The difference between a Christian and a religious person is that the Christian lives life with Christ at the center. Paul the Apostle stated it this way, “To live is Christ…” The Bible declares that Christians have died and been raised with Christ to a new life which is centered upon Jesus and His will for us. Would you say that you live for Christ in your everyday life?
Paul wrote “to live is Christ” while under house arrest in Rome waiting for his trial. He was stating to the Philippian Christians that his life was wrapped up with Jesus. He wrote that to live is Christ and to die is gain. That gain would be to forever be with Jesus face to face. You the reader are probably not in prison. You may be retired, still working, raising children, or even still in school. Since our context and Paul’s context is different, I want to give you three practical steps to make Christ the goal and content of your everyday life. How do you make Jesus the center of all you do?
First, begin each day focused on Jesus. We are told in Scripture that we are to set our hearts and minds on the things above where Christ is. The most practical way to do this is to begin each day in prayer and in Bible intake. If I fire up social media immediately, check my email, and run to the news of the day, then I am starting my day by setting my mind and heart on the things of this world. In my opinion, there is no better way to begin a day than by spending it in the Lord’s presence through prayer and Bible reading. Maybe you have not done this before. Begin that habit immediately. Short prayers are even helpful in focusing our attention upon Jesus. Spend time reading the Scripture. If you have trouble reading, download a Bible app that reads to you. Faith comes by hearing the Bible tells us. Spend the first minutes of your day focused upon the Lord and allow Him to order your steps.
The second practical step is to prioritize Christ’s purposes for your day and week. Have you ever audited how you spend your time during a day or a week? Try to keep a small notebook and pen with you for one week and write down everything you did and the time it took for you to do it. You might be very surprised by how much time we spend with media of some sort. Screen time is a huge robber of quality time. After your audit, what you will probably find is that you actually do have time for public worship, private devotions, and even time to serve in some capacity at your local church. You might even be able to work in attending a Bible study or fellowship.
Finally, Paul demonstrated great courage as he was under arrest. House arrest consisted of being chained to a Roman guard all the time. Imagine how many times these guards had to hear the good news of the Gospel from Paul. The third practical step to make Christ the goal and content of your everyday life is to find ways to share Christ with others. You may be a bold evangelist like Paul. But you might be a bit afraid to engage someone with the Gospel. But there are two things that any Christian can do. We can pray for those around us who do not know Jesus and we can invite people who do not attend church to attend with us. You might even be able to assist a neighbor or friend in a difficult situation.
Make it your goal to daily spend time with Jesus. Order your time to put Jesus at the center of all you do. And find ways to share Christ with others. Let me challenge you to start with step one this week. Begin tomorrow morning with prayer and Bible reading. Watch how your attitude, your outlook, and your whole life will change for the better.
Joe Tolin pastors the Kingman Presbyterian Church.
