly video conference for supporters. I also need to write and meet with more people (Hebrews 10:24-25).
I need to give more to others by supporting needy people as the Spirit of God leads me (1 Peter 4:8-10).
I need to utilize my faith more (Galatians 2:20). I don’t necessarily need to use more faith, but I should take more opportunities to use the faith God has given me.
I need to bear the image of Christ more (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). The more I pattern my life like Christ, the more Christ will transform me into his likeness.
How will I manage to level up my journey in Christ and everything that goes on in life? God has given us a priority list. A list to help us live a balanced Spiritual life in Christ and the world is seen in God’s Priority List:
- God – (Matthew 6:33)
- Family – (Ephesians 5:25-29)
- Believers – (Galatians 6:10)
- Work – (Colossians 3:23-24)
- Service to Others – (Philippians 2:3-4); Work and serving others can be flipped if you decide serving others is your work.
- Personal growth goes back to the top of the list, and Matthew 6:33. Seek the other things first, and God will take care of your personal growth.
