As a sophomore in high school, I took Honors Biology. There was no reason, whatsoever, on God’s green earth for me to be taking Honors Biology. For that matter, I had no business taking standard biology. I have never been a fan of biology, and I can still remember the nauseating feeling in my stomach when we first began dissecting things. One of the lessons I learned and carry with me today, though, was a printout our teacher, Mrs. Black had in her classroom. It was done on those old fashioned computer printers that would be long and stretch across the room. It said:
“If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.” Boy Howdy. Mrs. Black was so wise to hang that in her room for us to read, every single day. It left a lasting impression on my young mind, and I carry those words in my heart, today.
I once heard, “Standing for Jesus could cost you everything.” That’s true. I know it is. But if you meet Him at the foot of the cross every single day, He will prepare you. We have to be prepared, though, to stand totally for Jesus. Our pastor once said, “Christians try too often to make it Jesus plus. But it’s not Jesus plus, it’s Jesus, period.”
Jesus plus says, “I think I can excuse this bad behavior because God can use a mess for His message.”
Jesus period says, “I better not make that mistake, because someone else or I would be the focus, instead of God.”
The Jesus plus is when we add things to scripture. That’s a big no-no.
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” - Psalm 119:105 (NLT)
In Bob Goff’s book, Love Doves, he writes, “Sometimes when we ask God to send us an answer, He sends us a friend.” I love those words so much, because I turn to my Jesus loving friends an awful lot for prayer support and wise counsel. They become my “run it through this filter” check.
When I am seeking God’s will and trying to do the next right thing, I have a filter check and I recently shared my filter check with my friend, Alice. My filter check looks like this: “What would Jesus think?” That is always first and foremost. So that’s number one. Then, my filter check looks like this:
2. What would Terry think and suggest is right?
3. What would Michala think?
4. What would Steve and Alice think?
5. What would Lindsey and Jessica think?
6. What does Bob Goff write and say about things like this that would align with scripture?
I also think about the lessons my parents taught me and I think about my close girlfriends who I know are my “vault.” Rebecca, Betsy, Stephanie and Kristen are four other Jesus loving friends I have known for almost a lifetime, and I trust, completely. So I wonder what they would think? When I wonder, I reach out to them and ask.
Scripture needs to be our first point of reference for anything we do or say. And I so agree with Bob Goff’s words that “sometimes when we ask God to send us an answer, He sends us a friend.” Here’s the tricky part, though. We need friends who live in the Word, every single day. If they don’t, they shouldn’t be our go-to choices for wise counsel. We also need friends who will get uncomfortable with us, in order to put Jesus first. Believe me, being the “unpopular opinion” in a crowd is not easy. But I would rather be unpopular and rooted in seeking what Jesus would do, than popular and uneasy with crowd sourcing.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!”- John 16:33 (NIV)
Jesus warned us we were going to have trouble on this side of Heaven. You know what? I’ll take it. I’ll take whatever grief or trouble I am going to face, because Jesus told us it was coming, but He also told us in Him we have peace, and to take heart, He has overcome the world!
Whatever you are facing, find your filter check and don’t let it be Jesus plus, let it be Jesus, period.