Beyond the Facade: Awakening to a Genuine Jesus Movement

2 Kings 11-12; 1 Corinthians 3; Psalm 145

Well, I’ve been writing a lot lately. I’ve been processing a lot. And you know, that’s what we are supposed to do as we read through the Word. It’s supposed to provoke and heal, expose, cut, and divide. The Word is reading us, revealing our innermost thoughts.

Bible reading is truly not for the faint of heart. It takes courage and perseverance to keep listening. The Lord is always speaking. The issue is whether we will continue to have ears to hear.

I’ve noticed when God decides to highlight something, when He desires to come after a thing in us, He will not stop until we yield. We can shut the Bible; He will address us through a friend. We stop attending church, and the theme He’s after in us will come up in a movie.

And we don’t want Him to stop. But to continue on with Him, we need strength to help us endure. So help us, Father. We need Your grace.

Continuing on from the same theme over these last weeks and days, this stands out:

1 Corinthians 3:5-7 “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

We each do our piece. That’s all. Whatever we do, watering or planting, it is the Lord who gives the growth.

Could it be that the Jesus movement we’ve all longed for will come on the heels of a judgment against celebrity Christianity? The exposure of the church in this hour, though necessary, has wreaked havoc on believers across the globe.

Trust in the church and her leaders is at an all-time low. Understandably so. We have lost the plot.

But I wonder if the Lord, in His wisdom, is giving us what we’ve asked for all along. We’ve cried out for a Jesus movement. Maybe the exposure is to make way for the King. He’s removing us from the stage to make way for His Son.

After all, He stands alone.

Deepening Faith: Reflective Journal Prompts

1. Reflect on Personal Exposure: Consider a time when you felt God highlighting something in your life that needed to change. How did you respond, and what was the outcome? Reflect on the importance of being open to God’s correction.
2. The Role of Courage in Bible Reading: How does the idea that “Bible reading is not for the faint of heart” resonate with you? Journal about the challenges and rewards of engaging deeply with Scripture, and where you need courage to continue.
3. God’s Persistent Voice: Reflect on an instance when God spoke to you through unexpected means (a friend, a movie, etc.) when you were trying to avoid His voice. What was He communicating, and how did it affect your spiritual journey?
4. The Impact of Celebrity Christianity: Consider the effects of celebrity Christianity on your own faith and the broader church community. How can we shift our focus from human leaders to Jesus Himself, and what changes might this require in your life?
5. Longing for a Jesus Movement: Reflect on your desires for a Jesus movement in today’s world. How do you reconcile these desires with the current state of the church? What role do you see yourself playing in preparing the way for the King?

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