Okay, Jesus. Let's Go!
Staying Responsive To The Desires Of Jesus
by Lee Wise

SCRIPTURE

Mark 2:13-14 "Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. 'Follow me,' Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him"

The only way I have found to keep up this right perspective is through *exposure.*

	Exposure to God in the Word.
	Exposure to God in prayer.
	Exposure to godly people.
	And exposure to the thoughts of others who are sincerely striving to live their lives connected with God.

My advice:

	Look for people of passion.
	Absorb what they are thinking.
	Absorb that they are doing.
	Let their passion create in you a similar desire to walk with the living God.

And that leads to my next point, which is...

"RECREATE THE DESIRE"

Along with maintaining a right perspective concerning the value of following Christ as a way of life, we should look for ways to *reinforce our desire* to do so.

This has to do with *staying motivated.*

When you find that someone or something motivates you to "live the higher life," then keep "walking down that same path" for a while. You may only walk there for a day, but that's okay. Then again, you may walk down that path for a week, a month, or longer.

Let me explain what I mean. Sometime ago I purchased an audio book on prayer. My guess is that I rehearsed the first tape of that book at least three times. The author inspired me concerning praying with a sense of passion. He challenged me to seek God's blessing upon my life and ministry.

The author was "recreating my desire" to follow Jesus.

By discovering what motivates you and then "walking down that same path" for a certain period of time, I am encouraging you to be creative with what you bring into your life. If something stimulates your Christian walk for only a short period of time, then "use" it for that length of time and move on. Then again, if you identify another source of inspiration that lasts longer -- take longer.

Think of these various encouragements as tools of the Lord.

Now on to my last point:

KEEP LOOKING TO JESUS

In short, study the Savior.

	Read about him.
	Think about him.
	See how he responded to people.
	Check out the passions of his life.
	See what he taught people.

Continual and close examination of Jesus will help us to remain sensitive to his voice.

BY WAY OF REVIEW

In order to remain sensitive to the Person of Christ, it would be good for us to...

	Acknowledge the immense value of following him. We do this through staying in close proximity to God through prayer, the study of his word, and associating with godly people.
	Recreate the desire to follow Jesus by paying attention to what motivates us to stay on course and keeping those "motivators" in our lives.
	Study the Person of Christ. As we become more aware of the his priorities, habit patterns, dealings with people and his teachings, our admiration for him increases as does our desire to please him in all things.

Lee is a seminary administrator where supervises student interns as they train for ministry, writes two motivational ezines: "A Beautiful Moment In Time" and "Hope For Daily Living," and enjoys doing part-time business at home. www.motivation-for-daily-living.net