Your Ride With Jesus

By Holly Culhane

The subject line of the email jumped out at me:  “Your Ride with Jesus on October 15”.  Yes, I rode with Jesus on October 15, but don’t I ride with him every day??

And then, I remembered….  Our most recent ride-share driver had been Jesús, a gentle, quiet, and gracious man who transported us from a hotel to an airport the day before. I smiled. The email was referencing Jesús, not Jesus! Oh, my goodness!

I love that I thought of Jesus when I saw the name, rather than Jesús, but before my mind could rush forward, I asked myself, “Do I really ride with Jesus every day… or do I just think I do?  Am I really always with him… or do I just say I am?”

As I pondered the question, the reality of whether I’m “sitting on the bleachers of passive faith or on the field of active awakening” struck me hard.  In the Seedbed Daily Text, J. D. Walt notes, “This journey from the bleachers to the field goes by a few different names:  training, conditioning, disciple-making, etc.”  He goes on to say, “The Christian faith has become more about practicing at practicing, staying stuck in ruts of mindless motion, doing the things of faithfulness without really growing in the strength of faith and otherwise slowly slipping into a state of sleep.”

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8

Oh, the “so that’s” of Scripture!  We typically find them attached to a very specific action that will result in a very specific outcome. God’s “so that” to Joshua comes with an “always”.

Walt notes there’s something “fascinating about that term ‘always’.  You know what it really means?  ALWAYS.  It means at all times in all your ways” (emphasis added).

So… am I always riding with Jesus?  Am I with Him every day?  Are His words, the “Book of Law”, always on my lips?  Am I speaking the words of the great I Am?  Am I mouthing them, shouting them, whispering them, quietly and secretly, as well as out loud, every day?

“As the Word of God comes forth from your mouth, it is going forth from God’s mouth.  It then comes into your hearing. Remember, faith comes by hearing. From your ears, it makes its way to your heart and from your heart to your mind, spirit, soul, and strength.”

Dear under-shepherd, may this admonition from the Father to Joshua – via a reminder by J. D. Walt – remind us that to ride with Jesus is to know His Word, His ways, His truth and apply them ALWAYS … every day in every situation.