Page 14 - February 2018 | Catalyst Magazine

Stephen ManleyContinued from previous pagegood, he would respond with a smirk and tell you it will never happen. And after a lifetime of full-time ministry, you might think burnout might become an issue, but long ago Stephen found the solution for burnout: getting into the Word of God. As he says, you never hear a pastor or leader express how exhausted he/she is, and follow that with “let me tell you of the riches I’ve been discovering in the Word, how Jesus has been transforming my life, and the intimacy I’ve been experiencing with Him.” Burnout is impossible when one’s life is built upon the foundation of the Word and intimacy with Jesus.For Stephen, his life is wrapped up in a total saturation of Jesus and the Word of God. Time in the Word is more than an activity or duty to schedule in his day. It is the delight of his heart and the focus throughout his day because it draws him deeper into intimacy with Jesus Christ. He wants his “moment-by-moments” saturat- ed with the Person of Jesus and the Word. He longs for Jesus to ever increase and ex- pand in and through His life.Stephen’s life, testimony, and preaching has been used throughout the last six de-cades to touch, in uence, and transform the lives of countless people around the world. But in honest humility, Stephen downplays himself in order to lift up and “push” Jesus. His life is not his own; it is the stage upon which Christ acts, the glove Jesus wears, the voice through which Jesus proclaims Himself to the world, the hands Jesus uses to touch, minister, and love a hurting and needy world. Stephen is a Jesus pusher. He has no other focus than Christ.“Jesus is present in every situation of my life. ere is no conversation in which I do not feel His presence. He participates in all my recreation. He is everywhere I go. Who would want to be without Him? He is the protection for my life. He is the fra- grance I constantly smell. He is the ow of my spiritual blood giving me life. He is my constant nutrition making me healthy. I cannot survive without Him. I am a Jesus pusher!!!!I want to push Him on you. I want you to join me in this obsession. You do not have to work at it; it is not a discipline. It is as natural as breathing. Please let Him pull you to His heart.”–Stephen Manley*Article written by Nathan Johnson and Jeremiah Bolich *14 CityLight.orgfdebcreumabreyr22001187