3:2 Life Assessment Explorations
At Nona Church, we often use the phrase “walking in the Way of Jesus” and that word walking is intentional.
God didn’t create us to sprint after Him with a heart full of hurry and pressure. He created us to walk with Him, moving at the slowed-down pace of the Holy Spirit as He makes us more like Jesus.
As you process and respond to what you’ve learned about yourself in this assessment,
we encourage you to do three things:
God didn’t create us to sprint after Him with a heart full of hurry and pressure. He created us to walk with Him, moving at the slowed-down pace of the Holy Spirit as He makes us more like Jesus.
As you process and respond to what you’ve learned about yourself in this assessment,
we encourage you to do three things:
1. Stop proving yourself.
The journey of following Jesus starts, continues, and ends in the good news of the Gospel, which Paul summarized this way to the church in Ephesus,
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
Nothing we’ve thought, done, felt, or believed proved to God that we were worthy of His love and salvation. (In fact, it’s just the opposite!) God freely chose to give us the gift of His love, and we get to respond to His love with our love. As you intentionally choose to be with Jesus, become like Him, and do as He did, don’t fall into the trap of trying to earn or merit something from God with your actions. As a beloved child of God, you have nothing to prove because you already have God’s love!
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
Nothing we’ve thought, done, felt, or believed proved to God that we were worthy of His love and salvation. (In fact, it’s just the opposite!) God freely chose to give us the gift of His love, and we get to respond to His love with our love. As you intentionally choose to be with Jesus, become like Him, and do as He did, don’t fall into the trap of trying to earn or merit something from God with your actions. As a beloved child of God, you have nothing to prove because you already have God’s love!
2. Subtract before adding.
Does the idea of adding just one more thing to your to-do list or your calendar feel daunting? When Jesus called his first followers to walk in His way, he said,
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)
While there is a “yoke” and a “burden” to following Jesus, it is meant to feel and to be easier and lighter than the ways of life offered by our own hearts and by the world around us. One way to begin to experience this reality is to subtract before adding. Before you start adding a morning routine of prayer and Bible reading, what will you choose to subtract from your daily routine? What activities, habits, or distractions will you eliminate before you include a new practice in your life?
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)
While there is a “yoke” and a “burden” to following Jesus, it is meant to feel and to be easier and lighter than the ways of life offered by our own hearts and by the world around us. One way to begin to experience this reality is to subtract before adding. Before you start adding a morning routine of prayer and Bible reading, what will you choose to subtract from your daily routine? What activities, habits, or distractions will you eliminate before you include a new practice in your life?
3. Start small.
As you consider the kind of life you want to have with Jesus, you may be feeling an urgency to strengthen your spiritual health or a compulsion to grow in a hurry. If you’re feeling the need to immediately and radically improve yourself, please pause and remember this short yet poignant parable of Jesus,
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32 NLT).
Jesus didn’t compare the Kingdom of Heaven to anything massive, impressive, or daunting but to a tiny seed, which, over time, grew and developed to become a healthy and hospitable tree. As you commit yourself to walk in the Way of Jesus, don’t try to become a tree overnight. Start as a seed and slowly grow. Start small.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32 NLT).
Jesus didn’t compare the Kingdom of Heaven to anything massive, impressive, or daunting but to a tiny seed, which, over time, grew and developed to become a healthy and hospitable tree. As you commit yourself to walk in the Way of Jesus, don’t try to become a tree overnight. Start as a seed and slowly grow. Start small.