Success and Jesus...Is it a good mix? Part 2

As I take time to notice what my faith in Christ Jesus is doing for me, and I look at others who proclaim the same faith, I do my best to listen to what is important to each of us.

 Christianity in the world I live in is sometimes like the movies....like in Walt Disney movies, we don't want "Bambi" to get hurt...or even be threatened; we want everyone to be rescued...like knowing "Superman" is always around; or we want to find that "New World" where peace and harmony are the utopia...like in "Scy-fi" movies;...no problems...just peaceful bliss.
 Years ago, there were two singers (Simon and Garfunkel), and they came out with the hit song "Bridge over Troubled Water". Christians seemed to pick up on this song and you heard this song being sung by choirs, duets, and in piano arrangements. The whole thing about this song was western Christianity seemed to imply at that time ...the bridge represented Jesus, and He would rescue you out of any trouble...making a bridge for you to cross and avoid the "troubles of life". 
 One day in a church service, I heard a minister respond to the popularity and lyrics of this song saying: " I am not so sure about this "bridge over troubled water" thing...it seems to me Jesus doesn't like  bridges...because every time trouble arises in my life...we end up walking right through the turbulent waters."......

 So, does becoming friends with Jesus guarantee us success?...at least success as the western culture has defined. Over the years as being a Christian, I have seen the Church go through various stages....prosperity gospel, Jesus wants to heal everybody, the larger your groups in meeting to strengthen one another in the faith...is a sure sign God is with you, or the sometimes "stone cold" mainline denomination repeating their liturgies to reinforce their beliefs...while hurting and aching within their very hearts.
 Success and knowing Jesus?....kind of an odd couple...don't you think?




So, I guess I begin with this thought and question: "Ok, forget what my culture says about success...what does He say about...success?"
 In Hebrews 3:1...it goes something like this:

 " So, my dear friends who have now made the choice to yield our hearts and entire lives to this One who we call "The Lord Jesus", this decision involves the willingness to set yourself apart from everything you have ever known as "life", and are now part of a totally new and different lifestyle, one that is not influenced by any present culture. Instead, you have become part of a "heavenly culture", and the requirement in all this is: take a good hard look at this new found friend who calls Himself Jesus. We must, because He is now the very "Centerpiece" of everything we now believe...the very essence of why we made the choice to embrace this Christian faith in the first place."

 I think the key for me in that verse is : "Take a good hard look..."

 In Ephesians 2:7-10, the Sacred Scriptures further this thought and continues to lay a foundation of what this "New Life" means...it goes something like this:

 " By yielding our lives to the Lord Jesus, God now has us...right where He wants us! You see, God will actually "point to us" when others are "taking a hard look at Jesus"....as examples of how truly good...how truly kind...how truly merciful...and how much of the incredible wealth of His Grace has been poured into our very lives...all because of the "big heart"...of our Lord Jesus.
 For it is a fact: God has saved us because of the marvelous Grace brought to us entirely through His Only Son, our Lord Jesus, and because we have chose to put our faith and trust in Him, God treats us so much better than we could ever deserve.
 So, as a result, we have now received the greatest gift of all time: our Lord Jesus and the work He has done for us. The crazy part about receiving a gift such as this: we have not done one thing to deserve it.
 And now, we have become God's very masterpiece! Through our Lord Jesus, the plans God has for us...are good plans, and we are now able to live the kind of lives He wanted us to have...in the first place.
 Because of all this work the Lord Jesus has done for us, we can proclaim in our own lives: "Let's Do This!"

 So, the first step to success as a Christian? "Take a good hard look at Jesus"

Ok, this "success thing" may take a little longer than I had previously thought....