tireYou’ve all probably heard the expressions “when the tire meets the pavement”, “when the rubber meets the road”, and “when reality sets in”…right? If not, I probably picked them up from my childhood in rural Nova Scotia. These expressions mean that things can look great when they are ideas or plans…but they can look totally different when they become real and its time to put them into real life.

When the “tire meets the pavement” the car moves ahead. So, are you ready to move ahead with what God has done in your life at #OFLO14?

Jesus once shared a story with some religious folks about a man who was possessed by an evil spirit. The man was delivered from the evil spirit by the work and power of Jesus Christ; what a celebration that must have been! If you were to imagine the man’s life as a house, it would have been swept clean and everything put back in its rightful place. The only problem is that the house was empty; the man’s life was empty of spiritual things. Although the man was made clean by his encounter with Jesus, his life was empty of spiritual things. The evil spirit realized this and returned with seven other friends more wicked than itself to toss the place and make it disorderly again. There was no resistance. There wasn’t even a fight. The house was easily picked off and now filled with more filth than before. The final condition was worse than the first. (Matthew 12:43-45)

It is agonizing to think that after God has revealed himself to so many people at #OFLO14 we would return home swept clean but still empty spiritually.

The reality is that what God does in our lives in a moment still requires a lifetime of follow-up on our part. Right? This is called discipleship, and it is what Jesus was referring to in the story I told you. Mary Magdalene, a prominent woman in the story of Jesus’ life, was relieved of a significant burden in her life by the power of Jesus. Her response: she became an active disciple of Jesus.

The work of Jesus at #OFLO14 has set us free to make a new beginning; but if we now fail to take the road of discipleship, we are in danger of relapsing into a condition worse than before. (1)

What does it take to be a disciple? A disciple regularly interacts with other disciples for fun, food, fellowship, worship, and strength (Acts 2:42-). A disciple studies the Word of God (2 Tim 2:15). A disciple regularly leaves the chaos of the world behind to spend time alone with God (Luke 4:42-). A disciple cuts themselves off from the things that lead them into temptation and sin no matter the cost (Matt 5:29). A disciple shares their inner victories and inner struggles with other disciples (Galatians 6:1-2). A disciple actively works to ensure justice is met and those less fortunate are cared for (James 2:14-17). A disciple seeks to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit and does only what the Father [God] speaks (Ephesians 5:18, John 5:19)

I could go on…but I won’t. If you take even half of those statements seriously enough to implement them into your life, you are on the right track. Your destiny will be changed and your life will be more abundant than you can imagine.

Like I said, this one will take work. Not work to earn God’s love and eternal favor, we already have that. The work we now do is God’s work on earth as we have now because a part of his body. We are his hands and his feet.

This is a marathon; let do it!

(1) The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Gospel of Matthew. R.T. France.