If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” – John 14:15-21

I have always enjoyed reading the prophets in the Old Testament. Many people, rightfully so at times, think they are the fanatical fringe bunch in the Bible that no one really wants to be around. Like that crazy uncle who comes to holidays that no one really knows how to take. For whatever reason, that’s why I love the prophets–and love being the crazy uncle.

They were often feared and revered in the Old Testament. They spoke and things happened. Whether it was Elijah, Isaiah, Haggai, Jeremiah, Ezekiel–all of them have story after story of God working mightily through them. They were often driven internally to be set apart from others demonstrating a level of holiness and dedication to God that left others inspired and mesmerized. I am confident had I been living during their days I would have battled many false assumptions and stereotypes concerning them. 

As odd as this may sound, your life and my own ought to resemble there’s more than we realize. Why? Because Jesus invites us to be prophetic people… just like the Prophets of old. A loose definition… To be prophetic is to be someone who points to the unseen and moves others closer to the heart of God through their words and actions. Reading the prophets in the Bible will demonstrate that this is what they were about, and more. Their lives were never boring but always filled with adventure–highs and lows–which all centered around a heart radically obedient to what God was speaking.

I assure you, for the follower of Jesus, your life is not meant to be boring. Perhaps you think your life is far from boring. Excellent! But let’s make sure we are tracking together. The kind of adventurous life that would furthest from one described as “boring” is the kind that follows Jesus to difficult places. Places called: forgiving others, serving others, sharing Jesus with a stranger, praying for a friend in the middle of the gym, giving what’s left in your bank account before pay day to someone who needs it more than you, and so on. 

These adventures and more usher in an existence with Jesus that could be described as “Spirit led.” In the Scripture above, we are reminded of the one essential thing Jesus is asking of us… the submission of our hearts to His own. To trust Him. To follow Him. Essentially, to obey Him. But this isn’t something we do alone. The Spirit of God has been given to us to lead us to be those prophetic people. To be able to discern what is wise and what is not. When to jump and when to stay. When to speak and when not to. When to boldly confront and when to hold restraint. Regardless… our part is to obey. But our obedience is directly tied to our discipline in Scripture and prayer as well. We cannot act on what we do not possess. We can not listen to internally what is not present. As we give our time to Him, He guides us on where to go, what to do, and what to say–and its on us to say, “Okay, I am in Lord. I trust you!” 

I pray in the coming days, weeks, and months… the Lord will open wide your eyes to see exactly what you need to step out into faith in, to obey Him fully. It will be difficult. it will be hard. But it will be equally freeing and exhilarating. A prophetic adventure of discovering the joy of a sold out life for the King. 

So, heads up. An opportunity to trust and obey is around the corner. What will you decide? I pray you decide to be like this prophets old. Neither people pleasing nor foolish vagabonds. Instead, they were the wise sages who knew how and when to obey the Father regardless of the cost. 

Lord, be with us as we seek to obey Your truth and commands. Give us strength to be like those Prophets of old who neither cared about cost nor perceptions of others but instead followed Your voice above all others. Help your Church come back to its prophetic place as a beacon of truth and light. In Jesus’s Name Always, amen. 

[It has been quite some time since I have written here. Thankfully, I am settling back into a rhythm of writing and communicating through this blog. Thank you for visiting!]