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M.W. Christmann
You may wonder who I am and why I am writing about the New Testament. I have an education in finance and my career has been predominantly focused in the financial markets. Ironically, my Christian ...view moreYou may wonder who I am and why I am writing about the New Testament. I have an education in finance and my career has been predominantly focused in the financial markets. Ironically, my Christian faith increased as a result of my secular experiences. For most of my life, I was preoccupied by the ways of the world—I was focused on career, money, and selfish ambition—yet my worldly focus left me with a strong desire for truth. Had I been misusing the gifts I was given for a worldly-influenced purpose? Unsatisfied and frankly troubled by the commonly accepted ways of the world, I chose to earnestly seek Jesus’ ways instead. I surrounded myself with Jesus’ teachings and boldly held him to his promises. When I received a peace beyond understanding and an awareness of the Holy Spirit’s guidance beyond comprehension, my calling became clear. I’m compelled to assert that the New Testament’s message is as relevant as ever. As Christians, it’s vital to understand that the power of the Holy Spirit is available to us all.Trading in financial markets provided me with what felt like a lifetime’s worth of battles between anxiety and peace, fear and ego, both in my personal life and in what I observed. I came to appreciate why peace and patience are virtues worth fully embracing. Most of all, I learned that establishing a successful process is far more important than any immediate outcome. We can’t always succeed at every step, but with a proven pathway, we will succeed in the end. When anxiety or fear dominate, they affect our ability to execute a proven process. Not only that, but when fear or anxiety are experienced over an extended period of time, they can lead to a downward spiral. Prolonged suffering (e.g., financial losses) can manifest into mental, physical, and relationship challenges. Likewise on the opposite spectrum, continued success (e.g., financial gains) can create an ego, feelings of entitlement, judgment of others, and declining morals.Our approach to Christianity can be viewed in a similar manner. Jesus presented us with a process—a pathway—to achieving peace and a fulfilling life through the Holy Spirit. But if we live by the ways of the world in fear, doubt, worry, anxiety, greed, ego, judgment of others, immorality, or in any other behaviors outside of Jesus’ character, we will be unable to find his pathway.Why should I believe I’m qualified to write about the New Testament? We might ask whether any of Jesus’ disciples appeared qualified. From the beginning of the New Testament, John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus, was not a religious leader in fine clothes from Jerusalem. Instead, he wore clothing made of camel’s hair and resided in the desert. Yet still, everyone from the countryside and Jerusalem went out to see him (Mark 1:4–6). Jesus chose apostles such as fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, and John), a tax collector (Matthew), a possibly violent revolutionary (Simon the Zealot), and most remarkably, a persecutor of Christians (Paul).Perhaps in choosing the unqualified Jesus shows that any works they did were not the result of their own qualifications or strength, but were done by the work of the Holy Spirit within them. The presence and influence of the Holy Spirit would explain many of the apostles’ actions after Jesus’ death and resurrection. “When they (the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). And so, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27). When Peter first met Jesus, “...he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:8 NASB). But Peter would later become the rock upon which Jesus built his church, and Peter was given the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:18–19).We all have a unique calling. This book is intended for all Christians, whether we need to be reawakened, redirected, or are seeking confirmation along the pathway to our purpose. If we choose not to seek Jesus’ ways, he gives a warning: “So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you” (Rev. 3:3 NASB). Indeed, if we don’t follow the pathway Jesus has provided, he may just shake up our lives in order to get us on the right path. And it may be painful experiences that turn out to be our greatest blessings. They can be the means by which our selfish ambitions are removed, and they can direct us toward the pathway to our calling.This is exactly what happened to me, and I have no doubt many Christians will relate. We can take the easier way, or the harder way. The most concerning disposition to have is to remain oblivious to our unique calling. So, I hope you’ll join me in this journey, and I hope this book will help you find your purpose, so that you can be confident “...you also are the called of Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:6 NASB).view less