"Jesusing"

In the 2011 NFL football season, Tim Tebow was all anyone could talk about. His unorthodox style of play from the quarterback position coupled with his fourth quarter comebacks made him one of the most popular people on the planet. The picture of him on one knee praying also became very popular. "Tebowing" was imitated by athletes in all sports, celebrities, and everyday people. People would take to Facebook and Twitter taking pictures of themselves "Tebowing". More recently people took to the Internet and social media taking pictures of themselves "Te'oing" after the Manti Te'o story was reported. That consists of taking a picture of yourself with an imaginary person (hilarious). In America, we love jumping onto the latest fad and riding it until the newness and fun wear off. Jesus made a statement in his time that people have used as a fad ever since. It is not a new fad. However, it is one that people like to associate with for a while and then toss to the side when it gets old or too tough for them.  In Matthew 16:24 (also in Mark 8 and Luke 9), Jesus said "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." What does that mean? This is going to be very difficult for most people in today's society to understand. What I am about to say may be shocking. It is "breaking news" type stuff. Are you ready for this? Okay, here goes. . . . . . . .It is NOT about you and it is NOT about me. When we give our hearts to Jesus, we follow Him and put aside selfish ambition. We understand that the Christian walk is not an easy one. We understand that we will suffer for Christ at times. We understand that we will go through things that are painful to make us more like Christ and less like ourselves. We slide over into the passenger side of the car and let Jesus drive. We surrender to Him. When you lose a war knowing that complete destruction is coming if you do not, you do not partially surrender. You don't surrender for a while. You surrender completely. The problem is that we like saying that we follow Christ, but we put our cross down when it gets to heavy or when carrying it starts to hurt or inconvenience us. It is not easy to deny yourself. It is not easy to put others needs above your own. We don't mind Jesus being our savior. That's easy. It is the fact that we must accept Him as Lord that we struggle with. I like being in control of things just as much as anyone else. The problem is, I mess things up when I am in the driver's seat. I must realize some things about myself everyday that are difficult: I do not have everything figured out. I think more highly of myself than I should. I'm selfish. I am not as good a husband as I should be. I make things that really aren't that important as priorities. I have a biased opinion of myself. Wow! That was tough and just starts

to scratch the surface of my faults! I obviously have some things to work on. Does anyone else need to be more focused on Jesus like I do? The Christian walk is not easy. Anyone who tells you that is a LIAR. Following Christ is not a fad. It is a lifestyle. Have the courage to see yourself as you really are. . . . . flawed. Don't be a part of the "Jesusing" fad that is so popular in American religion. Take up your cross and allow Jesus to lead the way.

Finger on the pulse. . . . . . .

Todd Johnson