The story of mankind, condensed:

The story of mankind, condensed:

God makes man
Man rebels to seek "the knowledge of good and evil"
God gives "the law", an explanation of good
Man rebels by failing to follow good
God gives Jesus, to cover that sin and thereby allow us to be good on His life, not ours.

The entire gospel is summed up in this verse, God pulls man back to the garden, to perfection, by giving Jesus to live the life we can't, and die the death we should, but don't have to.

Grace and truth come through Jesus, not the law, not religion. God lays a path down for us to walk back to him, without earning it ourselves. He knows we can't! He knows that we can never cover our own sin, our past, with goodness. We cannot earn forgiveness of our debt. It is real and we are bankrupt. We can convince ourselves otherwise, pretending to be wealthy, but we are still bankrupt. 

Grace and truth say, it's ok. I forgive you now so that you can sin no more. While we are sinners, He forgives! That's grace. Through him we can sin no more, that's truth!

The law (religion, self help, will power, actions, good deeds, etc) can not save us. Grace and truth can. Jesus can. Only jesus can.

Jesus noticed this tax collector.

Jesus noticed this tax collector. Wow! Think about that! How amazing!

It is often said that religion and the gospel are opposites. Yes. Because religion is man trying to find a way to God. The gospel is God finding a way to man!

Here Jesus saw Matthew, a regular fellow, just one of the crowd, a nobody. Not talented, not special, not in authority. Just a normal everyday guy. But Jesus noticed him. Jesus, the creator of the universe, walking with the mind of God, who did nothing unless he saw the Father do it... That Jesus noticed Mathew in the crowd! Why? If Jesus did nothing unless he saw the father in it... Then... Yes... God the Father noticed Mathew! 

Mathew was one of a million stars in the night sky, but God called him out by name. Just as He calls your name now. If you are reading this, if this post caught your eye, stopped you, then God is calling you right now. He stands asking the same of you as he did Levi... "Follow me?"

No moment of our life is chance. God has a purpose, a plan for you. He brought you to this moment to call you out of the crowd and ask you... "Follow me?"

When we look up at the billions of stars in the night sky, the insignificance of our own life among those billions sets in. But, when we realize that the God that made all those stars, that made all these people, is calling you by name, wow! How significant we are to Him. He calls to us in the crowd and simply asks...

"Follow me?"

The power of the Lord.

The power of the Lord. 

Healing the sick, raising the dead, calming the storm, feeding the hungry, all these He did by the power of the Lord, when it was upon him.

Jesus was clothed with power from above. This power flowed from him, through him, when it was upon him. This is our example. Jesus said "greater things shall YOU do". We are given this same power.

But how might we walk in such a way as to have this power upon us?

Jesus was sinless. Unstained. Perfect. There was nothing between him and the Father to block this power. No hidden sins, no doubt, no ambition, no pride, no self serving. His life presented a conduit ready for power of heaven to flow through.

But this is the amazing part... Jesus gives us, you and I, His righteousness, his cleanliness. His death on the cross paid our debts and washed away our sins. We are clean before God! That means we are the same clean conduit for God's mighty power as Jesus!

So long as we walk in his presence, seek Him first, put aside all childish selfish things, and be holy. Not by our might, but by His spirit. Then we can walk in that same power.

The key may be this.... Why? Why do you seek God's power in your life? If the answer is in any way self serving, then God loves you enough to withhold it. He cares and knows us enough to only grant as much power as we are able to handle by our own maturity. Otherwise, the use of power would corrupt us while we bless others. 

Bottom line? Pray for humility, holiness, purity. Pray to be the clean conduit He wants to flow through. Not as a means to gain power, no! But as a means to please our God.

Seek him first, and all these things shall be added.