We are constantly reminded that we need to use electricity sparingly. Paul also teaches us how to use God’s power in 2 Corinthians 12. Verse 9 in particular shares the biggest lesson. It says that God’s power works through human weakness. Do you remember these words: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

I hear a few vital things about God’s power from Paul:

Lesson 1: God is the only Source of Power. It’s all about Him and never about us or our spiritual power trips! God is the origin of all life, grace, goodness, and power. All honor goes to Him.

Lesson 2: We don’t need to feel God’s power before He starts working. Most of the time, He’s working despite what we feel, see or experience.

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I have always wondered how I can put words to my faith and being a follower of Jesus. Then I expressed it in manifesto form. This comes from a new book that was just published, entitled: Hijacked by Jesus.

THE ABC OF A JESUS-HIJACKING: A MANIFESTO

• Once I had to impress others. No longer. As a follower of Jesus, I don’t want to impress, I only want to share impressive God-stories.
• Once I wanted to change people’s ideas and lifestyles. No longer. As a follower of Jesus, I know I can’t change others, or myself — only Christ can.
• Once I thought I had all the answers. No longer. As a follower of Jesus, I have more questions than answers. But I know Jesus. He answers gracefully when people call out to him.

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“How far away is God?” a teenager asks me after church. “Why do you want to know?” I ask. “My parents tell me that I’m wasting my time with prayer. God is too far away to hear me. I have messed up so bad that they don’t even want to listen to me any more. Why would God still listen to me?” she adds with hurt in her voice.

“No, He’s not far away. I spoke to Him just now,” I answer.

“Why does it feel like I’m talking to the wind then?” she replies.

“Maybe it feels like that because other people are trying to convince you that God doesn’t want to listen to you,” I say.

“Why would He want to listen to me if my life is such a big mess?” the teenager continued.

“God likes listening to everyone who’s life is messed up and in rags, but still risks asking Him for grace,” I say.

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Young church leader David Kinnaman recently released a book entitled You lost me. As the Head of the Barna Group, he’s well informed about the latest statistics on Christianity. In this new book, he looks at what happens to the church involvement of adults between the ages of 18 and 29. The results of a large-scale investigation show that there’s a 43% decrease in church involvement, as teenagers become young adults. While teenagers are the most involved in church matters of all Americans, young adults are the most inactive. 59% of young adults with a strong Christian background admit they have stopped attending church. 50% admit they are frustrated with church. 57% say they are less involved with church than when they were 15 years old. 32% admit they have gone through a period where they wanted to renounce their faith. David Kinnaman identifies three groups that the church is busy losing, or has lost already:

1. Nomads — these are people who are no longer involved with church, but still consider themselves Christians.
2. Prodigals — these young adults no longer consider themselves as Christians.
3. Exiles — these people still have strong feelings for their faith, but they feel caught up between culture and church. They have no place to call home.

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A woman once told me that she’s living at such pace that she only has enough time to wave at Jesus each morning. “How does He react to this?” I immediately wanted to know. “He waves back,” she answered without blinking an eye. “No wait, you are reading Jesus’ hand signals totally wrong,” I replied. “He is waving his hands up and down to indicate that you need to slow your life down, but you’re confusing that with a wave.” What a mistake to misunderstand the hand signals of Jesus. There’s a huge difference between a friendly wave and a gesture that motions you to drive slower. To recognize this can mean the difference between life and death.

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Teresa of Avila is a popular spiritual author who lived in the 16th century. One night in a storm, Teresa of Avila’s carriage got overturned. She landed up in a big puddle of mud. Then she called out: “Lord, if this is how You treat your friends, it is no wonder You have so few!” Sometimes we end up in a puddle, even despite our strong faith. Faith is no guarantee that life’s hardships will always sidestep us. But there’s one common trait that all committed followers of Jesus share: We never stay in the mud… Never mind wallow around in it like some people who don’t know the Lord (2 Peter 2:22)! When we stumble unexpectedly before sin or some other setback, we can’t stand being mud-soiled. The Spirit of God doesn’t allow us to stay like this. He drives and convinces and moves us to get clean before God.

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In the year 167 a bloody prosecution broke out against Christians in the city Smyrna. A well-known church leader named Polycarp lived there. He was offered the option to renounce Christ and to live. His answer to the authorities was clear as day: “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” Polycarp then died a gruesome martyr’s death, but his steadfastness encouraged believers in that city to persist. Today we again need faith heroes like Polycarp around every corner — people who live with integrity on the Lord’s path right to the finish line.

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“Frustration is a busy life headed in the wrong direction.” When I read this tweet recently, it made me think deeply. I know many people who are very busy, but who aren’t dead tired, frustrated or done with. And then in between I see less-busy people who are burned out (even though I don’t know when they caught fire!). I realize now that the speed of life is not the actual problem.

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Southwest Airlines is known as one of the most dynamic organizations to work for. Interestingly enough, the use of humor is one of their core values. When a passenger wrote a letter of complaint about the use of humor by airhostesses during landing, they replied, “We’ll miss you!” This airline understands that you can’t keep everyone satisfied and happy. Sometimes humor is handy to communicate the truth in a suitable way. Regardless of whether humor is necessary, we owe each other some honesty. No, I’m not referring to rude, offensive honesty. We need honest truth packaged in Christ’s love. Humor always keeps those barking dogs of lovelessness at bay.

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A lady recently told me how a leader at their church asked what her husband does for a living and where their children go to school. Oh yes, and also the golden oldie: Where do you live? It was a surprise to her that no one was actually concerned about her and her family’s love for God. No one was interested in what gifts they have received from the Lord to serve people in their new congregation, or what ministries they already had in place. By the way, these latter matters are the important ones to ask about when you really want to build people up. Forget what they earn, what they drive, or where they live. Rather, be interested in what spiritual treasures they received and how you can assist them in maximizing these gifts.

The church is not a place where you come only to receive. You also come to share those spiritual gifts that the Lord built into you. Paul writes in Romans 1 that he comes to to the church in Rome with big gifts from God’s heart, but that he’s also looking forward to those gifts that God put inside the congregation, which they’ll share with him in turn. Faith is always about building each other up. People aren’t just names or numbers on church registers. They aren’t living checkbooks that only need to fork out money to the church.

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