Making it About Jesus

Deeper Dive

Do you want to be inspired to live out your faith to the fullest? If so, you will need to go to the right source. Not surprisingly, Jesus is the greatest motivational leader in human history, and we would do well to learn from his example. In this three-part series, Learning the Art of Motivation From Jesus, Reese Neyland will help us to find inspiration from the example of Jesus through his initial call of the first disciples as recorded in Mark 1:16-20.

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OC Church of Christ

Below are the handouts referenced by Reese in this episode.

Suggestions for Knowing Jesus Better

Reese Neyland

Your foundation should be reading, studying, and meditating on the Jesus of the Bible:

• Read the gospels and imagine what you would do if you were Jesus and compare
• Read the gospels and ask yourself a question to narrow your focus and learn…

”What do I learn about how Jesus loved?”

“What do I learn about the character of Jesus?”

“What do I learn about the relationships of Jesus?”

• Take notes and save them so you will not forget what you have learned

Favorite authors and preachers:

• Philip Yancey
• Andy Stanley
• Timothy Keller
• Dallas Willard
• Max Lucado
• Scot McKnight

Favorite book about Jesus:

“The Jesus I Never Knew” by Philip Yancey

Book about Jesus I am reading now:

“The Emotional Intelligence of Jesus” by Roy M. Oswald and Arland Jacobson

Favorite television show about Jesus: “The Chosen” – three seasons to date with more to come

I would love to hear suggestions you might have as well: [e-mail]

Why I Am Still Following Jesus

(a personal letter to Jesus)

April 12, 2015

I was barely 23 years old when I decided to follow you, Jesus. It was just the right time for me. I felt the emptiness of my life so deeply and I found a large group of people who loved you and were serious about following you. Their lives inspired me and gave me hope for my own life. I had never seen that before. I think you had something to do with that – no, I think you had everything to do with that. It seemed almost too good to be true and I wondered if it was. I am sure you remember the hours and hours I spent looking at the evidence to see if I could have a real faith in you. Thank you for providing all the reasons I needed to believe. (Thank you for providing all the reasons anyone needs to believe!) You lived and you died on a cross for me. You were raised from the dead so I could also live a new life. That’s why I am still following you.

Of course, many years have passed now. More than anything else, it has been a life of joy and blessing. But it has also been just as challenging as you warned me it would be. Perhaps I should say, even harder than I ever thought it might be. If I am honest, most of the time the difficulty is within me…my own struggle with sin, insecurity, and selfishness. Even so, you keep loving me even when I have fallen and disappointed you. Instead of condemnation and retribution, you offer me fatherly discipline, repentance, and forgiveness. Your grace continually overwhelms me. Your vision for me sustains me. You love me even when you get very little back. That’s why I am still following you.

Since I am being honest, there have been times when your church has seemed to be my biggest problem. I am not sure why, but I had thought the people in the church would be as perfect as you are. In the beginning it seemed that way, but that didn’t last. Sin in the lives of other church members, leaders who were sometimes harsh and misguided, friends in the church who let me down – the list goes on and on! I guess you helped me with this as much as anything through the years. I am inspired when I read your story…how you loved and responded to the people in your life who were failing you. Through the years, you have patiently showed me the hypocrisy of judging other people in your church who are actually so much like me. About ten years ago, when it seemed like it would be too much to even continue as a part of your church, you empowered me and strengthened me in ways I could have never anticipated. And now, when I see the imperfection of your church, it just reminds me of how wonderful and powerful you are. Other people may let me down, but you never do. That’s why I am still following you.

Now I am coming closer to the end of my days (hopefully not soon though!). You continue to work powerfully in me and through me. My life has significance and purpose. I enjoy more and more freedom – from the power of sin and the fear of death. You are showing me how to love when I am not loved. You are teaching me how to not care so much what others may think about me. You are still showing me how to live. You still want me even though you don’t need me. You keep proving that you and your words can be trusted. You still love me – in ways that I know and perhaps even more ways that I have forgotten or missed along the way. That’s why I love you. That’s why I am still following you.

Reese Neyland