Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels."
Mark 8:34-38
Mark 8:34-38
As you know, it has been a while since I have written any blog concerning the things of Jesus. There are those moments when searching the scriptures that your heart comes across a passage that stops you in your tracks. This passage was one of those for me. Upon reading it I had no words to share, so i didn't. I did not feel it was appropriate to share anything i did not see as true in my own life, I see it becoming true now. Though i am still on the journey i would like to share my path with you.
Authenticity and integrity stem from a single branch, which is the will and desire to be honest and to lack superficiality.
To be authentic as defined by Random House Dictionary is this: Authentic, genuine, real, all these share the sense of actuality and lack of falsehood or misrepresentation. To be an authentic believer would then be to not misrepresent the kingdom or Jesus Christ. We all know the many ways we can do that so I won't expound negatively. Rather, positively, do we represent Jesus in character and in our conduct? Are we acting like Christians (which means "little-Christ")? Or are we sharing a cheapened, watered down gospel, one that does not demand change or sacrifice, one that never produces fruit? This calls for an authentic relationship with Him. This calls for us to be real and to give our lives for the service of His kingdom.
Integrity is such, honesty in the inner most part. The act of lying is in itself deceitful, and is often self-deceiving. We call them "little white lies" when we refer to dishonesty that is not directly damaging, and when we hurt someones feelings we say "I was just kidding." We often forget that a half truth is really a full lie. I do not believe we give integrity the full respect it deserves. I can name the times when I have acted out of dishonesty, and I can recall the times I lost the respect and trust of the one that mattered most to me. But this ought not to be the life of the Christian, we need to be people of integrity. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the TRUTH and the life." And if we are to represent Jesus accurately our lives need to be ones of truth in the secret places.
This is impossible alone, and it is a journey with Christ. Integrity and authenticity do not come over night, but must be slowly worked at. It all starts in one place, submission and obedience to Christ. In His words it is the denial of ones own selfish desires and the willingness to follow and believe His ways on His terms. I met a man this weekend while eating with a dear friend, he said things about Jesus that upset me, things that were true, but misrepresented. Truths that he twisted and distorted to validate his rude behavior turning them into half-truths. My point is this, if you don't know Jesus you can't be like Jesus. At best we too will end up twisting the scripture to meet our own agendas. This is not Jesus' way, this is not the authentic Christian life we should be striving for. So brothers and sisters, be not condemned by this message if it leaves you sick in your stomach. Rather reflect on those emotions, repent and begin today walking with integrity as we learn to walk with Jesus.
Very good!!!
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