DAY 1 - Lord, Lord
The Final Word: Five Days of Giving Jesus the Throne
Church, on Sunday we stood on Mount Carmel and heard Elijah ask a whole nation a question. How much longer will you hobble between two opinions? They had not walked away from God. They had just made room for something else too.
This week, let that question get personal. Bring the two sentences you wrote down on Sunday. If you did not write them, write them now.
Read slowly. Answer honestly. Take your next yes.
If Jesus is King, he gets the final word.
Pastor Daniel
_____________________________________
DAY 1 - Lord, Lord
READ SLOWLY
Luke 6:46 through 49 and John 14:6 through 15
Kim Philby really did love his friends at MI6. That is what makes his story so unsettling. The affection was real. It just was not in charge. When his loyalties collided, the other side overruled it.
Most of us who follow Jesus do not have an affection problem. We love him. We are grateful for the cross. We sing with our whole heart on Sunday. The question Sunday raised is not whether Jesus has our affection. It is whether he has our authority.
Jesus asks it himself. Why do you keep calling me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? In that culture, Lord was not a word for worship songs. It was what you called the person you answered to. Jesus is saying, Do not give me the title and keep the throne.
Then he tells the story of two builders. Both heard his words. Both built a house. On a sunny day you could not tell them apart. The difference was what they did with what they heard. The storm did not create the difference. It revealed it.
In John 14 Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. He is not one way among many. He is not one voice among many. And if that is true about how we get to the Father, it is true about how we live once we belong to him. Jesus does not take a seat on the advisory board of your life. He is the King or he is not.
A few verses later he says, If you love me, obey my commands. Love and obedience are not two different tracks. Obedience is what love looks like when it collides with what I want.
Those collisions are usually small. The thing you were about to say to your spouse. The extra you were going to keep. The person you have decided not to forgive. The thing on your screen at night. Whatever wins those moments is what is actually leading you.
Jesus does not want a vote. He wants the throne.
ASK YOURSELF
• Where does Jesus have my affection but not my authority?
• What collided with his voice this week, and what won?
• What have I heard him say that I have not yet put into practice?
• If a storm hit tomorrow, what would it reveal about my foundation?
YOUR NEXT STEP
For the next twenty four hours, keep a collision log in your mind or in your phone. Every time what Jesus says runs into what you want, write one line. What did he say? What did I want? What won? Do not fix it yet. Just be honest about who keeps getting the final word.
PRAY
Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. I have called you Lord. Show me where I have kept the right to overrule you. I do not want to give you my songs and keep my decisions. Teach me to hear your words and do them. Amen.
Church, on Sunday we stood on Mount Carmel and heard Elijah ask a whole nation a question. How much longer will you hobble between two opinions? They had not walked away from God. They had just made room for something else too.
This week, let that question get personal. Bring the two sentences you wrote down on Sunday. If you did not write them, write them now.
- The thing that has been getting the final word in my life is_____________.
- My next yes is_________.
Read slowly. Answer honestly. Take your next yes.
If Jesus is King, he gets the final word.
Pastor Daniel
_____________________________________
DAY 1 - Lord, Lord
READ SLOWLY
Luke 6:46 through 49 and John 14:6 through 15
Kim Philby really did love his friends at MI6. That is what makes his story so unsettling. The affection was real. It just was not in charge. When his loyalties collided, the other side overruled it.
Most of us who follow Jesus do not have an affection problem. We love him. We are grateful for the cross. We sing with our whole heart on Sunday. The question Sunday raised is not whether Jesus has our affection. It is whether he has our authority.
Jesus asks it himself. Why do you keep calling me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? In that culture, Lord was not a word for worship songs. It was what you called the person you answered to. Jesus is saying, Do not give me the title and keep the throne.
Then he tells the story of two builders. Both heard his words. Both built a house. On a sunny day you could not tell them apart. The difference was what they did with what they heard. The storm did not create the difference. It revealed it.
In John 14 Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. He is not one way among many. He is not one voice among many. And if that is true about how we get to the Father, it is true about how we live once we belong to him. Jesus does not take a seat on the advisory board of your life. He is the King or he is not.
A few verses later he says, If you love me, obey my commands. Love and obedience are not two different tracks. Obedience is what love looks like when it collides with what I want.
Those collisions are usually small. The thing you were about to say to your spouse. The extra you were going to keep. The person you have decided not to forgive. The thing on your screen at night. Whatever wins those moments is what is actually leading you.
Jesus does not want a vote. He wants the throne.
ASK YOURSELF
• Where does Jesus have my affection but not my authority?
• What collided with his voice this week, and what won?
• What have I heard him say that I have not yet put into practice?
• If a storm hit tomorrow, what would it reveal about my foundation?
YOUR NEXT STEP
For the next twenty four hours, keep a collision log in your mind or in your phone. Every time what Jesus says runs into what you want, write one line. What did he say? What did I want? What won? Do not fix it yet. Just be honest about who keeps getting the final word.
PRAY
Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. I have called you Lord. Show me where I have kept the right to overrule you. I do not want to give you my songs and keep my decisions. Teach me to hear your words and do them. Amen.
Posted in Daily Devotional