Christ-Centered Analysis

Christ-Centered Analysis
8-16-04

In the message "Promotion to Servant" we saw our need to turn aside from the self-advancement mentality of the world and become a humble servant of Christ. We also acknowledged this was no trivial task. Every morning, we must decide which analysis method we will use to guide our decisions. We must either choose the method given by the world, or the method given by Jesus. It’s unfortunate so much of our "training" has been in the method of the world.

As children we are taught that more is better and one plus one equals two; and as we become adults, we are trained to make decisions based on a spreadsheet type analysis. We learn to choose a direction based on which path will bring the greatest pleasure; or which path will add the most to the "bottom line."

But Jesus, as our supreme example, was never constrained by our finite way of thinking. He taught us the correct path is the path of simple obedience; and He demonstrated that one plus one will always equal whatever God desires.

John 6:5-7
"When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, ’Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, ’Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’"

I imagine Philip sitting beside Jesus with his laptop computer, frantically entering numbers. After analyzing the data, he points to the screen and says: "Look Jesus, it just doesn’t compute. Your plan cannot be accomplished!"

Of course, Jesus then swept aside Philip’s analysis, blessed two fish and five loaves of bread, and proceeded to feed over 5000 people.

Our Heavenly Father has given us various tasks for today, as well as for the coming weeks, months and years. Many of these tasks will be challenging and require serious decisions. In our finite, number-crunching mentality, we will often shake our head and say the task isn’t practical or can’t be done. But Jesus is calling us to a new analysis - one centered on Him - one that believes "all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27).

When we face our challenges, let’s learn to "Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). Let’s live each and every moment by faith and allow each step along our path to be guided by a Christ-centered analysis.

Have A Great Day!