Pursuing More of Jesus Part 3

This is the final part of the three-part series on how to pursue more of Jesus. I trust whoever has read these posts, which you can find here and here, have been inspired to follow Jesus and live a life of victory; a life which is filled with blessings and motivated by His unconditional love.

Pursue more of His love in your home
As you give Jesus more of your heart, He will fill it with more of His love and that will overflow into the lives of the people with whom you interact each day. When you allow God’s love to flow through you, it will empower you to love even those people who are difficult for you to love. There are people whose personalities or behaviour make them seem completely incompatible with you. Rather than avoiding or tolerating difficult people, choosing to show God’s love to them will bless you in the process. At the same time God will use them to grind off the weak edges of your character to make you stronger. Ask Jesus to help you love people sacrificially. Instead of loving only those people who meet your needs, with whom you get along, who make you feel good, who do things for you, who give you things you want, who respond with love, and whom you like, choose to demonstrate to love everyone, regardless of whether or not you like them or how they respond to you. When you love someone sacrificially, your act of love becomes an act of worshipping Jesus.

Pursue more of His courage in your convictions:
Be willing to stand out and speak up for Jesus in all areas of your life and with whoever you meet. Take a strong public stand for the uniqueness of who Jesus is; for the truth of the whole Bible. Be prepared for the necessity to live a life of integrity, purity and humility in order to please God. Rather than live a lifestyle that simply blends with that of non-believers, show people the difference that your relationship with Jesus makes with your attitude and actions. Pray for the courage to stand by Biblical convictions when others pressure you to be complacent or politically correct. Ask the Holy Spirit to use your conversations with others to glorify God in whatever ways He guides you to do so. No matter how much pressure you encounter to compromise your convictions, decide that you will never give up, shut up or let up, because of your love for Jesus.

Pursue more of Hs nearness in your loneliness:
When you feel lonely remember that Jesus is always with you. Pray for more awareness of His presence close to you and take comfort in it. Although other people may sometimes abandon or disappoint you, Jesus is always there for you. Remember that Jesus is much more than just a man, prophet, teacher, preacher, icon or symbol. Jesus is God Himself and He loves you!

Pursue more of His answers to your prayers:
It’s an incredible privilege to be able to go to God at any time and in any place with your prayers. Jesus has promised that when you ask Him for anything according to His will and believing in His power to act, He will answer. Whenever your prayers seem to go unanswered or turn out opposite to what you asked God to do (such as when you prayed for your career and you are laid off; you pray for a loved one’s healing and he/she dies) trust God anyway. It's difficult, but with His grace, you can do it. Remember that His ways are not your ways, and He will act according to what’s best for you from His unlimited perspective on every situation.

Pursue more of His glory on your knees:
Embrace God’s purpose for your life single-mindedly and wholeheartedly. Stay focussed on what God wants for your life and do all you can to fulfil that purpose well. Let your determination to do the work God has for you, lead you to make wise choices like: less sleep, more prayer; less TV, more studying God’s Word; less shopping and more tithing; less eating and more worship. Serve God faithfully to glorify Him every day.