His Way Or My Way

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

—John 14:6

 

 

Have you ever come to a place where you realize that your way just doesn’t work? If we are honest, I think we can admit we all have. We search for answers and whatever else we need, and come up short. Then we finally get to the point where we just give up. 

Our search to find answers and help for whatever we need begins and ends with Jesus. He is the only way.

Choosing our way instead of the Lord’s is foolishness. We often end up going our way instead of His, even when we don’t mean to. It’s because we live in this fleshly body and a fallen world that shrewdly deludes us with options that appear to be good, but aren’t.

 

It’s easy to recognize the side of our flesh that is so obvious—the side of blatant, outright sin. However, there are sides of the flesh that aren’t so apparent. Some things are triggers that can subtly pull us away from the Lord’s way. 

 

One trigger is when we become everyone’s problem solver. I understand this subtleness of the flesh in my own life. Growing up, I discovered that I could easily see solutions to problems. I could see the steps to bring structure to chaos. When a problem needed a resolution, I could find a solution that I thought benefited everyone involved. However, this ability developed into perfectionism. I begin putting demands on myself to do things perfectly in my life and in my relationships with other people. I always had an unspoken pressure to do things right. Knowing I could correctly and efficiently get something done, I pushed on ahead. Others, instead of being inspired to help, became dependent on me. I found myself frustrated with them and with myself.  

 

One day, I heard the Holy Spirit. “You’re not the way,” He said. “You’re not the truth or the life. I am. You aren’t supposed to fix everything. You aren’t supposed to make everything just right. Trust me instead of yourself.”  It was a wake-up call that is a lifetime decision I consciously must make every day.

 

When you make people dependent upon you, you become their solution, and it hinders them from seeking God for themselves. When you have a mindset of  “I’m the only one who can do this,” you rely on yourself to the point that you end up burning out in frustration. When you believe your way is the only way and you’re the one to be sure it gets done correctly, you start getting anxious with people when they don’t measure up to your expectations. You expect something from them that you haven’t taken the time to share with them. They haven’t learned any skills to help. You have been too busy doing things for them.

 

Another subtle trigger to the flesh is the “agenda,” which consumes you. An agenda, which becomes your obsession, is greater in your life than anything else. It becomes your whole focus. Your perspective regarding situations and relationships is determined by your agenda. You cannot objectively see from someone else’s viewpoint. The ability to make fair and just decisions is lacking.

 

You may also have been inspired by God to do something specific. The flesh can come against you when you attempt to accomplish it in your own wisdom and timing. When your flesh determines the way to bring forth God’s work, you end up instructing God instead of Him instructing you. 

 

God’s grace is for us. But God’s grace is not for us in what we direct and control. Grace is received in humility. God cannot bless pride. When we take control, we follow our version of His way instead of following Him.

 

Being in control is a convenient way to get things done quickly. Things might appear really good because you see good results, but the truth is, when you are in control, you are only proceeding in your own way. The devil has his mark all over your efforts. He will let you taste success for a while, but that success won't last.

 

“It is the Spirit who gives life,” Jesus said. “The flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

 

We won’t experience the peace and joy God has for us when our flesh gets in the way. Our way is death, and the things we attempt to do our way won’t produce fruit. God’s work is alive. He is the truth, the way, and the life. Anything we receive from Him can only be fruitful. But that is only true if we carry out His purpose under the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

 

When the Lord says that His Words are spirit and life, this is our call to take notice. Our part is to totally surrender and listen to Him. In surrendering to Him, we keep our relationship with Him alive and fresh. When we walk in His Spirit, those triggers to our flesh become obvious. Our hearts become open to His way and to the Spirit’s leading. We receive the joy and peace of the Lord. We receive His very best and His power to keep the flesh from rising up to control us.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5).

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Not me.

 

The Ultimate Desire Of My Heart

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

—Psalm 34:1

Many Christians don’t know what the word “bless” means when they see it in the Bible. It has turned into a religious term. They have repeated “bless the Lord” until it has become a habit. They think that by repeating it, they are blessing God. 

 

When Scripture instructs us to bless the Lord, it’s not talking about simply reciting the word. Instead, it’s expressing our love for God and praising and worshiping Him from our hearts. This is what truly blesses Him. This idea is radical for many because it doesn’t involve any form of service. We crave acceptance, so we often serve God to receive love. However, this is not how it works with God; He desires our hearts. 

 

Humans are so work-oriented that we feel we must do something for God to please Him. We think that if we aren’t doing something for God, we aren’t worth anything to Him. We believe our worth to God becomes proportional to how much we can do for Him. This idea gives the impression that God loves us only for what we can do, and if we aren’t doing anything for Him, He certainly won’t love us.

 

Many people have a deep sense of obligation to earn God’s love. They feel they must “do" things to prove their love for Him. The emphasis is then on what they can do for Him, rather than on building a relationship with Him. Our service does not equate to direct intimacy with God. The purpose of praise is for us to minister to God, and this should be our priority. When we come to God only with our problems, the first thing we often do is stop praising Him. 

 

Don’t we love to hear others express their love for us? God is blessed by the personal expression of our love for Him. Serving God is an outward expression of our love for Him, but it is not an inward expression. We don’t need to “serve” God in worship. God didn’t give us His Son just to serve Him. God wishes to communicate with you, His new creation, in spirit and truth. 

 

God doesn’t bless us so that we will bless Him in return. If there is ever an example of unselfish love, it’s God. When I bless my children with something, I do it because I love them. I don’t demand their love in return. However, I would love for them to reciprocate that love and show me their appreciation. God feels the same way. That’s how we are made; we’re created in God’s image. Our desire to give love and to receive love reflects the likeness of God’s image. This divine attribute captures the heart of God.

 

If you believe that all the Lord wants from you is your service, you are sadly mistaken. He would love for you to continually take the time to “be” with Him and “bless” Him. Spend time with the Lord because He yearns to spend time with you; you are the desire of His heart. Let Him be the desire of yours.

When everything within me blesses the Lord, I continually praise Him. I’m completely surrendered to Him, and there is no obstacle or compromise. There is no one but Him. I'm crucified with Him so He can live in me. I love because He first loved me. I serve because He first served me. He is the ultimate desire of my heart. 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psalm 103:1)!

Ears to Hear

In Mark 4, Jesus shared three parables illustrating that the Word relates to the kingdom of God as a natural seed does to a harvest. The first of these parables, the story of the sower, is essential for understanding the Word of God (Mark 4:13). 

 

Jesus said in Mark 4:3-9: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, yielding no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

 

The seed in this parable of the sower is the Word of God (Mark 4:14), and the ground is our hearts (Mark 4:15).

 

The first type of ground, or heart condition, that Jesus described refers to those who do not understand God’s Word. God’s Word must be understood before it can penetrate someone’s heart. If the Word is not understood, it will be like a seed scattered on hard ground. The birds will eat the seed, and there will be no fruit. 

 

The second type of heart condition described in this parable occurs when a person understands the Word and is excited about it, but doesn’t take the time to get it rooted deeply inside. The Word germinates but cannot produce fruit because it doesn’t have a sound root system.

 

Roots develop underground, hidden from view. Most people desire the fruit, yet they don’t want to cultivate the root system required to produce and sustain it. A seed germinating in shallow soil will direct all its energy toward growth above ground, as there is no other option for its development. That plant may appear healthy. However, when the sun begins to dry out that plant, there is no root system to sustain it. Consequently, the plant withers and dies. 

 

Many people dislike the time it takes to build a strong root system. They yearn to experience the tangible advantages of the Word in their lives, yet they do not have the patience and commitment to persevere in God’s Word. This prevents the Word from taking root and becoming firmly established within them. While we may see good results from listening to someone else teach us the Word, those results do not last because the Word is not rooted deeply within us. Only the Word that we have personally sown and nurtured in our hearts will bear fruit when challenges surface.

 

This third type of ground represents people who have received God’s Word and committed themselves to it. However, being preoccupied with the affairs of this life chokes the Word sown in their hearts, resulting in no fruit being produced. Just as weeds steal nutrients and starve the plants, so do the pleasures of this life starve and steal the benefit of the Word in us. If allowed to dominate our thinking, the pleasures of this life will hinder the fruit that the Word could have produced.

 

The church has consistently grown during times of persecution, and it is the same for us. When we experience hardship, we get our priorities right. We realize our life is in Jesus (John 14:6) and not in things (Luke 2:15), and we focus on the Lord. God wants to bless His children with things (Psalms 35:27, Matthew 6:33), but an obsession with these things will choke God’s Word and make it unfruitful. 

 

The fourth type of ground in the parable was good. It yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. But a good heart, like good ground, doesn’t just happen; it has to be cultivated. This is why only one out of four people in Jesus’ parable brought forth fruit. Being a fruitful Christian takes a lot of effort, diligence, and patience. Many just give up, finding that raising weeds is quicker and easier than growing ripened fruit.

 

In this parable, the Word of God produced fruit, and the ground just gave it a place to grow. If we put God’s Word in our hearts, protect it, and prioritize it in our lives, the Word will naturally produce fruit. Satan has deceived many into believing that they cannot be fruitful, but it is not us who bring forth fruit; it is God’s Word. When we safeguard the Word planted in our hearts, it will take care of the rest.

 

What is the condition of my heart, Lord? Its condition is crucial for good fruit to be produced in my life. Am I one of the three in the parable whose heart was unprepared, or do I continually cultivate my heart so that Your Word takes root and manifests in me? Lord, I can study the Word repeatedly, but if I don’t sow it in my heart until it becomes my Word and I own it, it will never benefit me. 

I have ears to hear, Lord. Let me hear.

 

Seed, Time, And Harvest

 “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

 

As long as the earth remains, harvest is certain. Every seed sown anticipates a harvest. Once you sow a seed, it requires time to grow. Once it produces fruit, you harvest it. Seed, time, and harvest are natural and spiritual laws that have worked since creation. The seed you sow, naturally and spiritually, will eventually bring forth a harvest. 

 

Your life is a harvest and always reveals the nature of the seeds you have sown. Whatever you sow, you will reap, whether bad or good. Your attitudes, hopes, words, thoughts, and actions are seeds that have created your harvest. If you don’t like your harvest, you need to change the seeds you are sowing.

 

Peter wrote: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23).

 

The Word of God refers to itself as a seed. In forty-four verses of the New Testament, the Greek word “sperma” is translated as “seed.” This word is the same word that gives us the term “sperm.” Just as a child cannot be produced without a sperm, a child of God cannot be produced without the incorruptible seed of God’s Word. All births originate from seeds, and being born again spiritually is no exception. The seed that brings forth salvation is God’s Word. Just as it would be foolish for a woman to expect to have a child without the seed of a man being sown in her, it is equally foolish to anticipate someone being born again without planting the seed of God’s Word in their heart (Romans 10:14-17).

 

Natural seeds sometimes decay and fail to produce life. However, God’s Word is an incorruptible and imperishable seed that consistently brings forth life. God’s Word is always effective. We must permit His Word to work in us—sowing, protecting, and nurturing it.

 

1 Peter 1:23 also states that the seed of God’s Word lives and abides forever. The words spoken by the Lord Jesus were the eternal Word of God, which existed before time began. His Word is still alive and active. When we mix His Words with faith, the result will benefit us (Hebrews 4:2). They will manifest His abiding, unchanging, and miraculous truth in our lives. 

 

Many Christians believe and pray for God to intervene in their lives, yet they often feel frustrated when they don’t see results. This frustration frequently stems from a lack of knowledge about the Word. Without the Word, they miss the seeds of conception. To live a victorious Christian life, a believer needs a genuine revelation from the seed of God’s Word sown in their heart by faith. 

 

In Mark 4, Jesus taught three parables illustrating that the Word is to the kingdom of God what a natural seed is to a harvest. The first of these parables, the story of the sower, is key to understanding all of the Word of God. Jesus said we won’t understand any of His other parables without grasping the truths of sowing and reaping the Word in our hearts (Mark 4:13). For God’s Word to benefit our lives, we need to know how it works in us. 

 

Seed, time, and harvest are truths of nature that cannot be altered by anyone. A person can cheat or manipulate what other people create. You might cheat the legal system and go free. You might manipulate your work situation and secure a promotion. You might change many things on this earth, but you cannot change the law of seed, time, and harvest in God’s creation.

 

What if a farmer didn’t sow his crop until he saw others reaping theirs? Regardless of how honest he might be or how warranted he was for not planting at the right time, he would not reap a crop overnight. The law of seed, time, and harvest cannot be manipulated or controlled. 

 

This is the reason why Jesus compared the way His Word works to a seed. There must be a germination process of the Word of God in your life. It takes time. It can’t be rushed or avoided. Just as a seed has to remain in the ground over time to germinate, so the Word of God has to abide in us.

 

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:46: “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.” 

This verse speaks of the first and last Adam. The first Adam was a natural man, and the last Adam was Jesus, who gave us spiritual life directly from God. For the Word to come to life supernaturally within us, there must be a natural action on our part. You must sow the seed of God’s Word in your heart, nurture it, and act upon it by faith. 

Nothing can be done about the seed you've never sown or nurtured. Don’t allow your previous failure to determine your actions now. There is always the promise of a new harvest. If you want Jesus, the Word, to manifest in your life, sow His incorruptible seed, nurture its promise, and then harvest its truth by faith.

 

 

Embracing The Spiritual Wonder Of His Presence

Is it hard for you to express yourself in worship to God? Do you raise your arms and openly worship the Lord, or do you feel self-conscious and hesitate to worship in the presence of others?

In the upper room on the final night of His earthly ministry, Jesus taught His disciples about the Holy Spirit and His various roles. One key point Jesus emphasized was that the Holy Spirit would exalt Him. In John 16:14, Jesus said, "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

The Greek word "doxadro," used in John 16:14 to mean “glorify," can be translated as exalting, praising, magnifying, worshipping, honoring, and giving adoration. Jesus indicated to the disciples that one of the Holy Spirit’s most significant roles is to magnify, worship, and exalt His name above all others (Philippians 2:9). The Holy Spirit doesn’t seek attention for Himself; rather, He guides us towards Jesus and leads us into a place of joyful worship of our Lord.

The Holy Spirit cannot glorify Jesus without using a vessel through which He can work. You are that vessel because He lives in you. He glorifies Jesus through you by leading those who don't know Jesus to Him, healing others, casting out demons, helping believers develop a profound understanding and relationship with Him, and in many other ways. One of the most effective and wonderful ways the Spirit glorifies Jesus is when your heart overflows with joy, your hands are raised in praise, and your entire being is filled with worship for the Lord.

The Holy Spirit desires to magnify the presence of Jesus in every aspect of your life, including your actions and relationships. He wants you to consistently proclaim the name of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit is free to work within you, all resistance is crucified with Christ. You are totally surrendered, and you naturally glorify Jesus. By granting the Holy Spirit complete access in your life, you will find yourself, without hesitation or worry, freely raising your hands and praising His name. In worshiping and honoring Jesus, you may become completely unaware of anyone else's presence around you. Your sole focus will be on Jesus, with no concern for yourself.

The Holy Spirit's main purpose is to reveal Jesus to you and lead you into a deeper experience of Him. He is waiting for you to surrender and embrace this journey. If you’ve struggled with worship in the past, invite the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus through you. Ask Him to remove self-consciousness and help you worship, free of judgment and any reservations.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, you are free (2 Corinthians 3:17). Inhibitions have no place in your worship. You are free to express your adoration and love for Jesus, the One who is higher than all others and whose name is exalted above every other name. Do you worship in that freedom?

The Holy Spirit wants you to experience Jesus. Simply surrender to Him and witness the change He can bring within you. Take a moment when no one is around. Raise your arms and begin praising Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill you and take you into a place of worship that you have never experienced before. He is with you right now, eagerly waiting for you to let go and embrace the spiritual wonder of His presence.