It Must be a Lifestyle

“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

In an interesting story published by Capital City Now out of Chicago yesterday, the writer said: Jacob Albert has been running since he was in high school. At first, it was just a way for him to stay in shape for soccer. Now, it’s turned into his biggest passion.

It’s a lifestyle,” Albert said. “[People are] always telling me I’m crazy for how much I run.”

Albert runs ultramarathons, which are as intense as they sound.

“An ultra is typically anything over a 50k, which is 31 miles,” he told WAND News. “There’s usually set distances, so there’s a 50k, there’s a 100k, there’s a 50-miler, a 100-miler.”

He does it because he loves it. When he’s running, it’s just him out there with no distractions.

“Sometimes in a hundred-mile race, after I get going, I kind of just zone out. Usually don’t even think about anything. I just go and it kind of works,” Albert said. “It’s usually just me listening to nature and observing what’s around me. I don’t really listen to music at all. I don’t have my phone on me, I just go.”

And, you know, when it comes to the way we live, the Bible is very clear that walking the walk of a believer is not something we simply do on Sundays but something we do all day, every day. Following Jesus must be a lifestyle, hence the reason Christ said “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

"Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.'" John 2:13-17 NKJV

This complete denial of self is what sets us apart and, if we’re doing it right, will cause people to say, “That person is crazy!” You see, true believers are known for their zeal that leads to actions such as the ones Jesus displayed when He drove the moneychangers out of the temple courts during the Passover. He did this to show His displeasure that the house of God was being turned into a house of merchandise—which spoiled the only place where Gentiles could come and worship.

Of this zeal (which is an intense passion, fervent devotion, and wholehearted eagerness for God, His purposes, or His house) we are to be known for, Spurgeon said, “Some men are eaten up with lechery, others with covetousness, and a third class with pride, but the master-passion with our great leader was the glory of God, jealousy for his name, and love to the divine family.”

So, let your lifestyle reflect that you are a true follower of Christ my friend. Like Jesus, be zealous for both the house and the family of God. Commit yourself to protecting both by exposing and removing any behavior or teaching that sets itself against the purity of God’s house and the worship practiced there.

Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding us that we are to guard the purity of God’s house and God’s people. Lord, when those practicing dishonesty or deceit come to lead people astray or serve as a roadblock for worship, give us courage to confront it and expose it. Help us to be known as crazy people that are zealous for the house of the Lord. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!