These three words haunt my home.
“…like a boss”
Why? Because my 9-year-old son attaches these words to everything he does.
- “I just played Minecraft…like a boss”
- “I just dominated dad in Halo…like a boss”
- “I’m gonna go shoot my BB gun…like a boss”
- (after shooting a target) “you see that dad…like a boss”
- He now tweets #likeaboss @ethanbarringer
I’m sure he’d stop saying it if I would simply stop laughing every time he says it. It’s entertaining to me. It’s annoying to both his mom and sister. But this morning, “like a boss” got me thinking about one word: authority.
We live out daily that which has authority over our lives. Our demeanor, attitudes, habits etc. all make “bullhorn” statements about who, or what, has the most influence in our lives. Every day is a decision. Joshua 24:15 challenges Israel, “But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve.” I used to approach that as a one-time choice to live a journey of following the Lord. It’s as if once the choice was made and, because of the one choice, everything just falls into place. Even though I made that decision so long ago, I’ve come to the realization that the longer I follow Christ I realize it’s not a once time choice. It is a daily choice. And daily I live out a life that reveals His authority.
TODAY I chose to trust Jesus with everything.
TODAY I chose to live out Jesus everywhere.
TODAY I choose to surrender “with all that is within me (Ps. 103:1)” entirely.
Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Cast off comes from two Greek words
- apo meaning “from”
- tithemi meaning “to put in place”.
- Literally, the word means to remove from its place.
We are challenged to WAKE UP! The day is at hand. The night is gone. Get up and throw off those old works and connections to the darkness that infected you. They were once statements of declared authority. Get rid of them.
It is obvious when I have cut the grass. I am dirty. I am sweaty. I am covered in dust. My shoes are filled with clippings, and, according to Anne, I stink. Everything about me, including my smell, screams “Dave just cut the grass.” Once I shower, I don’t put the “grass cutting” clothes on. I put them away (sometimes I miss the hamper). I’m clean and I don’t want my connection to those filthy garments on me anymore.
Just like putting on clean clothes after a shower. Put away that which has been soiled and infected. In Christ you are now healed. Now you are clean. Those old authorities carry a disease that want to take you down. As the Greek word says, remove them from their place….CAST THEM OFF!!!! Do it now, today, for yourself. Put on something new and alive. Put on Christ. Throw off the old dead stuff and get going. It’s up to you!
As a teenager, I lived for a number of years thinking I could choose Jesus as my authority while not living it out. It turned out to be simple “lip service.” I wasn’t living out what my words were saying. What will you choose to do with those “things” that want to approach you “like a boss”? God can cast away your guilt. In fact, He is the only one who can do that. You must determine what to do with the things that wrestle for your every attention. They want back in. They are hungry for authority. You are entirely free to let them go since they no longer hold you with the power of shame and guilt. But the decision is yours.
You are not a child who needs to be dressed and undressed.
You are a citizen of the Kingdom.
You have the authority and the power in Christ of removing what once held you captive.
God has opened the jail door but YOU must walk out.
Approach today different. Today is the day, a new day to choose Christ. Today is the day let Jesus in your life…like a boss.
Thanks for letting me ramble…like a boss.
