LUKE 9:51-53 – When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE RESOLVED CHRISTIAN LIFE. There are two similar phrases in today’s scripture giving us a great insight to the heart and life of the Lord Jesus. The first one reads “he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” The other one is “his face was set toward Jerusalem.” As one ponders this picture of Jesus, words like “determined, undistracted, and resolved” come to mind. Our Lord Jesus lived life on purpose and in one direction – His Father’s will. No human, or even Satanic, distraction would pull Him off course. He came on a mission; He lived on a mission; and He finished His mission. Our Lord came, lived, and died with resolve. And if we intend to live the Christian life as He provided for and desires, then we, too, must be people of great resolve. The Christian life doesn’t just happen. It requires grace-empowered, gut-wrenching, and exhausting resolve; a stick-to-it-ness that refuses compromise and that in at least three areas.

First, the Christian life is lived with the resolve to say “no” to the powerful allurements of the world’s pleasures. The Apostle John exhorts us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). Friends, we cannot be enamored with the things of the world and the Lord of heaven. There can be no competition in our heart’s affection. And it takes great resolve to not allow the world to grip our hearts.

Next, the Christian life is lived with the resolve to say “no” to the screams for comfort from our sinfully lazy flesh. King Solomon provides a strong warning about sloth, which is a manifestation of the flesh’s cry for comfort, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:10-11). The Christian life will exhaust a person. It requires great sacrifice bringing fatigue. If we are not resolved to put the flesh down, not cave into our desire for ease, then we will consistently fall short of the Christian life as defined by the scriptures. And this fight against the flesh is daily.

Finally, the Christian life is lived with the resolve to say “no” to the temptations of the devil to ignore God’s Word. He did this to Eve and it continues to be the tactic derailing a lot of Christians – Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:1-6). Put time into this Genesis account of the fall and notice Satan’s attacks; doubt of God’s Word, then distorting God’s Word, followed by doubting God’s Word, ending in the sad disobeying God’s Word. And the pattern holds true for us. Be resolved to be true to the Word.

Jesus was resolved from start to finish. And His pattern is ours to follow. The resolved Christian is the Biblical Christian.

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for grace that saves me and strengthens me to seek Your face.”

QUOTE: “The Christian life is not lived without effort. Saving grace does not produce spiritual laziness.”