The Two Sides of Imitation

You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

Imitation can have two sides. One one side you imitate someone you admire and on the other side someone imitates you. The Thessalonians first imitated Paul and his team and then naturally became examples to other Christians. 

When I was in elementary school I loved recess because we would play whatever sport was in season. I remember playing football and everyone would imitate whoever they thought was a good player. At the time, and I am dating myself here, there were a few people I liked to try to run like. One was Larry Csonka and the other was O.J. Simpson. Csonka had the power and O.J. the moves and speed. I would get the ball, call out the person's name I thought I was running like and then go at it! 

As a Christian there has been a few people I have found to be worthy of imitation. Humility and a servants heart are the two qualities I admire. Godly humility is knowing who you are in Christ, and that you are who you are by the grace of God. Christlike serving is serving others, even those who don't appreciate it. 

One last thought is that Paul said that the Thessalonians "welcomed the message in the midst of suffering". The implication is that following Christ is not always easy, rather, to the contrary, it is often difficult. There will be trials. There will be tests. Christ leads us to victory, but, there will be warfare. Paul, endured everything from shipwrecks to imprisonment, dealing with false teachers (seeking to undermine his work) to be stoned and left for dead. Yet, he pressed on and fought the good fight, spreading the gospel wherever he could. Who did he imitate? Christ. 

Go Back to Your First Love

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Revelation 2:2-6 NIV

There was a lot that the Ephesian church was doing right. They were hard working people who persevered and even endured hardship for the sake of Christ's name. But, they had an issue. 

The issue was one I think we must all confront if we have walked with the Lord for any length of time. It's when what you do starts to be more important than the one you do it for. "You have forsaken the love you had at first." When you are first saved, you realize the depth of your own spiritual poverty. You just know you need Jesus. Isn't it true that at times we forget what is important is that we just love Jesus. We have no idea what's going to happen or how it's going to happen, we just believe that Jesus will work things out. So, we try to love. We forgive that person who hurt us so deeply. We stop trying to defend ourselves and just make up our minds to be more Christlike. We look to the Lord realizing that it only matters what he thinks of us and if we know we are trying to love others like he loved us. 

Listen. There is a big difference between when I first gave my life to Christ and now. I was a kid and now I am an adult. I was single and now I am married and have four children. Trusting God for a family is a whole different level of maturity. But, it's still trusting God and being Christlike. I friend of mine says, "I got married and than I began to realize I was selfish. I had kids and then I knew I was selfish." My first love was simply total dependance on Christ. My first love was realizing that everyone around me, like me, needed Jesus. My first love now is still the same. Everyone around me still needs Jesus. Frankly, I used to wake up and I would have to go someplace (like work) before I encountered someone. Now, I wake up to a house full of people who need Jesus' love from me. Then I go to work and there is more people who need his love. My first love was and is just trying to love like Christ loved me...

How did you first love Christ? Do you need to go back?

For Which Has Christ Jesus Taken Hold of You?

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 

Philippians 3:12 NIV

There is a reason Christ took hold of each of us. I think of my wife and kids. I think of Mr. D at work who I ended up praying with about his brother and his brother got better. I think of each person who, through a God-incidence, I ended up praying with or just mentioning God to them. I think of Mr. C at work whose daughter has had countless physical issues. At first he was reluctant when I told him I would pray for his daughter, but, after a year, he asked me to. I'm sure there is more but those are what come to mind. 

For which reasons has God in Christ Jesus took hold of you? 

Beware of the Posers

While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples,  “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Luke 20:45-47 NIV

Jesus isn't warning about the attitude that would make you be like the teachers of the law, he's warning about the teachers of the law. Why? Because for the teachers of the law it was all about them. It wasn't about God who they were supposed to be honoring and teaching about, it was all about their "spirituality" and "holiness". But, everything was for show. They wanted to be respected and honored. They didn't help widows, they devoured their houses. Wow! 

How Can I Help?

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:41-45 NIV

You know the difference between a "Here I am" person and a "There You Are" person? The first is all about themselves and the other is all about others. Christ, who is God, always has been God, and always will be God, came to serve, not be served. We should be like him. 

As you approach each person, as yourself, are you maneuvering to get something for yourself or are you looking for an opportunity to serve? 

Let me ask you, how can I help you?

Are You Letting Your Hands Be Strong?

As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.

Zechariah 8:13

If you channel surf you will definitely come across some fitness coach promising that if you use their system you will lose weight and feel better. Self-help programs can aid you to lose some weight and feel better about yourself to some degree. But, they all share the same weakness. Self. 

That is what makes the grace of God so powerful. Grace is built upon the Sovereignty and faithfulness of the Almighty God. His promise is to save us and make us a blessing.  If you lift weights you should have a partner who acts as your spotter. Sometimes when you need just a little help they will pull up on the bar just a bit to help you finish the set. 

The grace of God is where he does a lot more than pull us up a little bit to bring us through. Because we know that we can let our hands be strong, we can act in faith without fear. You see, having a spotter allows you to try as hard as you can without fear that you will be halfway through a lift and your arms will give out and the weights will fall back on you. Let your hands be strong. Don't be afraid to fail. Be a blessing. Be strong in the Lord!

Are you part of the deliverance?

Blessed is he who has regard for the week;
   the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
Psalm 41:1

One of the fruits of being a servant of the Kingdom of God is God's deliverance. Isolation is the result of being a selfish person, a person who "looks out for number one". 

Last year I had the misfortune of having an incompetent, malicious, and immoral supervisor. She did her best to completely negate any progress teachers accomplished with their students. I had several fellow workers ask me about how to deal with her. I believe in telling the truth, even if it hurts me. I went to the principal and told the truth. Frankly, I did not want to put myself on the line and brought some unwanted "focus" upon myself. But, she no longer is at our school site. 

The point is that I believe that if we seek to defend those who can't defend themselves that we honor God. I lost a lot of hours listening to fellow workers describe the intrusive and destructive actions of this crazy administrator. But, I am where God put me to serve others, not myself. He promises to take care of me. He does. 

Imitate What?

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 

3 John :11 (NIV)

In a sense, you are who you imitate. After I became a Christian I attended Calvary Chapels up until a few years ago. Several pastors came out of Pastor Chuck's ministry and have been very fruitful in advancing the kingdom of God. The emphasis on teaching through the Bible, the whole Bible, was definitely a common trait. And it is a very good one. The point is that imitating what is good yields good fruit. 

John, the Apostle, had just been talking about Diotrephes. Diotrephes liked to be first, rejected the apostles, gossiped maliciously, and refused to welcome those sent from John. Not only that but he stopped those who tried to welcome those sent from John, and put them out of the church. In light of this narcissistic tyrants' actions John says to not imitate what is evil. 

Just think about how people operate as leaders. Even while declaring the truth (which is opposed to sin) godly leaders are loving and welcoming. Remember, repentance is a way in, a way back to God in Christ. Imitate those who offer grace. 

Father, give us wisdom to imitate what is good. Praise be to you in us today! 

Know You Are In Christ

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not  do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 

I John 2:3-6 

Many moons ago I attended Capernwray Bible School, in England. One of my roommates was from Kenya and every afternoon he would go through a little karate routine. One day one of the fellas asked him, "Do you really know karate? OK, hit me!" He said he didn't want to hurt anyone, so this guy from Canada went at him and knocked him down. After that every time the kid did his little routine someone would would go at him shouting, "Show me some karate!" It was obvious he didn't really know karate no matter what he said.

In the same way just because we call ourselves Christians, read the Bible, go to church, sing songs and go through all the motions, that doesn't make us Christians. The danger of course is that the enemy will just come at us and knock us down. Just like the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19:13-17 were beaten by the man with the evil spirit we might be beat up if we really don't know Christ. I don't want to be judgemental here. Because I believe if God can save me and his Spirit can move in me, God can work in anyone. My point is that at some point we should be able to say that we love others because Christ loved us first. Our love will be imperfect but, covered by his grace, it will cover over a multitude of sins.

Father, help us to love as you loved us. Praise be to you in us today!