“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

Who you are five years from now depends on the decisions you make today. The three things that will have the greatest impact on who you are five years from now are: the people you hang out with, the books you read, and the places you invest your time.

Who do you want to be five years from now? Do you want to be a growing and thriving Christian? Do you want to be a better spouse, parent, friend?

The decisions you make today have a direct impact on who you will be five years from now.

Jesus gives us great advice on how we can be the person we desire to be in the future. Jesus tells us, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.”

Seek first – make Jesus our first priority. Get yourself around people who help you to grow in the faith, read books that will help you draw closer to God’s kingdom, and invest your time and talents on those things that will honor Christ.

• Get to church – be around people who will inspire you to grow in your faith
• Get in a small group – be around people who will encourage you to draw closer to Jesus
• Get in God’s word – get to know God’s truth and let God’s truth shape how you look at the world

You never grow closer to God by accident. You only grow closer to God by deliberately pursuing Jesus and his righteousness. This is an intentional decision to seek Christ and his kingdom.

Who do you want to be five years from now? The decisions you make today will determine who and what your future you will look like.

“If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15).

For the most part I have no problems obeying God. Love others. Forgive. Serve. Give. I think those are great things. I’m all for loving others, serving, giving, forgiving and all those other things that Jesus tells us to do. These are things I try to do most of the time anyway.

But, there’s a problem with obedience. And every time I have a problem with obedience it’s because God is commanding me to do something I don’t want to do. In fact, everything in me is screaming to do the very opposite of what God is commanding me to do.

I’m all about loving others and forgiving others. But, I have my limits. And that’s just the thing. I have limits. God does no. The times I have problems loving others is when they are certifiable jerks. The times I have problems with forgiving is when the person I need to forgive has really hurt me…intentionally.

Come on, God! You want me to love and forgive that person?

Yup.

Come to think of it, the only times when obedience comes into play in my walk with Jesus is the times when what I want to do is in direct conflict with what Jesus is asking me to do.

AND it is those times that make all the difference. Jesus didn’t ask if I felt like doing what he commands. It has nothing to do with how I am feeling. It has everything to do with what Jesus commands.

So, the next time you find yourself not wanting to do the thing that Jesus is asking you to do, will you commit now to obey simply because Jesus commanded us to do so? And, I will do the same thing.

“If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15).

The church in the United States is declining. The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s membership has declined from 3,500,000 in 1990 to 1,000,000 in 2020. We are not alone. All mainline denominations, United Methodist Churches, the Evangelical Lutherans, the Episcopal church, and Southern Baptists, Assemblies of God are in decline.

In the midst of loss, many are searching for the elusive silver bullet to solve our decline. Leaders go to conferences to learn about innovation, vision casting, and becoming more relevant.

No one is considering the possibility that perhaps the reason why we are in such a decline is because we no longer obey as we once did.

Andrew Root is one of the main speakers at the National Gathering at the Fellowship Community this year that Pastor Brad and I are attending. The Fellowship Community is a gathering for evangelically minded pastors and congregations who are still in the PC(USA).

Andrew Root was asked what he thought was the reason the churches in America are in such decline and he said that the problem has little to do with innovation but with obedience. Root said, “Instead of asking how do we innovate?” churches ought to be asking, “How will we obey Jesus?”

I think Root is spot on. It’s Christ’s church. The key to thriving churches has little to do with our innovations and visions. It has everything to do with Jesus and his church.

So, Little Church and Lakewoodgrace, “How shall we obey Jesus?”