Before & After Age 30

I am reading Mark Batterson’s book Chase The Lion. Batterson leads National Community Church in Washington, DC and has written many inspiring books. In Chase The Lion, Batterson seeks to inspire us to pursue big goals for our big God. The book’s subtitle is, “If your dream doesn’t scare you, it’s too small.”

On page 48, Batterson tells the story of Albert Schwitzer: “It was a summer morning in 1896 when Albert made a resolution. ‘While outside the birds sang…I came to the conclusion that until I was thirty I could consider myself justified in devoting myself to scholarship and the arts,’ Schweitzer said, ‘but after that I would devote myself directly to serving humanity.’”

What a fascinating and inspiring resolution! Schwitzer had a heart to serve the Lord and serve others. He also realized he had knowledge to gain, skills to learn, and gifts to develop. He saw the first 30 years of his life as the season to sow into himself and prepare for the future calling God had for him. But, he was also determined to not live a life focused on himself. After 30 he was determined to serve humanity—to serve others.

There is a time for everything—a time to learn, a time to train, a time to prepare yourself. There is also a time to act, a time to serve, a time to bless others.

What season are you in? How are you making the most of today? How are you devoting yourself to growth? How are you serving humanity?

I highly recommend Mark Batterson’s book to you. You will be inspired and encouraged.

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Follow Me (Matthew 4:19-22)

After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he began his public ministry. In Matthew 4:19-22, he calls his first disciples. To Peter and Andrew he said, “‘Come, follow me…and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.”

He made the same call to James and John, and “immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

Isn’t it amazing that Jesus calls out to us and beckons us to follow him? He loves us, desires a relationship with us, and asks us to follow him.

The four disciples teach us a valuable lesson through their examples. They heard and responded. They immediately dropped what they were doing and followed him. They stopped their labor, changed their priorities, and focused on Jesus as their teacher, leader, and rabbi. And they were never the same again!

Has Jesus called you to follow him? The main focus of a Christian is Christ, and our main job is to surrender and follow Jesus. We surrender our will to his, our goals to his, and our desires to his. We stop leading ourselves and instead surrender and follow him.

This isn’t easy, and it isn’t our natural instinct. This requires us to humbly say Jesus is better, his ways are better, and his path is best. This requires us to trust that Christ is worth much more than anything we would give up to follow him.

Choose today to surrender your heart to Jesus Christ. Submit your every thought, word, and action to him. Drop everything and follow him.

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