Jesus Changes Everything: Discovering a Truly Christ-Centered Life

By Doug Burleigh

Discover how participating in religion or having information about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus personally.

There is significant difference between pursuing a personal encounter with Jesus and pursuing information about Jesus. Information alone can become heavy religious baggage. Information does not love, forgive, comfort, save, or heal . . . Jesus does!

Many people desire a closer relationship with Jesus of Nazareth and are seeking a deeper understanding of his teaching and how they might apply to their daily life.

Would it surprise you to know that Jesus has the same desire? He wants to know you, love you, and be part of your daily life. The teachings of Jesus reveal the heart of Jesus as nothing else does.

“An intriguing and inspiring book that offers invaluable lessons about living an abundant life, drawn from the fascinating experiences of the author and the captivating stories about people from all walks of life who were blessed by spiritual enlightenment.” —Edwin Meese III, former US Attorney General, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Emeritus at Heritage Foundation

“An amazing book that captures the essential teachings of Jesus and how to apply them as a modern-day disciple. This book could be titled, ‘Jesus Distilled.’ If anyone is interested in learning more about the Jewish carpenter of Nazareth and how He changed everything. I highly recommend Doug Burleigh’s new book.” —Jim Slattery, lawyer, businessman, and former Democrat Congressman, Kansas 2nd District

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781631954122

Book preview

Introduction

Winkey Pratney, a longtime friend, author, and disciple maker from New Zealand, once noted, The unmistakable evidence of being in Christ is a changed life. Jesus changes lives! That truth never gets old.

As I reflect on my life’s journey, the most thrilling memories are the testimonies of countless lives that have been radically transformed by the power of Jesus working in their lives. Hundreds of stories flood through my mind. Perhaps for me the accounts of friends who emerge from total unbelief to a life-changing encounter with Jesus are the most exciting.

One recent such encounter was with Matt. I first met him about nine years ago when a friend from the West Coast called and asked if I would meet his friend at The Cedars in Arlington, Virginia, where I have lived and worked for the past fifteen years. Matt was Jewish, a Stanford Law graduate from Miami. His father, a lawyer, was disbarred in the 70s, and turned to developing strip clubs and moving in the underworld. As a multimillionaire in his mid-seventies, he married a young woman forty years younger. Matt, realizing the motives were unmistakably about money, pondered how to get rid of her.

One morning on an early run, anguishing about this woman’s motives, he struggled over his response. He came to a church and decided to go inside and think. It was locked. He couldn’t even enter a place called the House of God to consider such an enormous decision? As he left, another door opened and a middle-aged man came out from a men’s Bible study group. They briefly talked, and Matt was invited to come the next week. For reasons unknown even to him, he found himself there the following week. And the following week, he came back.

Shortly afterward, he moved to Washington, D.C. to take a job as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. At this point, we met at The Cedars. I always ask new friends to tell me their story. You learn so much by listening to a person’s story, especially in the manner that they tell it. One of my favorite scenes in Scripture is when Jesus was on his way to the home of synagogue president, Jairus, where his daughter was sick and dying. On the way, the woman with longtime internal bleeding touched the hem of his garment. Mark 5:33 notes that he listened as she told her whole story.

As I listened to Matt’s story, I realized his life was truly at a crossroads. I offered to meet together, only asking that he would be willing to memorize Scripture each time we met to go over the teachings of Jesus. Nine years later, I am witnessing a miracle—Matt is a new creation, one that is talked about in 2 Corinthians 5:17 … If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. Old things are passed away; all things have been made new. A thrilling addendum to that recently unfolded as Matt sat with me and recited nearly word perfect the Upper Room account from John 13-17.

I am convinced that knowing and practicing God’s Word is essential to allowing His Holy Spirit to do His quiet work in our hearts. It never gets old to watch what the Spirit of God quietly does in his transformative work. In Matt’s case, this even involved the heartbreaking loss of a loving wife to cancer, leaving him to raise two young daughters.

One of the greatest joys of my life is the privilege of meeting with folks like Matt, always asking them to do something concrete to commit themselves to growth, because growth and change always involve our steps of faith combined with his life-changing transformation. Paul summarizes it well, Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.²

This book is the culmination of many years of walking with Jesus, of seeing God work in my life and other people’s lives in astounding and transformational ways. Through the years, certain principles and practices have emerged, tested and true, that have contributed to this discipleship process. Now, for the first time, after much urging from friends, family, and ministry colleagues, I have written these principles and practices down in hopes that others will be able to apply them to their own lives and discipling relationships.

I have organized them into three parts: Principles of Jesus, Attributes of a Disciple, and Thoughts and Afterthoughts (those topics that didn’t seem to fit neatly into the other two categories). I wanted to write them all down for you, in the hopes that you, too, will experience the same dynamic relationship with Jesus that I and so many millions of others have experienced—and the privilege of helping others know him as well.

When this happens, you and I—and anyone we reach for Jesus—will never be the same. He changes everything!

—Doug Burleigh, The Cedars

PART 1

Principles of Jesus

Chapter One

The Purpose

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question, ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:35-40, NIV)

The trap was set. All he has to do is step into it, thought the Pharisees, who were desperate to discredit Jesus in the eyes of an increasingly adoring and growing throng of followers. First came a howitzer of a question.

Teacher, they queried, we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?³ In short, they were challenging him to choose: was he a supporter of the hated Roman oppressors, or a rebel whose fate would be swift and certain?

Jesus, knowing their hypocritical motive, asked to be shown a Roman coin. Whose image is this? he asked them.

Caesar’s, they responded warily.

Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s, Jesus replied.

The Pharisees were momentarily deflated, but undeterred. Later, the interrogation continued until an expert in the Law asked a significant question: Out of the 613 commandments contained in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), which one was most important? Certainly, this was a carefully thought-out question, designed to either create unending theological arguments or—at the very least—sheer bewilderment.

Jesus’ reply reveals to us the loving and relational heart of God, and the purpose for which we exist. Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

In a nutshell, Jesus was telling them: it’s not about the religion. It’s about the relationship!

The Purpose Is All about Love

Jesus’ answer to the lawyer’s question invites each one of us—you and me—to respond to God’s great love for us by eagerly turning in love toward him, and then toward others as we love ourselves. Jesus then makes the incredible statement that all of the Old Testament Scriptures—the Law and the Prophets—depend on these two commands.

Jesus responded to the question about which was the greatest of the 613 commandments with two. First, he referred to the shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, well known to every Orthodox Jew as the words they would speak daily and before each entry to the local synagogue. Jesus then joined the shema with the latter part of Leviticus 19:18, Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

To the religious mindset of the Pharisees (and even to many religious people today), this was a stunning revelation. Jesus pointed to a God who calls us to intimate relationship with himself, with our neighbors, and even with ourselves. This was in sharp contrast to the legalistic rule-bound religious tapestry of first-century Judaism.

The Purpose for Which You Were Made

One of the most important questions any of us will ever be asked is, What is your purpose in life? Another, more practical way to ask the question is, Why do you do what you do?

How would you answer? Why did you get up this morning? Why did you go to school or work today? According to Jesus, the answer to each of these questions is penetrating and practical: our purpose is to love God, and to love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves. In other words, life is all about relationships.

Conversely, isn’t it interesting how much our world seems to be all about the acquisition of things? About focusing on the false gods of the world, like money, sex and power? All of these things are temporal, and none of them will truly make us happy.

Over forty-six years ago, my father-in-law and longtime mentor, Doug Coe, said to me around the time I was marrying his daughter, Debbie: "Doug, invest your life in things that are eternal. I can think of two: a relationship with Jesus Christ, and relationships in Christ with family and friends. Then he smiled at me and concluded, Ten thousand years from now, these things will still matter." Several years after his passing, I note that hardly a day goes by without friends around the world mentioning his influence in their lives, always pointing them to Jesus. Relationships in Jesus Christ are precious and eternal gifts.

The only truly lasting legacy for any of us is our deep and loving investment in relationships—with God and with people. This principle that Jesus was articulating in the Matthew 22 passage is true and timeless, and he wonderfully modeled it in his life during those thirty-three years over two thousand years ago.

The Apostle John captured the essence of Jesus’ example to us in his letter written decades after Jesus’ resurrection: "God is Love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him."⁴ (Or, as the King James version notes, As he is, so are we in this world.) The Scriptures seem to tell us that love is a Person! Knowing him opens us up to a new world of love and relationship, a relationship to which Jesus calls us to commit as our purpose and primary goal in life. The happiest people in the world are those fortunate ones who heed this clarion call of Jesus.

Living Our Purpose in Real Life

Someone might easily ask the question, How do I live out my purpose? It sounds great, but what does it look like in everyday life?

To answer this question, it’s helpful to look at the whole of Scripture, not just the New Testament. The New Testament Scriptures were written in Greek, and first-century Greeks tended to be very cerebral, philosophical thinkers. Knowing this makes it easy to understand how Jesus’ instructions that we should love God with all of our heart (heart is synonymous in Scripture with spirit), all of our soul (the soul was thought to be the intellect, the emotions, and the will—the thinking and reasoning part of us), and all of our mind (seemingly at least partially repetitive of the soul), would be related in this more conceptual way.

The Old Testament, on the other hand, was written in Hebrew—a much more earthy, practical, and illustrative language. Note the difference in the parallel passage that communicates the same principle: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.⁵ The Hebraic translation is seemingly more eclectic and practical—we love Him with spirit, soul, and body. In other words, all of our being is involved in this holistic response of love to God.

Continuing in the passage in Deuteronomy 6, it appears that this intensely practical Hebrew mind is exhorting us to live this out in ten concrete ways in our daily lives. The writer (likely Moses) offers to us a list of opportune suggestions as to how this purpose can be fleshed out in the day-to-day grind of life:

Upon your hearts. When something is a heart thing, it is the first thought you have each day and the last thought at night. It is precious and ever present. It seldom leaves your mind. It brings you endless happiness, hope, and joy. It is number one, always front and center in your daily existence. It brings sheer delight.

Impress them on your children. As our four children were growing up, I regularly tried to engage them in conversation about matters of life, the most important being what was their purpose or goal. My wife remembers the same practices in her childhood home. As Debbie vividly recalls from her years of growing up with five siblings, they would be asked a host of questions by their father, always concluding with this same quintessential question. She noted, I could say it all in three seconds!

Talk about them when you sit at home. As I write this chapter, we are in the middle of the epic Corona virus quarantine. While we are all self-isolating at home for weeks on end, we might be asking ourselves, What are the most important things to be talking about? What a tremendous opportunity! I believe there is no more relevant and revolutionary topic to reflect upon and discuss amongst our closest relationships than our heart motivation for what our lives are truly about. What does it look like for each of us to love God with all of our being? How can we encourage one another to embrace these three loves as a practical hallmark of who we are and what we do? Whether during a quarantine or at any other time, these are crucial conversations.

When you walk along the road. There is no part of our lives that is meant to exclude this all-encompassing mandate. There is no time off or time on for those who embrace this relational challenge. I often am reminded of this when I borrow my wife’s car and hear the worship songs that play loudly as she travels hither and yon. Our daily lives can be moment-by-moment opportunities to commune with Jesus in thought and in action. As we go from here to there, it is yet another chance to spend time with the Lord. In the words of the old hymn, And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.⁶ As my good friend, Dr. Tony Campolo, used to say, Don’t sing it if you aren’t doing it.

When you lie down. After a long day, our last thought at night is hopefully one that is in communion with the One whom we seek to live for and live with each hour of the day. We can so easily be beaten down by the bumps and bruises our daily lives often bring. What a great way to conclude the day, to review it through the lens of our loving friend and leader, Jesus Christ. It is also a great time to reflect on any relational work that needs to be done with our brothers and sisters in forgiveness and reconciliation. I have a strong hunch that we sleep better and more peacefully when as the hymn intones, It is well with my soul.

When you get up. Hopefully, our first thought of the day is to be in tune with God. My longtime friend, Wes, shares, When I am awake, I like to ask, ‘Lord, what is it you have in mind for today? And can I join you?’ What a great way to start every day! Wes and I often talk about the fact that we both used to think we were supposed to work for God. Then, we realized he wanted us to work with him. That makes all the difference. No more burnout. Jesus’ tender calling to us is clear: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.⁷

Tie them as symbols on your hands. We do so much with our hands. Each of us can likely recall a time in life when we either sprained a digit or cut it severely. Simple, routine tasks like buttoning a shirt or tying a shoe became monumental challenges. That’s when we realize how much we rely on our hands to do so much each day! A generation ago, tying a string around your finger was a common way to remember something important. I have worn a ring on my finger the past forty-five years to REMIND me of a covenant that was made with my wife and the Lord. Our hands symbolize activity and getting things done. The reminder of tying this all-important purpose on our hands helps us to remember the words of our Lord in the Upper Room to his disciples, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.⁸

Bind them on your foreheads. The most visible part of us is our forehead. (Some of us regrettably with receding hairlines more than exemplify this truth.) Certainly, it is of primary importance for what is most important in our lives to be prominently displayed. In addition, behind our forehead is our mind. So, in addition to having this purpose firmly placed upon our hearts, it also is to be very much on our minds. Romans 12:2 tells us to not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. To embrace in our minds the enormity of this purpose requires it to be prominent in our thought process.

Write them on the doorframes of your houses. My late friend, Connie, exemplified living a life that clearly modeled this magnificent purpose. I would often visit him at his home. One time, as we were entering the dining room, I remember seeing the shema written upon the arch above us. I am most assured he and his family kept it visible as a constant daily reminder of what was most important. In the busyness of life, it is so easy to substitute what seems immediately urgent versus what is a long-term commitment in life.

And on your gates. In the first century, gates often served as protection from intruders, but also provided an opportunity to display a message to neighbors and passersby. The warmth and welcome of those who have chosen to live with this lofty purpose as their life’s goal would most surely beckon the casual onlooker to gaze a second time at this unusual place.

These suggestions point us to a lifestyle of practically living out loving God, others, and ourselves day after day, year after year. They remind me of the concluding words of the Apostle Paul’s message to the Greeks at the Areopagas in Athens: For in him we live and move and have our being.’⁹ I am firmly convinced that the closer we are able to embrace this lofty purpose as the most important goal of our lives, the more we will gradually become the special and unique individuals created in His image that reflect His likeness: As he is, so are we in this world.¹⁰

Good-Bye Religion, Hello Relationship

I would venture to speculate that a large number of conventional church-goers primarily live in the first box in the illustration above. I am not questioning their salvation (Isn’t it good to know that is beyond our pay grade?), but rather simply observing that the doing of good deeds—tithing, regular church attendance, practicing the Golden Rule, being a good person, etc.—are many people’s ultimate reality. The development of a love relationship with Jesus, on the other hand, through feasting on His Word, communing with him, sharing His life with other followers, and reaching out in love to care for others are where the joy and life of Jesus are truly found and