Two Steppin

Two Steppin:

If you grow up in Texas then you know that learning to dance the Texas two-step is a requirement for citizenship. Okay, that may be a little bit of a stretch in some parts of Texas, but in the real Texas cities - where people still pledge allegiance to God, family, state, and country (in that order) - it’s no stretch at all. So if you’re going to call yourself a Texan then you better know how to two-step.

What does that have to do with God and Christianity? Well, if you’re going to call yourself a Christian then you need to know the Jesus Two-Step. It’s a type of dance that authentic followers of Jesus Christ live out every minute of every day.

If you feel completely lost and wonder where I’m going with this - hang tight for a minute. At the end of Jesus’ “Sermon on The Mount” He tell us “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Then Jesus sums the whole thing up with the parable of the wise and foolish builders saying, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock” (7:24).

That is the Jesus Two-Step: 1) hear His words; and 2) act on them. See, there are lots of people in the world who ignore or reject the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as God Almighty. They can’t do the dance with God because they don’t know Him. Then there are other people who claim to be Christians because they hear Him, but then they only act when it’s convenient, when it lines up with their philosophy of life, or when they’re in front of other Christians. Then there are those who do the Jesus Two-Step; they hear His words and the act on them - regardless of the cost, regardless of how it makes them 'feel,' and regadless of who is (or isn't) around.

The Apostle Paul shared a conditional “if… then” statement with us in Romans 6, “For if we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, then we will certainly also be united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection.” There are lots of folks who make the fatal error of jumping right over the part about “if we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death,” and go right to being united with Him in His resurrection. We want the prize of the resurrection without dying to self.

If you’re thinking that Paul missed the boat then let’s look at what Jesus had to say in Matthew 16:24-25, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

So what have you heard from God lately?

What have you done to act on it?

Are you dying to self minute-by-minute and joining Him in the likeness of His death?

Or are you ignoring His words like the foolish builder whose house was swept away by the storm?

Are you doing the Jesus Two-Step?

Blessings,

-Kevin