Everyone is being formed by someone or something into the person they are becoming.

Apprenticeship is the call of every believer.

How do we become like Jesus?

Romans 12:1

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

How do you approach worship?

Apprenticeship means worshipping out of love and not out of obligation.

Romans 12:2

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Becoming like Jesus begins with our thoughts.

Our first act of worship is to align our thoughts with God’s, not God aligning his thoughts to ours.

1 John 3:1-3

 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

What we think about God will determine how we interact with God.

We will become our mental image of God no matter what that image might be.

1 John 3:7-8

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

Satan’s best play is hardly to tear our lives apart, but to challenge our beliefs. 

Becoming like Jesus means surrendering like Jesus.

Philippians 2:3-13

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Let God be God.

Draw a line between your humanity and his sovereignty. 

Surrender your pride.

Pride is defined by desire, not by love. It is, above all, the presumption that my desires should be fulfilled and that it is an injustice, a crying shame, and an injury if they are not.   - Dallas Willard

Becoming like Jesus means loving like Jesus.

1 John 3:16-20

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Matthew 22:37-40

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Love is the most direct expression of Jesus.

Think like Jesus.

Surrender like Jesus.

Love like Jesus.

At his pace and in his time.

Matthew 27:41-42

41 The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus. 42 “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!

Our trust should be rooted in what God has done, not what he will do.

How do you love God?

How do you need to be more consistent?

How do you need to focus your trust on God?

Prayer Card:

Dear God, help me start my day trusting you. I don’t want to waste my time trying to live by my own strength. Please free me from my need to control every circumstance I face today. Thank you for being my source of comfort, peace, and hope every single day. Help me to think, surrender, and love like Jesus. 

In Jesus name, amen.