Let's Normalize Being Like Jesus in 2025

I have been thinking and pondering this message, and I’m trying to think of where I’m headed. And I was thinking about this phrase — and Jay said that he’s never really heard it that much — but has anyone ever heard it said, or written, or memed, or whatever? I don’t know how we get our information these days. But we’ve heard the phrase, “Let’s normalize…” “Let’s normalize saying no.” “Let’s normalize…” and then fill in the blank. Like, let’s just make this normal.

And I was thinking about this phrase, “let’s normalize,” and I’ve heard it more and more. And as I’ve thought about it, it sometimes challenges my own thoughts on how I live my life. How do I live my life as a believer? How do I live my life in this world, in culture? And how do the two kind of clash? Because they should, and they do clash.

I was trying to think — I’m really bad at coming up with names for my messages, really, really bad — but this one I’m just going to call “Let’s Normalize Being Like Jesus in 2025.”

Who decided what normal is?

You know, as I was reading in Hebrews — we’ve been in Hebrews — I was reading in Hebrews 11, and it talks about all of these people who were people of faith before Jesus had even come, who were choosing to actually live in a faith and a hope in promises, in prophetic words, that were to come. And they didn’t quite live normally.

You know, it’s really easy also, I think, when we think about it, to just be a good Christian, right? “Oh, you do your thing; I’m going to do my thing.” And really just stay away and stay on the edges of doing the right thing, being the good person, and never letting our Christianity come into conflict with the culture of this world. Because actually, to let our Christianity come into conflict with this world is very uncomfortable. We like phrases like, “Oh, well, you just live your truth.” We hear all of these things that kind of want to normalize who we are.

But I just want to decide, or determine, that this upcoming year we would be people who would normalize being more like Jesus. And as we normalize that for ourselves and grow in our relationship with Jesus, there is going to be friction. There’s going to be some tension. It’s going to be uncomfortable. Because when we look and we read through Scripture, we see that people weren’t really ever comfortable. We see that people were really in conflict between what they wanted to do, or maybe what culture was telling them to do, and what Jesus was calling and inviting them into.

You know, society has created the system of normal — what normal behavior should look like at a certain age, what normal is, right? Society tells us what normal is. But who determined what normal is? Who determines what’s really normal? Who got to decide that? And we all of a sudden find ourselves in these constructs of living, and we will just sometimes do things because it’s what’s expected.

I was thinking — and this is a really silly example — but we have a long-haired dachshund. His name is Hank. And I’ve shared this before: Jay said when we got our dog, he was never going to sleep in our bed. “He’s never doing that.” Okay? He was crate trained. And one night Hank was snuggling so close to me, and I looked at Jay in my exhaustion and just said, “Just this one night. Let’s just see what it’s like to let the dog sleep with us, just this one time.” Oh man. Well, guess what Hank does now, all the time? He sleeps with us.

And as I tell you, you guys laugh, because some of you might have dogs that sleep in your beds with you and have experiences, and other people would be like, “I would never do that.” Sometimes I think, this is an animal. He is an animal who’s sleeping in bed. He’ll snuggle with me — I was sharing with some people — he’ll snuggle with me and put his head right here, and I just think, if he decided to be an animal, I would be done for, in like two bites. But anyways, I still just snuggle with him. But it’s normal, right? We all can kind of laugh about that, because we all have some sort of frame of reference.

But how did we get there? Believe it or not — and Jay laughed at me — dachshunds were created to hunt. They’re actually hunting dogs. They hunted badgers. They hunted animals underground. That’s what they were intended to do. Because he once laughed, and he goes, “What is he good for?” I’m like, “He’s intended to hunt!” He’s this little guy who’s intended to hunt both above ground and underground. That’s what he was created to do. And somewhere — and we all have different dogs — somehow, all of a sudden, it became normal for our dogs to sleep with us. It became this commonplace thing, just a preference. But when did that happen? When did we change from these hunting dogs and being outside dogs to bringing them inside? It just kind of happened over time. Somewhere it just became normal.

And while that’s a really silly, light example, I think if we could look at our own lives — and we look at society, we look at culture — we see how certain things have just become normal. We just come to church maybe because that’s what we’re supposed to do. Or we might feel like, “Oh, I should say something — but I’m not going to say anything.” Even if we feel like the Lord’s speaking to us or nudging us, we normalize it: “Oh, maybe I’m just overthinking something.” We allow these things to come in and become normal.

And I just believe that in 2025, as we head into this next year, there are a few opportunities for us as a church and as individuals to live a life where it just becomes so normal that we’re like Jesus.

Not perfection, but holiness

Now, here’s how we cannot be like Jesus, and I should just start off the bat by saying this: He’s not calling us to perfection. Jesus was the only one who was perfect. So He’s not calling us to perfection. He is calling us to holiness. He is calling us into righteousness, into right standing with Him. And He has given us the grace and the mercy that it’s never about being a perfect Christian. It’s actually just growing more like Him. It’s about positioning our hearts and our minds to grow like Him, to grow in holiness, to grow in righteousness. Those are things that are available to us. But this has nothing to do with perfection.

I think it’s really important for me to say that, because I think sometimes we think, “Well, I’m not perfect.” Well, none of us are. The only person that could be is Jesus. He is the only person that is perfect. We’re all being perfected until Christ returns, but we’re not called to be perfect.

But as we head into this, I believe that there are a few things that I want to challenge you to consider, to keep before the Lord, to spend some time with. I personally like to go into the new year and just spend some time reflecting: “Who’s the Lord? What are the roles in my life? What is He asking of me?” Because we shouldn’t just continue with business as usual. I mean, we can do this anytime, but the new year is just kind of that marker to be like, “Okay, it’s a fresh start.” I mean, every day is a fresh start, but it just is that big marker that kind of gives us that permission to say, “What do I want to be intentional about this year?”

Citizens of heaven

So we read in Philippians — if you have your Bibles; I’ll have it on screen — Philippians 3:17 through 21. It says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

Now, when I read it before, I felt like it was a little bit of a tongue twister, as you can hear. But what I really want to point out in here is: What does it mean to be a citizen of heaven? See, when we receive Jesus into our heart — when we say, “Lord, would You come into my life?” — we now have this dual citizenship that happens. We become citizens of earth here, right? We live here. But now we’re also citizens of heaven. How do we have this duality of citizenship as we’re walking as humans here on earth?

Well, the first thing that I just thought of is: What does it look like in heaven? When I think about citizenship, when I think about what it’s like to be a dual citizen, and just what makes sense in my mind, I would think, well, you would go by the terms of the two countries you live in, right? You might have customs of one, old-country customs of your other country, right? There’s this duality of citizenship. So what is citizenship? What does it mean to be a citizen of heaven?

So we’re going to turn to Revelation, because I want us to first read what heaven is like. Because in order for us to understand — if we’re going to normalize living like Jesus in 2025, and it talks about our citizenship not being just here on earth, but in heaven — what does heaven look like?

In Revelation 21:1–5 it says, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’” Verse 4: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’”

Here John is describing this beautiful example of what’s going to happen in the end. But he describes heaven in a way that I think we have to grapple through. It says there’s no more pain, there’s no more sorrow, there are no more tears. It says that He makes all things new, right? And then He says, “Make sure you write these things down, because they are true and faithful.”

Now, if our citizenship is in heaven, and we know that in heaven there is no sorrow, there is no pain, there is no crying, there is nothing but perfection and glory and worshiping God — how do we live on earth, where there’s pain, where there’s sorrow, where there’s dying? How do we reconcile the two? How do we reconcile it when there’s sickness, and we know that there is healing made available to us through Christ? How do we know to live in joy when we feel so desperately hopeless? How do we reconcile the two?

Engage with people’s normal

I actually think that there are a few things in the invitation. Number one, I think we’re called to engage with the normal. Now, what is the normal? It’s the pain, it’s the suffering, it’s the sickness and the death that we see every day. That’s kind of the normal for people, right? If you talk to people — just in the store: “How’s your day? How’s it going?” “Eh, things aren’t too good. Things are feeling really tight.” “Oh, I’m not getting along with my mom.” Right? Think about what people’s normal life looks like around you. I can only kind of paint a small picture, but what does normal look like for those around you?

I believe in order for us to normalize living like Jesus in 2025, we’re called to engage with people’s normal. We’re called to engage in those places of pain and suffering, and people’s sickness, and people’s death. I believe that we have an opportunity to engage with people in their suffering. I believe that He’s calling us not to have the answers — because there’s only one answer to everything, and it’s Jesus — but He calls us to engage and bring Jesus to those places. To not run from it. To not say, “That’s your problem.” To not be inconvenienced. To not just let it be.

But I believe in this upcoming year — and years to come; this isn’t just for 2025 — I believe that as a church we have an opportunity. We’re turning the bend somewhere, and we’ll either turn with it, or I think that some of us will just veer off and just be a good Christian. And to turn with it means that we’re going to be called to engage with people and not have the answer, but bring the answer. Because I don’t know how Jesus heals the brokenhearted; I just know He heals the brokenhearted. I don’t know how Jesus makes people feel the comfort when people are in such deep sorrow, but I know He says He’ll draw near to people when they’re in deep sorrow. I know that to be true.

And I believe that we have an opportunity to turn and engage with people in their normal life — and not be like them, but be Jesus, and bring Jesus to those situations. But I’m going to tell you, it’s uncomfortable, because we’re going to be faced with questions we don’t have answers to. We’re going to be faced with questions of, “Why does God allow suffering? He doesn’t…” “Why did this happen? I thought I did all the right things.” And I believe that it’s not to just have the answers — even though we like to have the answers — but to sit and be in sorrow with people.

In Romans 12:9 through 21 — and I actually talked about this. As I was writing my message, I was like, “I feel like I talked about this verse not too long ago,” and then I started doubting myself: “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t…” No — this is what I feel like the Lord is bringing us back to. This is what engaging with other people’s normal, or our own normal, is to look like. It says:

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” That’s part of it.

Now here he continues on to say, “distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

“Therefore” — because the Lord says, “I will take care of you, because I will be the one who decides and gets to be the judge” — He says, “Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

I believe that as we have the opportunity to engage with people’s situations, this is what He’s calling us to do: to learn how to weep with people who are weeping, to learn how to rejoice with people as they’re rejoicing. Someone else’s success has nothing to do with you, and we can celebrate someone else’s success, right? I have teenagers, so this is often a conversation we have, right? Someone else’s success doesn’t mean that you don’t get to have success. It just means we can rejoice in their success and know that the Lord is good and that He is faithful.

And when someone is weeping and is sorrowful, that we would be people who would sit with people in their pain — and not try to fix it, not try to push it away, but just sit there and silently pray and be with them, or go take them some food, or whatever it might be. I believe that the Lord wants us to learn how to engage in the uncomfortability of the world’s systems, and not be so comfortable that we ignore it, but that we now become a people who will engage with it.

Because the one thing that you and I have, that I can be sure of — and I love when He says it in Revelation — is “these words are true and faithful.” Because we serve a God whose words are true and faithful. And it’s okay if we put ourselves out there and we pray for someone and we don’t see their healing. It’s not about us. We’re not the magicians. All we’re called to do is be like Him, have Him walk with us, and be with people where they find themselves, and bring Jesus in there. So I feel like the first part is that we’re called to be with people in the midst of where they find themselves. And that is a little costly.

Setting hope before one another

The second place, I believe, is that we are to be a people who live in a hope that’s set before us. Look, I know that life is not perfect. I know that even in this room, we’re all probably, to a certain level, going through things that people may or may not be aware of. We may be walking through our own things personally or with our family. We don’t know what each and every person in this place is really going through. But I do believe that we can still be a people who live with a hope that’s set before us.

But what does it look like to live that out with one another? Because if you aren’t getting what I’m getting at: I believe that in 2025, as a church specifically, He is calling us to live life closer together — to live life uncomfortably, you know — and to live life where we would be people who would set hope in front of people when they’re feeling hopeless.

You know, there are times that Jay and I will be going through stuff, and there are people who I call, and what I need them to do is not necessarily have the answer — not even tell me everything’s going to be okay. I just need them to set the hope before me and say, “But hey — but remember what Jesus says. Remember where Jesus has called you. Has He called you away from Madison? No? Okay. So I’m going to tell you, your hope stays where you need to be,” right? Or whatever it might be. There are just people who remind us of the hope that’s set before us as we’re walking through things: “You’re not feeling better, but what does God’s Word say? Let me pray for you. If your faith isn’t there, that’s okay. Let me pray for you, and set the hope that’s before you,” where there’s a discrepancy between what you know and where you want to be. I believe He wants us to be people that set hope before other people so they can live it out.

But I’m going to tell you, it’s messy, because people’s lives are messy. As I was reading Hebrews, I was very intrigued by Moses. Because if you guys are unfamiliar, I’ll summarize who Moses is: he was a mess. Moses was a mess, okay?

Moses was almost killed as a baby. And when I read it and I try to visualize it — they kept him silent for like three months. How they did that, I have no clue. There was a decree that went out that all of the Hebrew babies — all the boys — would be killed. And so his parents decide, “I’m going to go against what’s being said.” They hide him, and when they’re unable to keep him hidden anymore, they weave this basket and they put him in it, and Pharaoh’s daughter comes out, and he’s found. And the sister’s waiting by as Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses, and says, “Let me find you someone who will nurse the baby,” and calls his mom, and all this stuff.

So anyway, Moses, in the beginning of his life, is in this place where he doesn’t even belong. He’s supposed to be technically dead, and now he finds himself in the king’s palace. And in this, Moses, being a mess, lives a life that wasn’t his own, and he’s conflicted about it. He ends up murdering somebody. Now, that’s just also crazy as I’m reading this. And then after he does it — to kind of avenge his people, his bloodline — those people reject him. And so he runs away. And God finds him after he runs away, and He sends him back, and He says, “You’re going to go back, and you’re going to deliver My people.”

This is great news, right? God has a calling on your life — you’re going to go back and do this. And guess what? There’s just more of a mess. And these children of Israel, whom he’s trying to set free — I’m just trying to paint a picture, because I want us to understand it’s not so simple — he goes, and there are these plagues that are coming in his name. And then the children of Israel finally go, and they find themselves in the wilderness, and guess who they’re mad at? They’re mad at Moses. And Moses is just like, “Man, I’m just trying to do what God asked me to do. I didn’t plan any of this.” And then they have this great promise from God, and it says in Hebrews — and also when you read in Exodus — Moses never makes it into the promised land. He gets to see it, but he doesn’t even get to experience the promise of him walking out, trying to be obedient to God.

It was messy. I mean, it was a mess. When he murdered someone, that should have just been the end. And yet God’s like, “Okay, wait a minute. Let’s back up. Let’s go again.” And I wrestle through that — the people who we see in Scripture are living these complicated, messy lives.

And so I say all that to say: to bring hope in God, and to share the hope of God with people, is going to be messy. There are going to be people who are going to be mad at you, who are like, “I thought you said if I followed Jesus everything would be better,” or whatever it might be. And our call, I believe, as a church, as a people, is to just live life with people and allow it to be messy, to allow it to feel uncomfortable.

I don’t like to feel uncomfortable. There’s a certain — what’s the word I’m looking for? — there’s a place I do ministry, and it’s really uncomfortable for me. Really uncomfortable. And every time, I think, “Okay, Suzie, you’re going to keep your phone — you’re not pulling out your phone. No one’s talking to you? That’s fine. You’re going to just leave your phone in your pocket. You’re going to sit here and feel uncomfortable, because the Lord’s asked you to be here.” And so I sit, and I want to fidget, because I’m one of those people — I’m going to be really honest — that opens my phone and opens an app just to open my phone and open my app and do nothing. I will admit it. It’s a problem. I’m trying to figure it out. That’s just what I do.

You know, statistically, look how many times you open your phone and open apps. It is crazy. I don’t look at mine, because I don’t want to know. But I do it often. It’s like the habit now: I just open my phone, slide it, don’t do anything, close it back up. So I sit in the uncomfortableness, because that’s where God’s called me. But I believe He wants us to get in that place. That place is where we actually meet Him. It’s in that place where our minds are so desperate — or I can be so desperate — like, “God, I need You. Something needs to happen here.” And I’m calling out to Him, versus looking to the world for answers.

I believe in 2025 He wants us to be a people who engage with others in a way that it’s messy and uncomfortable. And our heart isn’t to just be messy; it’s that we give grace to one another for the mess. You guys with me?

Put on Christ

All right, the last place. So in 2025, I believe He’s calling us, number one, to be people who engage with the normal of people’s lives and not ignore it. He’s calling us also, number two, to be a people who live in a hope that’s set before us, especially with others. And then the last one is that we would put on Christ. Now, this is a big one. What does it mean to put on Christ?

So Jesus came, lived, and died and rose again so we could live life reconciled with our Father in heaven — in relationship with Him, not just in knowing Him. Now, I was thinking about this. There are plenty of people that I know — plenty of people that I have opinions about or thoughts about, or celebrities that I’ve read about, right, that I think I know, whatever. There are plenty of people that I’m in “knowing-ship” of. But then there are people that I’m in deep relationship with. And when you’re in deep relationship, you know their nuances. You know their likes and their dislikes.

One of the things I think about is my kids. I know my kids, and I’m in relationship with my kids. So because I’m in relationship with my kids, I go places and I’m like, “Oh, I think they’ll like this,” and I pick up their favorite snack. Or, “Oh, I think my son would love it if —” I know this for a fact — my son would love it if we got Wingstop after church, right? So I know on Sundays he is usually at home watching football, so I’m like — the other two sometimes will have some — “Hey, let’s get Wingstop,” right? I know what kind of sauce they like. I know my kids. I’m in relationship with my kids. I know their nuances, their voice. They know me, right? They’ll be like, “Mom, what’s wrong? What’s your problem?” Well, I don’t think they say “What’s your problem,” right? But they are also in relationship, and they know when I’m off. They know if my attitude’s kind of stinky. They’ll say, “Your attitude’s kind of stinky,” or they’ll say it in a way that’s nicer sometimes. But we are in relationship with each other.

So when I’m saying we put on Jesus, it’s more than just knowing Him. It’s being in relationship with Him, and we’re walking in the newness of the things that He’s telling us and showing us.

You know, I was thinking about this. My son just bought himself a truck. Really big deal. I’m very proud of him, okay? He just got his own first car. He’s so excited about it. We’re so excited. We’re so thrilled, okay? This is a really big deal. And I was thinking, there are things that he has to do on his own for his truck now, right? It’s your truck. Needed windshield wipers? “This is where you go get windshield wipers. This is where you do this.” There are things he’s got to do. But then I’m like, “Oh, you know what would be really cool for his truck?” One of those covers in the back, right? And it’s not anything he’s asking for. It’s just something I’m thinking, and I’m like, “That would be really cool. He parks outside; he’s not in the garage. And snow.” Right?

There’s this place of deep relationship where he is responsible for his own things, his actions, and pieces of that truck. But then, as his mom, I’m like, “Oh, there are these things that would just make your life better,” right? There’s this relationship that we’re in, that we just walk in sequence — or sometimes out of sequence — in. So I say all this because of my love and my relationship with him: there’s not much that I wouldn’t do for him. There’s not much I wouldn’t do for any of them. How much more is a Father toward us?

So when I talk about putting on Jesus, here’s where I realize the rub sometimes can come a little bit. Because before we can put on Jesus — actually be in relationship with Him — I think we have to figure out: What’s our view about our relationship with Jesus? Are we good just knowing Him? “Oh, I know He’ll do those things. I know He’s a Healer. I know I should go to church. I know I should maybe raise my hands. I know I should pray. I know those things, and I’m good with that. I’ll pray, and I’ll raise my hands, and I’ll go to church, and I’m good.” But He’s calling us to reconciled relationship — which means that when I’m living Monday through Friday, or Monday through Saturday, Monday through Sunday, we are so deeply in sync, or aware of one another, that it shifts the way I live my life.

But what I realize is there are plenty of things that have happened in many people’s lives — maybe for some of you younger people, in your parents’ lives; as we get older, in our own lives, right — that change our perspective of who we think Jesus is. And we begin to wrestle with, “Well, why did Jesus let this happen?” Or, “Jesus must be mad at me because I did this.” “Jesus doesn’t care.” “Jesus was absent.” And what happens is these lies are the things that prevent us from engaging in an actual relationship with Jesus that calls us to His feet and into His presence.

See, if we think that Jesus is just far off, and something we know about, and something that we do, He’ll always be far off, and it’ll just be what we do, and we’ll never actually get to that place of intimately knowing Him. Because it is, at least for myself, sometimes awkward to sit in my room and pray in the silence and feel like it’s empty. Or sometimes, when I’ve prayed and things don’t work out the way I think they should work out, it begins to create this doubt in my mind: “Maybe I didn’t really know Him. Or maybe that’s not really what He meant. Or maybe I was bad.”

Because so often our relationship with God is a reflection of our relationship with our own parents, right? So there have been times where I know that I’ve been in a bad mood, so then the kids won’t approach me, because I’m unapproachable, right? I’m prickly, I’m upset, I’m cranky, I’m tired, I’m whatever. So then the kids stay away, because they’re like, “Oh, Mom’s in a bad mood. Mom’s having a bad day. So I’m just going to try to do all the right things, because Mom’s in a mood,” in this space. The thing with that is, then I could hopefully repair and say, “I’m sorry,” or whatever, right? There is this place where we can try to repair our relationship.

But when we think that Jesus is mad at us — He never moves, but what do we begin to do? We begin to come off of it: “Oh, because I didn’t go to church…” Because we think if we do these things, we know Him. And all He’s saying is, “No, just come and spend time with Me. Come lay your concerns at My feet.” In Matthew — I’m not going to read it — it talks about where He says, if you, being evil, sinful people, would give your children good things, how much more would I not do it for you, as your heavenly Father? Just ask and seek.

But because — myself, right, I just said I pick up my phone three thousand times a day and just fidget to fidget, because we’re uncomfortable with just the sitting — we actually never learn how to be in relationship with Him. And then things happen, because we live in a sinful world, because not everyone loves Jesus, and we have free will. And what happens then is we begin to create this framework: “Maybe Jesus didn’t hear us.” Or, “He doesn’t care.” Or, “If He cared, I would no longer be struggling with this.” Or, “If He cared, I’d have breakthrough in this area.” And the whole reason is we can’t put on Jesus and also have those thoughts about Him, because that’s not who He is. Those are our experiences that are trying to taint our perspective or perception of Him. And this is important, because it matters how we then approach life and other people.

You know what I think keeps the kids coming back after I’ve been prickly or cranky or whatever it might be? It’s that they know: “I know my mom. I know she loves me,” right? There’s relational equity — I’ve put in enough time that they know who she is. And even when I’ve been hurtful and mean — because, I wish — right, we all have horrible moments — they still say, “But my mom loves me,” right? She knows me.

The thing is, Jesus is perfect. Our heavenly Father is perfect. And while, yes, righteousness and holiness are part of being in relationship with Him, He’s always there and just says, “Come back to Me. Come raise your hands. I know you don’t feel like it’s doing something, or that you’re worthy, or anything.” And He just says, “No, just come and worship Me. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Me.” Because He loved us. Think about this: He loved us while we were still sinners. When Jesus died on the cross, it wasn’t because we were these perfect people. It was in the hope of us being brought back into relationship, so we could have relationship with Him.

And because our relationships here on earth are so messy, we oftentimes treat God as if He’s that way. But I believe in this upcoming year He wants us to understand how we view Him, because how we view Him will determine how we come to Him. And if we’re called to be people who are living with people in their pain and their suffering, and we’re walking through our own pain and suffering, our perspective of who God is absolutely matters. Because if we think He’s distant, far off, or punishing us — which He does none of those things — we will stay distant and far and keep ourselves in the corner, thinking we deserve it. And all He’s saying is, “Would you just come to Me? Long before you could do anything, I loved you. That’s why I died on the cross.”

And so when we feel that doubt and that shame and that condemnation, we have to be quicker to say, “That’s not who my Father is.” See, this is so important, because I believe Jesus is the only answer. And it’s okay that we don’t know all the nuances. I still have questions. I still read Scripture and I’m just like, “Wait, what?” I’ve got to read that a few more times: “Wait, how?” I don’t have all the answers. But I do know that Jesus is the answer, because that was God’s answer. So if Jesus is the answer, we just need to know: “You are the answer. So I’m going to keep reading. I’m going to keep praying. I’m going to keep sitting until something changes in me,” because that’s the only thing that can change, because He never changes.

It says that His Word will not return void, but it’ll do the very thing it was sent to do. So if Jesus has said it, if it’s been said in Scripture, it will come to pass. It may not look like how we think it ought to come to pass. It may not look like how we want it to look. And it may be uncomfortable, and step into some places that we don’t have answers for. But here’s the thing: He never asked us to have answers, because He was already the answer.

So I believe that as we’re coming into this new year, we need to remember that He loved us when we were broken and sinful — so much that He died for us — and He’s just waiting and saying, “Would you just come?” And maybe you don’t know how to pray. Read. Ask somebody. Ask somebody: “I just need your help.” And it goes back to saying it’s going to be inconvenient and uncomfortable. But He’s calling us to live in communion with each other and communion with Him.

High time to awake

So what does it look like? Because that’s just dealing with how we view Jesus. So what does it look like to put on Christ? We’re going to go to Romans chapter 13. I’m going to start in verse 8.

Now, I’m going to tell you — when I read Scripture, if we’re reading Scripture, it should illuminate our heart. I was reading in Philippians, and my mom was asking me about something, and I said, “Yeah, I was reading something,” and it just reflected back. It wasn’t condemnation. It wasn’t guilt. It was just like, “Huh. I’ve got to get closer to You, Lord,” because my response, my thoughts, were not quite like Scripture says they ought to be. So this is always an invitation to where we could come to — not that we’ve already arrived. Does that make sense?

Romans chapter 13 — what does it look like to put on Christ? “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep.”

I believe that right there — when I read that, I felt like that was an echoing: it is time to awake from our sleep. “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” He’s saying the time is coming. You thought we were coming to an end? Now it’s even closer than you think. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

To put on Christ makes no space to let our flesh do whatever we think our flesh needs to do — respond in a way, act in a way, be passive-aggressive in a way, right? He’s saying you leave no room for your flesh. When you put on Christ, you get to say, “I get to love you, because Christ loved me first.” But that’s a growing and knowing of who God is in us. Do you see how that works? I can’t just love someone freely on my own accord. I know that there are some people that I love, really, right? There are other people that I’m like, “But they’re not my neighbor, Lord.” No, it’s a joke, okay? You guys get what I mean, right? “You said love my neighbor — they’re not my neighbor.” No. But I believe to put on Christ is to make space for the Lord to allow His Word to illuminate us — to illuminate those places where we have trouble trusting and knowing Him — and to love one another.

It’s going to be messy. I believe that it is absolutely going to be messy. And even as I was writing this, I was like, “Are we sure? Are we for sure, for sure, Lord?” This is between you and the Lord. But I believe, as a church, this is where He’s calling us to be. I don’t know what that’s going to look like, honestly. But I do know that He’s calling us to live in greater community with one another — to hold each other up, to walk with each other, to be vulnerable with each other in those places where you want to hide.

But I tell you, when we bring those things to the light, they die — those deep things that you think, “Oh, but God would never…” No. I believe now is a time that He wants us to walk in greater freedom and hope. Because when we walk in greater freedom and hope, we can walk in greater freedom with other people, and not get caught up in their whirlwind and their mess, but we can actually be productive and help clean up some things.

Prayer and benediction

So would you guys stand with me? I’m going to pray over you, and then I have a benediction to pray over you.

Heavenly Father, we just thank You. We thank You for sending Jesus. Jesus, we thank You for being obedient and for loving us. Lord, we thank You that we can have a reconciled relationship with You. Lord, I pray that all of us would grow in a greater understanding of what it means to know and be in relationship with You — that it’s not about doing, it’s not about tasks, it’s not just doing the right things. But, Lord, I pray that we would be awakened in our spirit, that our spirit would no longer be sleeping. The places that have been passive about our relationship — Lord, I just declare in Jesus’ name that in 2025 those places would be awakened. That we would no longer settle just because it’s normal, just because it happens, just because it’s supposed to be the way that it is, Lord. But that we would experience Your supernatural understanding of who You are, Lord. That there would be a supernatural growth and acceleration in our relationship with You. That we would walk in a greater understanding of what it means — “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Lord, I pray that those proclamations, those scriptures, would become true here in our lives individually, but also as a church.

Father God, we thank You for how You have sustained us, how You have held us, how You have been close through this year, Lord, as we’ve all navigated our own weariness, our own pain, our own suffering, our own highs, our celebrations, and our joys. Lord, we thank You that You have held us close, that You’ve never moved. Lord, I pray that our eyes would be open, our hearts and our ears would be open, to see where You are moving. Lord, when everything around us maybe seems to be spinning, Lord, I pray that we would hear and find You in the midst of what we’re going through. But God, we thank You that You have held us, that You’ve sustained us, and that You are faithful. And so, God, we declare that You will hold us, that You will continue to be faithful, Lord, and that You are just a good God. Lord, that Your Word will not return void in our life. Lord, that Your Word would come to pass.

Lord, I pray that You would give us scripture to stand on. Lord, that You would give us vision for this upcoming year for our family. Lord, I pray that places where we have felt dead, that have felt like they’ve died, like they’ve just been taken over by the seas of life — like we were singing — that Your life would be breathed into them, Lord. That there would just be a freshness and a newness in this upcoming year. Lord, I pray that we would begin to have an understanding of who You say we are — not what the world has said, not even what our parents have said, not what our coworkers have said, but what You’ve said about us. Lord, I pray that the lies that have been entangling us about who You are would be broken off in Jesus’ name.

Lord, we thank You that You tell us in Scripture not to look to the left or to the right, but to keep our eyes on You. Lord, I thank You that we will be a church that keeps our eyes on You, that we will not be turned around by the distractions of the world, by the distractions of the enemy. But, Lord, the vision and the hope and the dream that You have for our congregation, for our church in this place — Lord, that we would begin to see things come to pass. Lord, we thank You that as we’ve all sown seeds, Lord, there would be fruit and a harvest in this upcoming year.

God, we thank You that You’re faithful, that You can be trusted. Lord, I thank You that we would be a people who would engage with our minds when the lies of the enemy would come to speak — that we would rise up, with boldness or with a whisper or whatever it would be, to speak the truth of who You are, God. Lord, I thank You that the plan that You have for people is not ruined. They’ve not been forsaken. They’ve not been forgotten, God. But You see, and You know where each one of us is. Lord, I pray that we would be convinced of that.

Lord, I pray that there would be an increase in our dreams. Lord, that there would be an increase in our hearing. Lord, I pray that our ears would be open to hear You speak. Lord, I pray that our flesh would be quick to yield to You in obedience. Lord, that we would yield to the Holy Spirit wherever we are. Lord, I pray that You would continue to give us eyes and ears to hear You in this time. God, we thank You for who You are. We thank You for Your faithfulness, Lord — that we could spend endless days thinking of how You’ve been faithful in this year, how in the midst of everything You could still be found. Lord, so we look to 2025 with expectation. We look to 2025 with joy. We look to 2025 with hope, knowing that You are faithful, You are good, and that You are not moved. You are not moved by the wind. You are not moved by circumstances. And so, God, that is the God we serve. Lord, I thank You for those things. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen and amen.

This is my benediction over you: May our God, who can keep us from stumbling, have your attention. May you be aware of the exceeding joy you bring Him. We serve a God who is wise, glorious, present, who has dominion and power over the places we surrender to Him. May He be glorified in your life. Would we walk in mercy and peace, and would His love be multiplied to you and others this week.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.