Resisting the World, Walking with Jesus

How to Walk with Jesus in a World That’s Forming You Without Permission

How do we walk with Jesus in this age of distraction, chaos, and cultural noise?

That’s what this series is about. Not just believing in Jesus, but actually building a life with God. Not just talking discipleship, but practicing it in the real world—in your body, your schedule, your habits, your phone, and your inner life.

Attention is the gateway to intimacy with God. Attention fuels desire. Desire directs behavior. If we want to become people formed by the love and presence of Jesus, we must first learn to give him our attention. In a culture addicted to noise and speed, attention is the new obedience.

But here’s the tension: discipleship doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We are all being formed—constantly. Social media, news cycles, advertising, politics, hustle culture, and even the church subculture are shaping our inner world.

As Paul wrote to the church in Rome:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

—Romans 12:2 (NIV)

The Greek word Paul uses for conform literally means to be molded or shaped after something. In other words, if we’re not being intentionally formed by Jesus, we are being unintentionally conformed to the world. There’s no neutral ground.

So the question is not if you’re being formed, but by what?

And the way of Jesus—the way of formation—is made visible in his own life. Nowhere is that more powerfully demonstrated than in Matthew 4.

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Into the Wilderness: The Testing of Jesus

After Jesus is baptized, heaven opens, the Spirit descends, and the voice of the Father declares, “This is my Son, whom I love.” You’d think the next step would be public ministry, miracles, a launch party. But instead, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days of solitude, hunger, and temptation.

Matthew 4:1–11 tells us Jesus is tested by the devil—not with obvious evil, but with subtle distortions. Craig Keener says:

“The temptations represent Satan’s attempt to derail Jesus from his messianic mission by tempting him to use his divine sonship for personal gain and to bypass the suffering servant role.”

—The Gospel of Matthew, p. 142

This is not a random trial. It’s a showdown over identity, vocation, and formation.

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