Gateway Church - MO

When we get too comfortable, it's easy to fall asleep; and not just on the couch. It happens at work, behind the wheel, in our relationships and sometimes even in our faith. When we get too comfortable we tend to think everything is ok and we have nothing to worry about. But as followers of Jesus, we must always be on guard, keeping our faith in focus and our relationship with Jesus squarely on track. When we get comfortable and fall asleep at the wheel, our faith can end up shipwrecked on the rocks of life.

“A hard task is given to me—to call the darkness darkness, evil evil, and the demon demon. By remaining vague I can avoid commitment and drift along in the mainstream of our society. But Jesus does not allow me to stay there. He requires a clear choice for truth, light, and life.” Henri Nouwen

Sometimes we have to set aside what we want and do what's best for the other. Sometimes, in relationships, we need to go along to get along. And that's fine if we're talking about the color of the carpet or where we're going to eat dinner. But when the church chooses to go along with our culture to avoid conflict, we've already lost the battle. We cannot trade the values of Jesus for comfort and expect him to bless the church. Standing strong against the tide of culture is not an option. When it comes to the Kingdom of Jesus, compromise is the first step to defeat. If I am going to follow Jesus, I must be all in because with Jesus there is no middle ground.

What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? When you stop to think about it, it really can be quite terrible. And in the middle of our worst days and our worst situations it's easy to think everything is over and all is lost. But for the follower of Jesus, we know that he is bigger than the worst things life can throw at us and he challenges us to stay strong and stay faithful to him, even when it doesn’t make sense. Because with Jesus, the worst things are never the last thing.

Falling out of love. It sounds like something that happens in soap operas and bad love songs. But it actually happens. When we take our focus and attention off of the one we love and the reason we love them, that love can grow cold. Churches and individual followers of Jesus do the same thing. When we take our focus off of Jesus and off of what he has done for us, our love can grow cold. If we want to avoid losing that loving feeling, we need to focus on Jesus and practice loving him by loving others, even when its messy and uncomfortable.

Spiritual maturity; the concept of Jesus followers growing to be more and more like Jesus every day. Sometimes we think we can coast along and that’s good enough. Because of that, we tend to put off doing the hard work of growing spiritually to be like Jesus. But Jesus didn’t give us that option. He made it clear that being a disciple was about laying down your life and choosing the discipline required to follow him.

Time is a resource we often overlook. We let it slip by, wishing for more. The issue isn't how much time we have but how we use it. As followers of Jesus, we must steward our time wisely, just like our money or other resources. When invested wisely, our time blesses us, honors God, and helps transform our world.

Relationships are the only thing we take from this life into eternity. God made us to live in relationship with him and one another. Becoming like Jesus means that we are growing in those relationships and learning to love others more and more like he does.

Choosing to do what is best for others, for yourself and ultimately for the Kingdom of Jesus is challenging. It can make life more difficult in the present. Choosing to ignore what is best often makes life easier now, but much more challenging and much more costly later. We have to choose our challenge. If we allow him to speak into our lives, Jesus helps us to choose the challenge wisely.

Far too many people spend much of theirs lives staring through the rearview mirror instead of looking through the windshield ahead. while the past has done a lot to shape us we cannot change the past only when we look ahead can we truly start to change.