“The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.” – Jesus, John 14:10

It’s an interesting sensation to know that tens, hundreds, possibly thousands of people are reading with me, sharing the same thoughts, maybe even being inspired by words that first came together in the sometimes vacuous void that poses as gray matter in the space between my ears.

Once in a while, over the next few weeks, I will be referencing my Lenten devotional book, Reaching Toward Easter, as well as dropping in the occasional video message (You can find the videos on my YouTube Chanel – Derek Maul’s YouTube channel).

If you are one of those who is reading along, I hope today’s meditation (Day 8) caught your attention. Here’s an excerpt:

Jesus challenged his friends to believe that God literally inhabited him, and that God “does his works” (v. 10) in and through the life he was living among his friends.

One of the most helpful definitions of salvation can be expressed as “participating in the work of God.” Jesus challenged the disciples to believe, so that they too could participate in the good work that God is up to in the world.

So in the last few days before he is killed by the people his radical ideas threaten, Jesus lays out what is important… God, Jesus points out, is best understood and experienced in terms of allowing God’s work to take up residence in us, and then to believe, and – consequently – to live. (Reaching Toward Easter, p 31)

The Jesus Imperative:

To live, I believe, and to live like we mean it (to live like God means something by our very existence) is what I like to call “The Jesus Imperative.”

This life we live is an adventure. It is a unique journey for each and every one of us. But the common thread is that we are on our way, purposefully, in the great assurance that we are not alone and that we are participants in The Greatest Story Ever Told! Alternatively, we are so much flotsam and jetsam, drifting in response to the tides and currents, neither rooted in a redemptive story nor going anywhere in particular.

These next few weeks, making our way to Holy Week, the cross, and finally resurrection, let’s be more intentional when it comes to the journey, making it a pilgrimage where the Master himself is our friend and guide.

In love, and because love is The Way – DEREK