Are you walking in authority and power?

1 John 2:6 (NIV) Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

This morning I was forced to take an honest look at myself and the way I live my life. I’m reading Relentless: The Power You Need to Never Give Up by John Bevere. In this book I have been challenged to look inward to determine if I am fully using the power that’s available to me through Jesus Christ.

One thing this book has challenged me to do is take an honest look at myself and the way I act, think, and see myself in Christ. This morning as I read the words of 1 John 2:6, I had to ask myself a pretty tough question. Am I living my life the way Jesus lived his? I carefully read this passage of scripture and noticed the word “must”. In his book, Bevere reminds me that this verse is not a suggestion…it’s a command. It’s true. In every translation of the Bible I’ve researched the command is clear. I must live as Christ lived.

So the question becomes, how did Christ live? In the gospel accounts we see Jesus crossing social, racial and political boundaries to meet the needs of those he came in contact with. He healed the sick, opened the eyes and mouths of the blind and deaf, delivered people from the oppression of demons, fed hungry crowds with as little as 5 small loaves of bread and 2 fish, and raised the dead.  

I know what some of you may be thinking. “There is no way I could do those things, after all Jesus was God’s son of course he had His power to tap into.” But you have power too. The same power that Christ had to perform miracles is available to us today. In fact, Christ himself told us in John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these...”

What, we will do even greater things? YES! In Acts 3 we see Peter healing a crippled man. In Acts 5, we see the apostles healing the sick and performing other miracles. Stephen, who wasn’t an apostle at all, performed great miracles among the people (Acts 6).

Can you imagine the influence we, as followers of Christ, could have on this world if we walk the way Christ walked?

Are you living and walking in the authority and power you have in Christ? If not, what’s stopping you?