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When I look at the life-change in the original disciples of Jesus, there's one thing they had that I think maybe we've tried to 'circumvent'; TIME. They spent time with Jesus. Real time. They walked with Him and they talked with Him, and it wasn't just a song. It was the way they really lived, day in and day out.
 
We really want the life-change, don't we? But do we really want to invest the time & discipline to walk with Him, and to talk with Him, every day?
 
In our message "Disciples have Faith, Love, & Victory," we saw in 1Jn 5:1-5 a process that the original disciples definitely experienced. We tied it to that grade school song, "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage." And we said, in our lives, just like that grade school song, first comes faith, then comes love, then comes victory over the world." Our life-change really does come in that order.
 
First, we put our faith in Jesus Christ , believing in all He is. Then, we fall in love with Him. We fall so in love with God that our response of following Him in all we do is never a burden. Our love relationship makes living for Him a privilege and a joy.
 
Then, through our faith, and because of our daily on-going love relationship, we walk in victory in this world. Our victory is through our faith, which is developed in a constant relationship of love.
 
The faith part came pretty easy for most of us. And we all want the victory part. But in-between is the ongoing, ever increasing, daily relationship of loving God. That's where the time and effort comes in. We're busy, we're stressed, we're over committed already.
 
But here's the deal; All the disciples had to leave something, in fact, everything, in order to walk with Jesus every day. You and I probably won't have to leave everything, but we will definitely have to leave something.
 
Let's just think for a moment; What have we 'left' for our love relationship with God? What have we put aside, not done, or said no to, in order to spend time walking and talking with Jesus. Because it's in the daily walking and talking that our love relationship blossoms.
 
And it's through that growing love relationship that your faith-decisions are made. And it's through those faith-decisions that you have victory over this world. First comes faith, then comes love, then comes victory over the world.
 
May God greatly bless you in your ongoing love relationship with Him.
 
Pastor Dave
 
 
 
 

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