Hey everyone! I hope that you have all had a great Christmas and that this break has been a time of relaxation and catching up with family and friends. I also hope that this break you have taken the time to do some things that you normally wouldn't have the free time to do. I know for myself I have been reading like a madman over this past week and a half because I don't really have a ton of time to read for pleasure up at school. I also plan on starting a puzzle tomorrow that will consume a large amount of my free time, but for any puzzlers (Yes this is actually a word, and an fun one at that) out there, I think you can share in my excitement. Anyways, another really neat aspect of break that I have really seen is a renewed passion for getting into the Word of God. It has really been a great time of spiritual growth and I just wanted to take some time today to share with you all one of the things that has really been on my mind these past few days.
Today, I want to talk about the word "immediately," what it means to our culture, and what it should mean to our spiritual lives. In a couple of days, I will be going to Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, and kind of in a preparation for that, I have been reading through the four gospels again to really kind of re-vamp my awe for what Christ did for us on the Cross and the power of the Holy Spirit. It has been a fantastic study and I would highly recommend it. As I have been reading through the gospels, I started to notice the word "immediately" written a lot throughout the gospels, so I did a little research and I found some really interesting stuff. Now I have the NIV bible, so different versions may translate the exact words differently; however, the concept is still the same. What I found was that the word "immediately" is found in the bible a total of 54 times. Ten times it is found in Matthew, twelve times in Mark, eleven times in Luke, and once in John. So therefore, 34 of the 54 times that the word "immediately" is mentioned in the bible is within the four Gospels. So I started thinking, well what does this word mean to me and what should it mean to my faith?
When I thought about what the word "immediately" meant to me, I decided to first approach things from a cultural stand point. What I have found out or realized is kind of disturbing. There are very few things that I do on a daily basis that I do immediately. The world condones immediate behaviors, except in one crucial area: gratification. Everything in advertising and marketing is pushing us to believe that we should get what we want, and we should get it now. When we have to wait, we get frustrated. When we want something, the idea of society is to go out and buy it. Instant gratification is the message that the world so deviously and cunningly speaks into our lives on a daily basis. However, when someone asks me to do something, how often do I drop everything and simply do it "immediately" or right away. And I think that most of us can agree with that. We are a generation, born into this mindset that although we want things immediately for us, our time is our own and we can pick and choose when to give it to others. It was this observation that made me turn to the bible and see what Jesus says about the word "immediately," and how it should relate to the everyday faith.
In Matthew 4:22, which reads like this:
"and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him."
Jesus is walking and he walks past two brothers, James and John, that are working in their boat with their father Zebedee. Jesus, while walking past, calls out to the two brothers. Matthew does not record what Jesus called out, it simply says that he called, but notice the reaction from the brothers. IMMEDIATELY they left not only the boat but their own father as well and followed Christ. That my friends is a perfect example of what our faith should be on a daily basis. Think about it like this. In leaving, James and John effectively left their boat or their place of work, their father or their family, and you can even go as far as to say that they left their future. All to follow the one true king. Why is this a perfect example of how we are to live our daily lives? Because James and John knew where their priorities were. They not only trusted in God, but they put that faith into action when they immediately dropped everything and followed Christ. If Christ walked by and called out to you today, could you and would you immediately drop everything and follow Him?
The second way that this word impacts our everyday faiths is demonstrated in Mark 2:8:
"Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things?""
This verse is in the middle of a passage that is talking about when Jesus heals a paralyzed man, and the Pharisees that are there are discussing among themselves how they think that Jesus was blaspheming. Jesus calls them out on their thoughts, and I think that it was really interesting how Mark noted that Jesus knew these Pharisees thoughts. It wasn't that Jesus overheard them whispering. No instead, Jesus IMMEDIATELY knew in his spirit what they were thinking in their hearts. How cool is that? However, we also must take note of this as Christians. There is no hiding from Christ. He knows our thoughts and the ways of our hearts speak immediately to his spirit. Therefore, let us everyday conduct ourselves in a manner that is makes his spirit joyous. Let us live each and every day with the mindset of honoring the Heavenly Father in all that we do, because when we stand before Him, every action, thought, and deed will be laid out and we want to be able to hear the Father say to us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Thanks for reading through this segment of "This Guy Over Here." I hope that the remainder of your Christmas Break is relaxing and enjoyable. Take some time in these next few days to reflect on how 2011 went, where you are compared to where you were almost a year ago, and then set some goals for 2012 that you'd like to accomplish. Almost like a bucket list for 2012.
Here is a great verse to take with you! Remember to write the word on your minds and on your hearts!
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."
Proverbs 16:3
They'll Know We are Christians By Our Love
Singing off,
JD
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