Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Overcoming JDD (Jesus Deficit Disorder)

This morning I read "A Jesus Manifesto" written by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. In it, they argue that "the major disease of the church today is JDD: Jesus Deficit Disorder." It's very well written and I definitely encourage you to check it out.

I don't know about you, but I can always tell when my life is running with a Jesus deficit. I get crabby, anxious, high-strung, bossy, selfish and an all-together lousy person to be around - just ask my husband. My Jesus meter starts to run low when I think I'm too busy to spend time with Him, too busy to sit with my Bible, too busy to pray because I'm wasting time figuring things out on my own.

If this happens over a prolonged period, we can start to forget what we're missing. We get so used to living life on our terms and by our rules that we accept the anxiety and worry as part of life. It's not good. It's not right. It's not how God created us. We were designed with a need for Jesus and Jesus has gone above and beyond to make it possible for us to know Him.

If you're running with a Jesus deficit and wondering why you're constantly out of steam, let me encourage you to get back in touch with Jesus. You don't even have to dial a phone and I promise you the requisite guilt trip for not calling won't be there. Get back in the Word, get back on your knees, leave the radio off the next time you get in your car and talk to Jesus instead - He's waiting.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Just wanted to mention--The online “Jesus Manifesto” essay by Sweet & Viola has just been expanded to a 200-page book called JESUS MANIFESTO (published by Thomas Nelson). The book releases Tuesday, June 1st at a discount from Amazon.com. :) Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0849946018?tag=stellardesign-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeA