Called 2 Love Like Jesus E-Book

The Great Commandment Network

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 309

Beschreibung

Jesus' call is for love to be the identifying mark.   A simple command but perhaps one of the toughest to follow. This Christ-like love is to be the essence of who we are and what we demonstrate to others.   Called 2 Love Like Jesus is an anthology of devotions designed to help you live out this kind of love. Each devotion includes an inspiring meditation from notable spiritual leaders like Mark Batterson, Gary Chapman, Dallas Willard, Joni Eareckson Tada, Tony Evans, Francis Chan, Les Parrot, Gary Smalley, and Sammy Rodriguez. Scriptures and interactive questions encourage personal reflection and life application.   Embrace God's command to love and begin a lifestyle of living and loving like Jesus.  

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Called 2 Love Like Jesus

Copyright © 2020 by Great Commandment Network

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Unless indicated otherwise, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by BroadStreet Publishing Group, thePassionTranslation.com. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000; 2001; 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Scripture taken from the International Standard Version. Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. Used by permission of Davidson Press. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked CSB® are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

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Contents

In the Upper Room with Jesus

Introduction

Week 1 Why Love like Jesus?

Day 1It’s His Command

From “Love One Another” by Ronnie Floyd (P-3)

Day 2It’s Our Grateful Response to His Grace

From Love Like That by Les Parrott (M-2)

Day 3It’s a Reflection of Our Identity

From Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson (L-5)

Day 4It’s Our Calling

From the “Called 2 Love Sermon Series” by Great Commandment Network (M-7)

Day 5It’s Our Legacy

From Parenting with Intimacy by Terri Snead (P-4)

Day 6It’s Others’ Hope

From The Great Omission by Dallas Willard (W-4)

Day 7Small Group: Week 1 (L-8)

Week 2 Embrace His Love

Day 8Because That’s Who He Is

From “God IS Love” by Steve Uhlmann (L-4)

Day 9It’s an Others-Focused Love

From Ten Ways to Say “I Love You” by Josh McDowell (M-10)

Day 10Because I Call You Friends

From Love Like That by Les Parrott (L-7)

Day 11From the Father and the Son

From Relational Discipleship by David Ferguson (L-1)

Day 12Receive and Yield

From Relational Discipleship by David Ferguson (L-2)

Day 13It’s a New Kind of Awesome

From How Joyful People Think by Jamie Rasmussen (W-8)

Day 14Small Group: Week 2 (P-7)

Week 3 Love the Lord

Day 15Can You Feel FOR Him?

From Relational Foundations by Great Commandment Network (L-3)

Day 16Switch on Your Brain

From Switch on Your Brain by Caroline Leaf (W-6)

Day 17It’s the Primacy of Our Faith

From The Primacy of Our Faith by Darryl DelHousaye (L-9)

Day 18Through Sabbath Rest

From A Sabbath Rest by Dennis Gallaher (L-6)

Day 19As You Share His Love with the Least of These

From The God I Love by Joni Eareckson Tada (M-6)

Day 20As You Encounter Jesus in His Word

From God Breathed by Josh McDowell (W-7)

Day 21Small Group: Week 3 (W-5)

Week 4 Love Your Neighbors

Day 22Who is My Neighbor?

From The Art of Neighboring by Dave Runyon (M-1)

Day 23Start with a Grace-Filled Marriage

From Grace-Filled Marriage by Tim Kimmel (P-5)

Day 24Learn the Language of Love

From The Language of Love by Gary Smalley and John Trent (P-1)

Day 25Includes Loving Your Spouse

From Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away by Gary Chapman (W-9)

Day 26Maintenance Is a Must

From Extreme Home Makeover by Terri Snead (W-2)

Day 27Live Worthy of Honor

From The Forgotten Commandment by Dennis Rainey (P-10)

Day 28Small Group: Week 4 (M-4)

Week 5 Love in the Household of Faith

Day 29Love as a Servant

From Love Like That by Les Parrott (M-9)

Day 30Make A Disciple

From A Spirit-Empowered Church by Alton Garrison (W-1)

Day 31The Power of Acceptance

From Relational Foundations by Great Commandment Network (P-9)

Day 32The Power of Support

From Relational Foundations by Great Commandment Network (P-6)

Day 33The Power of Comfort

From Relational Foundations by Great Commandment Network (L-10)

Day 34Be a Peacemaker

From The Ferguson Dilemma by Jade Lee (P-8)

Day 35Small Group: Week 5 (W-10)

Week 6 Love on Mission

Day 36Step toward Life Change

From ReSet by Jeff Bogue (M-8)

Day 37The Least of These

From The Lamb’s Agenda by Samuel Rodriguez (M-5)

Day 38Turning a Nation to God

From America by Tony Evans (P-2)

Day 39What Does It Look Like to Love Your City?

From Unlikely by Kevin Palau (W-3)

Day 40Live Compelled by Love

From Compelled by Love by Ed Stetzer and Philip Nation (M-3)

About the Authors and Their Resources

Appendix 1: About the Great Commandment Network

Appendix 2: A Spirit-Empowered Faith

Appendix 3: A Spirit-Empowered Disciple

In the Upper Room with Jesus

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

JOHN 13:34–35 NKJV

Imagine the scene: The Savior sits quietly with his disciples in the upper room. The mood is somber; the feelings intense. The loyal followers know something is troubling the Teacher, but can’t quite grasp the gravity of his words. Jesus turns to the men—and with a sense of tenderness and care, he tells the disciples that he will only be with them a little longer. Where Jesus is about to go, they cannot.

These words would have been earth-shattering to the disciples. They literally left everything to follow Jesus—and after three years together, they hear him say he plans to leave. The disciples sit up, lean in, and strain to hear what Jesus has to say next.

With tenderness still in his voice, Christ shares a fresh perspective. He gives a new commandment. We might be tempted to think that in these final moments, Jesus would emphasize certain things to do or particular behaviors to avoid. Instead, in these last moments with his disciples, Jesus gives a command—but it was a command to love. The command to love wasn’t new, but the extent of love would be newly defined. The disciples had no idea how Jesus was about to redefine love, but they would soon come face to face with the one who is love. Love would be displayed on a cross and newly defined by Christ’s example.

The calling and commandment of John 13:34 is not only for the followers in the upper room, it is a calling for each of us. The Savior is calling for there to be a special presence and experience of love among followers of Jesus. Christ is calling for love to be the identifying mark of his disciples. Love is to be at the heart of who we are and what we do.

Called 2 Love: Like Jesus has been written to support, challenge, and encourage you in how to respond to Christ’s call to love. Why is our response to this call so important?

•Without a renewed focus on experiencing love from God and expressing love for God, our faith becomes only about doing things for God.

•Without a prioritization of love, marriages dissolve, families break down, and every relationship is marked by disconnection and aloneness.

•Without a fresh testimony of love and unity, Jesus-followers are more often labeled for their differences of doctrine or religious duty rather than for a heart of love for one another.

•Without consistent demonstrations of love, church ministry is irrelevant—and a world which desperately needs the hope of Jesus stops listening.

Therefore, Called 2 Love: Like Jesus is intended to help you prioritize your response to Christ’s call to love. We invite you to allow the Lord to guide you into fresh experiences of his love for you and in turn, to voice your love back to him. We’re asking the Lord to guide you into fresh challenges of how you might demonstrate his love for others—beginning with your spouse, children, and family. We pray you will allow God to empower your love for his church and to let there be a special renewed presence of unity among his people. And finally, may you sense God’s fresh anointing as you share his love with others and live out his calling to love those who don’t yet know the person of Jesus.

Introduction

Called 2 Love: Like Jesus is designed to bring a fresh perspective to what it means to love Jesus and people. The goal of this resource is to help you move beyond knowing and understanding God’s command to love and move toward more experiences of that love. As you will see, when you deepen your experience of God’s love, you will be better equipped to love your spouse, children, family, and friends. As you embrace more of God’s love for you, you will be empowered to love other Jesus-followers and to ultimately express love as you live on mission for him.

This resource is all about relationships—fresh experiences of Christ’s love for you and then a focus on the priority of loving others. This relational focus will require a relational faith—because it’s only a relational faith that produces a prioritization of love.

In order to fully illustrate what a relational faith includes, we have defined forty different Spirit-empowered outcomes categorized into four themes (see appendices 2 and 3). Each Spirit-empowered outcome will be noted with the following symbol:

A Spirit-empowered disciple:

•Loves the Lord (L1-10): Here you will find specific times for expression of your love for Jesus.

•Lives the Word (W1-10): These moments will equip you in how to live out specific Scriptures from God’s Word.

•Loves People (P1-10): You’ll learn how to discern the relational needs of others and to share God’s love in meaningful ways.

•Lives his Mission (M1-10): In these moments, you will plan to actively share Jesus’ love with others and tell them about the one who lives inside of you.

Our world needs more people living as Spirit-empowered disciples who are making disciples who, in turn, make disciples. Thus, Called 2 Love: Like Jesus rightly focuses on the powerful simplicity of …

•Receiving God’s love for us and then loving him as our first priority.

•Living his Word—because there’s power and possibility in experiencing Scripture.

•Loving people by developing a lifestyle of giving first; and taking initiative to love your spouse, children, friends, family, and members of the faith community.

•Living his mission—which means building a lasting legacy, as you share Jesus’ hope with others.

As you read through this resource, we invite you to walk:

•In the light of God’s Son—John 8:12

•In the light of God’s Word—Psalm 119:105

•In the light of God’s people—Matthew 5:14

As a means of encouragement, each day of this forty-day journey contains an excerpted article from a well-known author and moments for you to pause and walk in the light. It’s only when we walk in the light of Jesus, his Word, and his people that we will see our lives change. That’s why you will be invited to pause each day of the journey to:

•Encounter Jesus

•Experience Scripture

•Engage with your community

Finally, the Great Commandment Network is thrilled to serve each contributor and ministry partner through this resource. Our resource development and training team serves various partners as they work faithfully to equip others in a lifestyle of love. May Jesus richly bless the unity, commitment, and faith that Called 2 Love: Like Jesus represents.

Terri Snead

Executive Editor, Great Commandment Network

Week 1

Why Love Like Jesus?

Ministry and life purpose flow out of a common center—first through our intimate relationship with Jesus and then through caring connections with spouse and family. Effective discipleship flows out of our closest, most connected relationships.

As a follower of Jesus, the important relationships with spouse, family, ministry, and mission are relationships to which only you can give careful attention. Maximum impact for God’s Kingdom will first require our true commitment to loving like Jesus in these closest relationships.

As you consider your relationship with Jesus and the other key relationships of your life, think of them as ever expanding concentric circles that reflect the calling to love God has for every part of your life. These circles are based on our Lord’s Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Since Great Commission living is empowered by Great Commandment love, the experience of our loving relationship with Jesus is the center point for love experienced in all other relationships.

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

MATTHEW 22:37–40

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

MATTHEW 28:19–20

Day 1

It’s His Command

Jesus left exact instructions about how the world was to know about him. He intended for the love that his followers have for him to be demonstrated in practical and observable love for others. In other words, the world would come to believe in the love of God as his people truly demonstrate love for one another.

Scripture says it best: “‘So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples’” (John 13:34–35).

From “Love One Another”

by Ronnie Floyd

It’s both exciting and equally convicting to prioritize loving one another as the theme for our day. Here are four, living illustrations why this is a fantastic and needed theme.

Illustration #1: “Love one another” are the words of Jesus in John 13:34, “Love one another. Just as I have loved you.” I was reminded while reading through Psalm 119 from the New Living Translation of these words found in verse 37: “Turn my eyes from worthless things and give me life through your word.” We need the priority of loving one another because nothing leads to life more than the Bible, the Word of God. Our lives are filled with so many worthless things, but these words of Jesus are words of life.

Illustration #2: The condition of churches in America today remind us of the need to re-prioritize loving one another. Over eighty percent of the churches in America are plateaued or declining. Most of the time this occurs due to the lack of health within the church. Most often, it is because “love one another” is not being practiced within the church. In fact, many times, there is great unrest and a lack of true Christian fellowship among believers in these churches.

  Encounter Jesus

But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

LUKE 6:40

In order to become Christ-followers who truly love one another, we must spend more time with the God of love. Therefore, take the next few moments and imagine Jesus is standing before you. He’s the Teacher of love and the One who IS love. Imagine that Christ makes this gentle but passionate invitation personally to you: “I want you to become like me and learn from me, so you can share my love with others. I’m calling you to be a student of my love, but this calling comes with a promise. I am ready to show you love in such incredible ways that my love spills over onto others. Learning from me, means soaking in my love for you!” Now voice your personal prayer back to Jesus.

Jesus, I accept your invitation. I want to learn from you. I want to experience your love in new and meaningful ways so that I am equipped to _______.

Illustration #3: We need to refocus on our call to love one another because our relationships are in serious trouble. Marriages and families are falling apart across our country and our world. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says “Love never ends.” This kind of enduring, lasting love is missing in so many friendships, marriages and families. Therefore, “Love one another” is a message that is absolutely needed for our day. A focus on loving one another is needed across all relationships, including our workplaces, communities, and cities.

Illustration #4: Finally, the “love one another” theme is right for our day because our government’s talking points and contentious efforts rarely lead our country to love. Negative words spoken about one another lead to ongoing actions that are preventing our country from moving forward. Vitriolic speech and divisive actions serve as living testimonies of how much America needs the message of “love one another”. None of this is right. We can differ with other people, and yet, remain true to our calling to love.

The Church must lead the way to love. An unloving and divided church cannot call an unloving and divided nation to love and unity. Yes, the church must lead the way: Love one another!

  Engage with Your Community

My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power.

PSALM 89:24

Leading the way in loving others, begins with loving those nearest to us. Think about the person in your life who needs to experience the love of Jesus most. God is calling you to love them like Jesus. He’s also committed to being with you in the journey and empower you in loving well. Claim his promise and then share your love-like-Jesus desire with your spouse, friend or small group.

Lord, I know you want me to love _______ like you love him/her. I need to learn from you because …

I am claiming your promise of faithfulness and love that never fails. Because of your love and faithfulness, I can grow in my power and ability to _______.

  Experience Scripture

We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

1 THESSALONIANS 2:8

Reflect again on this person who most needs to experience Jesus’ love. How might you share your life with this person, so they experience more of Christ’s love? Does this person need your support, acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, humility, kindness, encouragement or hope? Plan your practical demonstration of Christ’s love here.

I sense that my _______ (spouse, child, friend, neighbor, co-worker or family member) needs more of Jesus’ love. I think he/she most needs me to give _______. I plan to demonstrate that love by ________________.

P3. A Spirit-empowered disciple consistently discerns the relational needs of others and shares God’s love in meaningful ways.

Day 2

It’s Our Grateful Response to His Grace

For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. (John 3:16)

The most familiar verse in the entire Bible is about a God who loves. It’s startling when we begin to imagine the depth of just how much God loves; it’s startling to imagine the miracle of Jesus!

Throughout the pages of Scripture, we read Christ’s divinely inspired words and get a glimpse of his amazing miracles. Yet through all these revolutionary moments, we don’t want to miss this: Everything Jesus said and did was meant to call attention to how he loved. Take a moment to reflect on just a few of the startling ways that Jesus loves:

•Jesus startled lepers with loving compassion. He healed their bodies and brought dignity to their lives. Sometimes Christ even touched the lepers himself, to bring about healing (Luke 5:12–13; 17:11–19).

•Jesus startled a Samaritan woman when he broke all cultural conventions by asking her for a drink of water (John 4:4–26). In the midst of her shame and rejection, the Savior entrusted her with a conversation about eternal things and extended a message of mercy and justice (Micah 6:8).

•Jesus startled the woman caught in adultery when he knelt beside her, joined her at the point of her pain, and extended hope and forgiveness. Christ dispersed the accusers and then offered restoration. He extended grace, as well as a loving challenge: “‘Go now and leave your life of sin’” (John 8:10–11).

  Encounter Jesus

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

PSALM 136:1

Now, pause to remember some of the startling ways that Jesus has loved you. Reflect, remember, and then give him thanks:

Jesus, you first startled me with love when you brought me into relationship with you. I’m so grateful that I have relationship with you because ________.

Jesus, today I am amazed at the love and grace you have shown me, especially as you ________.

From Love Like That

by Les Parrott

You can’t study the life of Jesus and avoid life-altering grace. He is the personification of grace. He acknowledges the ugliness of sin but chooses to see beyond it. In each of the four Gospels, Jesus radiates grace not only in his teachings, but in his life—toward a woman caught in adultery; a Roman soldier; a Samaritan woman with serial husbands; a shame-filled prostitute. Grace runs rampant in the life of Jesus. “Jesus did not identify the person with his sin,” wrote theologian Helmut Thielicke, “but rather saw in this sin something alien, something that really did not belong to him, something … from which he would free him and bring him back to his real self.”

Nowhere did Jesus more clearly separate the sin from the sinner than in the last moments of his earthly life. After unspeakable and heartless torture, Roman soldiers take Jesus the Nazarene a short distance from Jerusalem’s city wall to a place the locals named Golgotha, or “Place of the Skull.” They initiate the barbaric ritual of nailing him to a cross. Typically, they begin by giving the victim a mild painkiller—not as an act of mercy, but to make it easier for them to nail his limbs to the wooden beams. Jesus refuses the medicine, probably to remain lucid.

Two soldiers put all their weight on his extended arms as another drives six-inch iron nails through each hand. His feet are flexed at an extreme angle, lapped one over the other and nailed into place. They lift the cross up, guiding the base into a hole in the ground with a jarring thud. As the ruthless death squad steadies the cross to keep it upright, Jesus—who has hardly spoken in hours—whispers a prayer: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they’re doing.”

Grace beyond measure. Not only was Jesus suffering physically from this torment, he was the object of taunts and verbal abuse from the Roman killers and onlookers: “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” The religious leaders mocked him too: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself.” Enduring unimaginable suffering, the Nazarene offers grace and forgiveness to his persecutors.

But his grace-giving doesn’t stop there. Jesus, thirty-three years old, hanging a few feet above the earth between two robbers, minutes before his death, has one more act of grace to give.

One of the criminals hurls insults at Jesus: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other felon rebukes his fellow crook: “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then this robber adds: “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.”

Jesus responds to him, “Don’t worry; I will. Today you will join me in paradise.”

Jesus could have rained down condemnation. He could have condemned his coldhearted death squad as well as the sanctimonious leaders and this convicted criminal on a cross next to him. He could have prayed for God to strike them all down. But Jesus—the man of unconditional acceptance—even in his last breaths gives grace!

  Experience Scripture

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:20

Reflect again on the grace and love that you have received from Jesus. Next, think about the people whom God regularly places in your life. You have been placed there as his ambassador. Jesus wants to extend his love and acceptance through you. He wants to communicate his support, forgiveness, and hope through you to others. As Christ’s ambassador, ask the Holy Spirit to make 2 Corinthians 5:20 real for you because of your gratitude for his grace.

Who among your family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances could benefit from:

•His forgiveness through you (no matter what their sin)?

•His acceptance through you (even before they change)?

•His support through you (even if they have not asked)?

  Engage with Your Community

I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

PSALM 73:28

Tell a friend, spouse, or small group about your commitment to love like Jesus. Share about your desire to be Christ’s ambassador—loving people like you have been loved by him.

I want to love ________ (share the name) like Jesus has loved me.

I plan to do that by ________.

M2. A Spirit-empowered disciple selflessly demonstrates the love of Jesus with those in need of hope and justice—sharing God’s compassion and forgiveness.

Day 3

It’s a Reflection of Our Identity

Loving like Jesus will require steady looks in the mirror. In order to live out our call, we must see ourselves the way Jesus sees us—nothing less and nothing more. In order to love others like Jesus loves, we must first be secure in our own identity. We must be confident in whose reflection is staring back at us in the mirror.

When you glance in the mirror, are you afraid you’ll see “the one who’s messed up” or the “one who’ll never change”? If you’re a child of God, when you look in the mirror, the person staring back at you is the “Beloved of God.” That’s who you are. The Creator made you, died for you, and declared that you are worth the gift of his Son. Only when you securely embrace that you are the “one who Jesus loves” will you be ready to love others like he does. So go ahead. Look. Discover who you really are. You’ll like what you see!

  Engage with Your Community

to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

EPHESIANS 1:6 NASB

Pause for a few moments. Plan out your response and schedule a time to talk to your spouse, friend, or small group. Share your response below:

God says that I am the “beloved of God.” That is truth. That’s who he says I am.

I embrace that truth most easily when ________.

I struggle to embrace that truth when ________.

From Wild Goose Chase

by Mark Batterson

Every summer I take a six-week preaching sabbatical. The reason is simple. It is so easy to get focused on what God wants to do through me that I totally neglect what God wants to do in me. So, I take off my sandals for six weeks. I go on vacation. I go to church with my family. And for several weeks during the summer, I just sit with our congregation, taking notes and singing songs like everyone else. My sabbatical is one way I keep the routine from becoming routine. But it’s about more than just taking off my sandals. Let me explain.

Shortly after telling Moses to take off his sandals, God gave Moses one more curious command. He told Moses to throw down his staff.

Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” (Exodus 4:2–5)

A shepherd’s staff was a six-foot-long wooden rod that was curved at one end. It functioned as a walking stick, a weapon, and a prod used to guide the flock. Moses never left home without his staff. That staff symbolized his security. It offered him physical security from wild animals. It provided his financial security—his sheep were his financial portfolio. And it was a form of relational security. After all, Moses worked for his father-in-law.

But the staff was more than just a form of security. It was also part of his identity. When Moses looked in the mirror, he saw a shepherd—nothing more; nothing less. And I think that’s why Moses asked God to send someone else: “‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’” (Exodus 3:11). I love the way God answers his question by changing the focus. God says: “‘I will be with you’” (Exodus 3:12). That doesn’t really seem like an answer to Moses’ question, does it? But I think it was God’s way of saying, “Who you are isn’t the issue; the issue is whose you are!”

Has God ever called you to throw something down? Something in which you find your security or put your identity? It’s awfully hard to let go, isn’t it? It feels like you are jeopardizing your future. And it feels like you could lose what is most important to you. But that is when you discover who you really are.

I agonize with you because I know how tough it is to throw down a staff. It was so hard to throw down my scholarship at the University of Chicago. It was so hard to leave the security of friends and family and move from Chicago to Washington, DC. But the only way you discover a new identity is by letting an old one go. And the only way you’ll find your security in Christ is by throwing down the human securities we tend to cling to.

There is a branch of history called counterfactual theory that asks the what-if questions. So here’s my counterfactual question: What if Moses had held on to his staff? I think the answer is simple: The shepherd’s staff would have remained a shepherd’s staff. I don’t think God would have used Moses to deliver Israel. I think Moses would have gone right back to shepherding his flock.

If you aren’t willing to throw down your staff, you forfeit the miracle that is at your fingertips. You must be willing to let go of an old identity in order to take on a new identity. And that is what happens to Moses. This is a miracle of transformation. Not just the staff turning into a snake, but a shepherd of sheep turning into the leader of a nation. But Moses had to throw down the shepherd’s staff for it to be transformed into the rod of God.

As far as we know, this is the first miracle Moses ever experienced. If Moses had held on to the staff, he would have forfeited all those miracles. He would have spent the rest of his life counting sheep.

Where do you find your identity? What is the source of your security? Is it a title? A paycheck? A relationship? A degree? A name? There is nothing wrong with any of those things—as long as you can throw them down [for Christ].

If you find your security outside of Christ, you have a false sense of security. And you have a false sense of identity. As long as you hold onto your staff, you’ll never know what you could have accomplished with God’s help. And let me remind you of this: Your success isn’t contingent upon what’s in your hand. Your success is contingent upon whether God extends his mighty hand on your behalf. Therefore, let me issue a challenge. Throw down your staff and discover the adventure on the far side of routine.

  Encounter Jesus

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

1 JOHN 4:10

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross serves as a declaration of our worth in God’s eyes. Imagine that Jesus is speaking to you from heaven. Listen to the words that are just for you: “You are especially valuable to me. You are important to me—so important that I laid down my life for you. I saw that you were in danger of being separated from me for all of eternity, so I acted. I rescued you because I love you and couldn’t bear the thought of heaven without you. That’s how I see you: one who is worth my sacrifice. You are my beloved one.”

Now respond to Jesus’ words:

Jesus, when I hear your declaration of my worth to you, I feel _______. Thank you for reminding me of the truth that my worth and my identity can only be declared by the one who created me and died for me.

  Experience Scripture

In reference to your former manner of life, lay aside the old self.

EPHESIANS 4:22

Ask God to reveal the “staff” that you need to throw down:

Lord, do I need to throw down …

•A source of security or provision that’s other than you?

•A label that I give myself or identity that’s other than what you have declared?

•A habit or behavior that’s contrary to your plan for my life?

•Some plans or decisions about my future that I have made apart from you?

Lord, show me what I need to lay aside. Reveal it to me and then show me what you want for my life.

L5. A Spirit-empowered disciple quickly acknowledges sins; asks for and receives forgiveness; and lives with a deep desire to always please Jesus.

Day 4

It’s Our Calling

From the “Called 2 Love Sermon Series”

by Great Commandment Network

A new command I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

JOHN 13:34 ESV