{Prayer}

According to a survey by the University of Scranton, 92% of people don’t finish the goals they set for themselves. 92%. That’s a sobering and rather depressing statistic.

            Last week we kicked off our Red Letter Challenge. This challenge is something that I don’t want you to start and fizzle out of quickly. So today we’re focusing on Being. Being with Jesus before we do anything for Him.

            Being, rather than doing, is countercultural to how our world operates. Our world measures worth by productivity. But Jesus invites us to abide in Him, to rest in His presence, and to receive from Him before we start doing, before we go out to serve. Being is not an optional step. It is foundational to being a disciple, a follower of Jesus. If we don’t spend time with Jesus, we risk becoming disconnected from Him. Striving to do things on our own is going to lead to burning out and giving up.

            Being with Jesus means being connected to Him in relationship of trust and rest. John 15 set the foundation for this when Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing” (15:4-5).

            You see, Jesus doesn’t call us to busyness. He calls us to be with Him. Without that connection we burn out, we become discouraged, and we miss the joy of discipleship. We may accomplish many things, but apart from Jesus … they have no eternal value.

            In our gospel reading from Luke 10, we find Jesus at the home of Mary and Martha. Martha is so overwhelmed with the preparations. She wants everything to be just right. She is serving with all her might. And while she is working up a sweat, Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him talk. In frustration, Martha complains saying, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (10:40).

            Jesus gently corrects her. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one this is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (10:41-42).

            Who do you mostly likely relate to? I think many of us more easily relate to Martha. We fill our schedules, believing that productivity equals faithfulness. But Jesus reminds us that being with Him, that is the one thing necessary. Before we can serve, we must first receive. Mary’s choice to sit at Jesus’ feet was not done out of laziness, but out of wisdom. She understood the importance of being with Jesus.

            And I believe that Martha understood that too, however, she saw everything that needed to be done and wanted everything to be just right before she sat down with Jesus. And I think we struggle with this as well. Our culture and our sinful nature resists slowing down. We define ourselves by what we do rather than by whose we are. Even in church work, we equate activity with godliness. It’s easy to think that the more I do, the closer I’ll be to God.

            But it isn’t just here in church. This struggle is real in our daily lives. Many of us say that Jesus is our number one priority, but how often do we prioritize everything but time with Jesus? We say things like, “I’ll pray later” or “I’ll read my Bible when I have time.” But what was it Jesus roughly said in relation to the vine and the branches? “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

            Our spiritual exhaustion is often a result of misplaced priorities. But misplaced priorities aren’t just bad habits. They reveal a deeper issue. Our sinful tendency is to trust ourselves more than Christ. We live as though our efforts are what sustain us rather than God’s grace. When we place our identity in our work, we will always fall short. Our efforts, as good as they may be, are never enough. Our constant striving only leaves us weary and worn out.

            While competing in the 1967 Olympics in Mexico City, marathon runner John Stephen Akhwari cramped due to the high altitude of the city. He hadn’t trained at such an altitude back in his country. While others jockeying for position at the 19-kilometer point of the 42-kilometer race, someone ran into Akhwari. He fell, badly wounding his knee, dislocating that joint. His shoulder slammed against the pavement. While many expected him to quit, he continued on running.

            More than an hour after the winner crossed the finish line, Akhwari limped across the finish line, bandaged and in pain. When asked why he continued running and didn’t give up, he said, “My country didn’t send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”

            Like the runner, we are called to endure. But how do we do it? Hebrews 12 gives us the answer … “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith” (12:1-2). Jesus is not only the one who calls us to abide in Him … He is the One who endured the race for us, finishing our salvation on the cross.

            God didn’t send you; He didn’t send me; He didn’t start our church only to see us fall short and give up. He sent us to finish what He’s started. And whatever God starts He finishes.

            Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

            God will finish what He started in us. That doesn’t mean the journey will be easy. Far from it … but His promises still remain. When it gets hard, we can lean and rely on Him, who gave everything He had for us.

            Jesus went all the way to cross, not holding onto anything except the hope and joy set before Him. He gave everything until He uttered the word Tetelestai. “It is finished.” Our God is a finisher! He finished by giving it everything He had.

            So how do we be with Jesus? Here’s some practical ways:

• Come to church regularly and make it a priority. You don’t schedule church around baseball. You don’t schedule Disney ahead of church. You just don’t. You say, no, church is more important.
• Read the Bible. You intentionally schedule time in your day or you follow a reading plan to read the Bible. Find an accountability partner. Don’t let your Bible collect dust on a shelf. Make being with Jesus intentional.
• Get into a small group or Bible class. This life and relationship with Jesus is too hard on your own. You need others to support you.
• Pray. Start with one minute. Then next week, you try two minutes. Write down your prayer requests if needed. Journal it. Use a reminder app. Join the Prayer Request group on our OneCall Now system. To do that, talk with Ange.
• Listen to worship music. Choose music that lifts your hearts toward Christ.
• Take a Sabbath. Set aside a day to rest and be with God. No work. No distractions. Just time with Him.

            This is just a short list. There are other ways to prioritize time with Jesus. But when we abide in Christ, our doing naturally flows out of our being.

            The disciples didn’t change the world because they were busy. They changed the world because they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

            As we go through this Red Letter Challenge, let’s remember … before we serve, before we go, before we do … we must first be with Jesus. And in Him, we find life, peace, and joy. Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.