As followers of Jesus, we are to love as Jesus loved, giving our life away for the sake of the world. It would stand to reason, then, that we will become love as we give our life away. What if we actually become our truest self when we give our life away? Therefore, what is love asking of you in this moment?

How honest are you in your everyday conversations? Do you ever tie yourself to something greater to make yourself sound better? Jesus challenges his followers to be honest, truth-tellers. We combat the dishonest narratives of the world that are rooted in fear with the narrative of the kingdom that is planted in love. Therefore, following Jesus means trusting God for our worth so we can be honest with our words.

Jesus challenges his followers to do whatever it takes to eliminate the lust of their hearts. Lust is not mere visual appreciation or temptation, but visual gratification from another's body. How can we become love in the world when lust has a rule and reign over our hearts? May we begin our journey to kingdom freedom as we get honest, open, training in the way of Jesus.

Jesus reorients the target and trajectory of our anger from murder to reconciliation. Simply not murdering people is out of line with the way of God in the world, followers of Jesus must surrender even their anger to Jesus and allow him to transform them from the inside out. Anger, then, is rescued through reconciliation with God, others, ourselves and creation. How do you need to reorient your anger?

Jesus is the direction of God's Story. All threads and trajectories within the story of God are tied to Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges his audience to reorient the direction of their life around them as he changes their desires. Where do we need Jesus to continue to orient the direction of our lives as he changes our desires?

Jesus proclaims that those who participate in his kingdom are salt and light. These markers are part of the identity of those who follow Jesus. Being salt and light are not an addition to participation in the kingdom of God, they are at the center of our identity as kingdom people. In other words, followers of Jesus are visible servants of the kingdom of God. Do you have a heart to serve people in this way?

The Sermon on the Mount begins with the good news that the last, the lost and the least are blessed in the kingdom of God. Those who constantly long for more in this world belong in God's kingdom. As those who experience such seasons, we receive the good news new and reach for a greater hope that God will make all things right later.

Followers of Jesus help others trust and follow Jesus. As we go to school, as we go to work and as we interact with others, we participate in Jesus' mission to make disciples. Jesus claims all authority in heaven and on earth, and he promises to be with his followers always. Our purpose, our commission, is powered by His promises. Who has God placed in your life to help trust and follow Jesus?

Followers of Jesus embrace the tension of living as kingdom people on earth. While Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God, we still experience the everyday realities of the world. We live in the overlap the world and the kingdom. To participate in the kingdom of God now, to usher in God's rule and reign on earth, we repent, reach and restore. We repent of our ways of thinking that are not in line with God's desire for creation. We reach out to those God places in our sphere. And, we restore those we reach to relationship with God, humans and themselves.

Jesus' identity, purpose, trust and power are tested in the wilderness. As Adam, Eve and Israel failed when tempted, Jesus succeed. How do we, then, find our way in the wilderness? How do we navigate our journey when we are tempted and tested the way Jesus was in the wilderness?

Our way in the wilderness is won through God's Word and our worship. God's Word speaks words of identity and purpose, reminding us who we are to trust and the cruciform power we claim as followers of Jesus. And, everyday worship postures's our hearts on God's presence so that we can praise him in each moment.