More of Him, Less of Me!

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 3:30 (NKJV)

As we continue this journey of Lent, our focus shifts from ourselves to Jesus. We ponder the wonder and awe of His ministry, His majesty, and His message!  Our march to Calvary and the empty tomb takes us to one of the most striking statements of His forerunner, John the Baptist. In John 3, the disciples of John the Baptist became concerned and disturbed with the fact that a new Rabbi, Jesus, was gathering a larger following than John and was baptizing more people than they were. In verse 26, they came to John and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to Him instead of coming to us.” It’s so easy to get possessive and proud of our successes even in ministry!  But John’s response startled them into what their real purpose was when he said, “I am filled with joy at His success! He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:29b-30 (NLT/NKJV). Wow! Talk about perspective! Let’s apply that to our lives.

Consider for a moment what John was saying. Eugene Peterson paraphrases John 3:30 like this in The Message, “This is the assigned moment for Him (Jesus) to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines.”  In fact, these words were among the final testimony of John the Baptist prior to his arrest and beheading. John knew his calling. It was always to point people to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and prepare a way for Him to come into His own ministry and role as the One who would take away the sins of the world! So John was making a declaration we must confront in our own lives – More of Him and less of me!

Have you made such a declaration in your faith journey yet? Perhaps this is the day to do it! If you desire for your faith to become more dynamic and your walk with Jesus more intimate, isn’t it time for Him to take center stage? There can’t be more of Him in our lives until there is less of us! “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 (NKJV). But be careful where you put the emphasis. This is not about self-abasement but Christ replacement! A recent blogger I read said it well, “If we’ll put the emphasis on His increasing, then our decreasing will fall into place by default.” Think of ways to fill your life with more of Jesus! Avoid any preoccupation with what you need to deny yourself of or what you need to give up for Lent. That just puts the focus on you. Remember, the goal is More of Him and less of me. 

Here are some suggestions: More time with Jesus in His Word, more time with Him in prayer, more time in worship with others, and serving Him by serving others all result in less time for lesser things that shift the focus away from His increase in our lives. When He takes center stage of our hearts and lives, we experience more and more of Him every day until there is no more room for me, me, me!  This is Christ's replacement!  He becomes greater and greater! Paul’s mantra in his epistles summed it up like this, “… not I, but Christ!” “For to me to live is Christ!” (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21).

Make this the assigned moment in your life for Jesus to move into the center so He may increase! Your Christian life will never be the same!  It will become Christ in you, not Christ and you.  “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3 (NLT).

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To read this devotional online or catch up on past ones, visit https://kerryshook.org/blog.

Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.

Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.