1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to have you 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 2: listening with us. Today's topic is how to be a 4 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 2: good Christian. We'll return with devotion after a brief message 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 2: from our sponsors. The pressure to be a good Christian 6 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 2: and why you can let it go, written and read 7 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 2: by Sarah Frasier. Come to me, all you are weary 8 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 2: and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my 9 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 2: yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am 10 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 2: gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest 11 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 2: for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my 12 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 2: burden is light. Matthew eleven, twenty eight through thirty Never enough. 13 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 2: It was something my heart repeated to itself on a 14 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 2: regular basis for so many years. I never felt good enough. 15 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 2: I felt that if I did more, performed better, added 16 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 2: to my to do list, God would be pleased with me. 17 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 2: During those years, I tried so hard to be a 18 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 2: good Christian. I went to church, prayed and served, and 19 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 2: said yes to all of the requests. What does it 20 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 2: mean to be a good Christian? I never bothered to 21 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 2: ask that question until one day my life began to 22 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 2: spiral into depression. Uncertainty, and my faith was tested. One day, 23 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 2: I realized that suffering and heartache would come whether I 24 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 2: was doing life right or not, whether I was a 25 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 2: good Christian or not. Pain still happened. What I needed 26 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 2: during those months and yes, years of heartache was not 27 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,519 Speaker 2: a routine, but a relationship. Not until I was forced 28 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 2: to re examine my life did I see where I 29 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 2: had misstepped. Somewhere along the way following Jesus started to 30 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 2: feel like something I needed to manage instead of a 31 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 2: relationship to cultivate. Without realizing it, I started measuring my 32 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 2: faith by what I was doing instead of who I 33 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 2: was becoming. Because of life's circumstances, I didn't have the 34 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 2: time to spend hours with God in the morning, or 35 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 2: really any time during my day. I would look at 36 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: the perfect pictures of women online and how they didn't 37 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 2: seem to struggle. My faith seemed so small, and it 38 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 2: was hard to believe God was happy with me because 39 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 2: so much of my life depended on my service to God. 40 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 2: Having to step away or say no made me think 41 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 2: is God disappointed at me? We may never say it 42 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 2: out loud, but many of us carry a quiet belief. 43 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 2: If I were a better Christian, I would be doing 44 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 2: more and Matthew eleven twenty eight through thirty. Jesus doesn't 45 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 2: add to our pressure, he relieves it. Come to me, 46 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 2: I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, and 47 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 2: my burden is light. As we look to Jesus, we 48 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 2: don't see someone who wants the perfect person. We don't 49 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,679 Speaker 2: come to Jesus having it all put together. The burdens 50 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 2: we feel to be a good Christian are not from him, 51 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 2: Jesus says. Those who come to him who are welcome 52 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 2: are those who are weary, tired, and feel like they 53 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 2: are crushed. The voice of Jesus calling us to come 54 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 2: to him is not a voice of pressure, but one 55 00:03:54,440 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 2: offering peace. Our culture, even within the religious community, is 56 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 2: one obsessed with productivity. Multitasking is a superpower. We love 57 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 2: it if we can accomplish more than one thing at 58 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 2: a time. This mindset has invaded the Church. We have 59 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 2: begun to misunderstand the spiritual disciplines as a way to perform, 60 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 2: to gain God's favor and to win heaven. What started 61 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 2: as a desire to grow can slowly turn into a 62 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 2: need to prove. This is where we find ourselves weary. 63 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 2: This is when we come to Jesus. Coming to Jesus 64 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 2: is relational, not transactional. We come to him not to perform, 65 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 2: but to be present with him. As we walk with Jesus, 66 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 2: we take his yoke, but the thing is we share 67 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 2: the weight. Growth is about connection. We learn from him 68 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 2: and eventually we rest in him. In John fifteen five, 69 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 2: Jesus said that we can only bear fruit if we 70 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 2: abide in him. Being a good Christian isn't about being 71 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 2: perfect in our actions or our feelings. We don't need 72 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 2: to always feel close to God, nor do we need 73 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 2: to spend hours studying His word, praying and going to 74 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 2: church and doing all of the things. Serving God comes 75 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 2: from an overflow of his power, not in our own strength. 76 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 2: Jesus invites us to be a good Christian as we 77 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 2: return again and again to him. We trust Jesus with 78 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 2: our weaknesses and stay connected to him. Even if we can. 79 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 2: It can seem imperfect. He is waiting, he is willing. 80 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 2: Every day, his mercies are new, and we are invited 81 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 2: into a relationship with him. A relationship is not a 82 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 2: to do list. It isn't something we can measure either. 83 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 2: A good Christian isn't someone who gets everything right, it's 84 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 2: someone who keeps coming back to Jesus. Intersecting faith and life, 85 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 2: it's easy to carry the pressure of performance into our 86 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 2: faith without even realizing it. In a world that values 87 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 2: productivity and visible results, we can begin to measure our 88 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 2: relationship with God the same way, by what we do 89 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:44,679 Speaker 2: instead of simply being with him. But spiritual growth isn't 90 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 2: always loud or measurable. Often it happens quietly in small 91 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 2: moments of returning, trusting, and staying connected, even when it 92 00:06:55,839 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 2: feels imperfect. What would it look like today, and instead 93 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 2: of trying to do more for God, you simply came 94 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 2: to him? How can you take one step closer to God? 95 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 2: Additional reading Psalm one oh three, Verses thirteen and fourteen, 96 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 2: Luke eighteen thirteen through fourteen, John fifteen five, Galatians one ten, 97 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 2: Romans eight one. 98 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what 99 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: you heard today, we want to make sure you know 100 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: about our sister podcast your Daily Prayer. When you follow 101 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: your daily prayer in your favorite podcast app, you'll get 102 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: a brand new prayer and devotional each day, So your 103 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: days begin in conversation with God. 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