Genuine followers of Jesus learn to pursue joy, instead of the feeling of happiness, which is often selfish and driven by circumstances.

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How often have we heard people say things – with a level of certainty – about what they think Jesus’ said, which He never said? Genuine followers of Jesus realize how critical it is to filter everything they think and feel through Him. As important as it is to know what you're feeling and thinking, it's more important to realize you can be misled and the more you trust Jesus, the more you turn to Him for guidance.

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Today were going to focus on a part of the Easter story we don't often talk about found in the gospel of Luke - a story about average people encountering the resurrected Jesus. A story about what God is up to in our world. A story that shows us how to live as followers of Jesus. Are you part of the story?

When we or someone we care about is wronged, the desire to see it made right is deep and intense! The cry of our soul is: “Someone’s gotta pay for this!”. Even if you struggle to believe in Jesus, this probably resonates deeply with you – because we all have a desire for justice. So why did Jesus have to pay such an enormous price?

Jesus’ life wasn’t just a turning point in history. It’s been the turning point in many lives as well. And it's not just His life, but as we’ll see in this series, it's His death and resurrection. And it's all good news! In fact, it’s the best news possible!

An “us vs. them” mentality seems to permeate our society right now. Small and great disagreements alike create harsh division, and we view other people as our enemies in a war we must fight. Paul reminds us that our war is not against the people we disagree with. We struggle against unseen forces that strive to drive people away from God.

Our response is to be equipped for a different kind of battle. A battle that takes place spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

As we seek to imitate God and live righteously, it is not always easy to navigate the grey areas. Wise decision-making, especially in the grey, glorifies God and sets us up for a better and easier life. When we live wisely, we live in a manner that invites the Holy Spirit to be a regular, active participant in our lives. This sets us up to be empowered by the Spirit, which cyclically, allows us to live even more holy and wisely. Thus, our growth and maturity abound.

Our words matter… and they have power. When Paul says, “Do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live,” he urges his readers to live a worthy life. Interestingly, he focuses mostly on our speech. What we say and how we say it is important – there is power in our speech.

Our words have power. What we say and how we say it affects everyone around us – even our very own souls.

If we desire to live more like Jesus, it begins with a new self.

Our identity in Jesus results in living differently; righteously. However, we are not talking about just behavior modification. Mere behavior modification can be frustrating and fruitless on its own. A disciple of Jesus deconstructs their self, the fount in which behavior flows, and reconstructs it in the image of Jesus. Under the burden of sin, we are enslaved to a false self that deceives and leads us away from our created purpose. Under the freedom of Jesus, we are free to cast aside the false self for our true self, which is created to be righteous and holy.

Our path toward maturity in our faith is paved with Church unity and mutual discipleship.

These two things work in conjunction to form rhythms of maturity and growth. With them, we will not be drawn away from our calling by false calls in this world, such as calls to tribal identity, hot-button topics, political parties, celebrity worship, or the many other distractions in our world.