Moving from GOT TO to GET TO…

Chets Creek Church 

40 Days with Jesus – October 3 – Luke 1:26-38      

What does it mean to spend forty days with Jesus?  Does it mean that for forty days I’ve got to be good (or at least better), or that I’ve got to read my Bible, or that I’ve got to go to church, or that I’ve got to pray?  Does it mean I’ve got to forgive others, and that I’ve got to love those that are hard to love?   And, as a believer, don’t I already have Jesus with me?  So what does it mean to spend forty days with Jesus?

40 Days With Jesus is not just about knowing more facts about Jesus, it is about spending time with Jesus.  What I need to experience Jesus is not a weekly religious Botox shot that improves my outward appearance, but heart surgery.  My heart must move from a relationship with Jesus that is based on got to’s to one that is based on get to’s.  I get to spend time with Jesus.

I must transition from got to’s to get to’s.  It’s what Mary said in reply to the angel Gabriel after he told her she would give birth to Jesus . . .I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants.  It is the realization that spending time with Jesus is not something I have to do, but something I get to do.  I get to worship, I get to give, I get to pray, I get to forgive, I get to witness, I get to read His Word.  It is God doing whatever He wants with me because I am His servant.

²⁸ Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Congratulations, favored lady! The Lord is with you”! ²⁹ Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. ³⁰ “Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to wonderfully bless you! ³¹ Very soon now, you will become pregnant and have a baby boy, and you are to name him `Jesus.’ <sup>32</sup> He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his ancestor David. <sup>33</sup> And he shall reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom shall never end!” <sup>34</sup> Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.” <sup>35</sup> The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy–the Son of God. <sup>36</sup> Furthermore, six months ago your Aunt Elizabeth–`the barren one,’ they called her–became pregnant in her old age! ³⁷ For every promise from God shall surely come true.” ³⁸ Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared. Luke 1:28-38 (TLB)

Perhaps your prayer will be the same as Mary’s; I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants as He moves your heart from having to spend time with Him to getting to spend time with Him.

Glenn Reese

www.chetscreek.com