Yeah
Oh boy, when God hits you with something, He really hits you...
Once again, TONS of verses are flooding my brain.
After bible study tonight, at which we talked about discipleship and evangelism, i was walking back from Africa because that's where i parked...and i was just talking to God, friendly conversation with my best friend....you know....and i said "God you are so faithful" and i stopped...and God said, "I am, you know that."
BAM! i said how many times do i have to say that to get it?? it seems that everyday i think to myself "wow...you know...God really is faithful, he doesn't lie..." This got me thinking...I"am not saying it's a bad thing to see God's faithfulness and be amazed...but surprised? that pretty much shows that i don't think He's capable of something...i'm an idiot for that one...
So i applied this to my life in the area of sharing the Gospel and God's love with people...
Jeremiah 1:7 "for you shall go"
Matthew 28:19 "Go and make"
Matthew 5:20 "they immediately left their nets"
Luke 5:11 "they forsook all and followed Him"
Matthew 19:21 "If you want to be perfect, go"
God doesn't mince words. He tells us to go. I don't think this means necessarily that we have to literally be constantly on the move, like nomads or something...but we should always follow Christ. We should be out of our "comfort zone" or our "self-centered little area that we have allowed God to come into" which is how it usually is. Instead of allowing God to come into our lives, and boxing Him in, we should allow ourselves to GO into God's life. I don't think that happens enough, i know it doesn't happen enough in my life.
Continuing with my conversation with God, I said "God, i say that i live to glorify your name. I say that my joy comes from your glorification. And yet...i'm too stupid to let you flow through me and let your love spread like wildfire and surrender my life to you, so that you may be glorified." I know that God moves in me, i can see it, and it fills me with a joy that i cannot explain, it's Holy joy. But so often, i'm convicted about letting my flesh stop God's spirit! here's an example, at lunch like 20 Christians sit at a table, and eat and talk, but don't share God's love with the 500 people around them who may not know Christ. 20 people who have the Holy Spirit IN them, would rather eat and talk to each other than share the Gospel and glorify God. I'm one of them. Perfect example of how food can be an idol, also, an example about how we can be our own idols. These things have become more important to us than trusting God. If we trusted Him the way He wants us to, we'd be out telling everyone about Jesus and eating when God told us to eat. That's how Jesus lived. He went out everyday, and gave everything to God. We're called to be imitators of God.
I think it's really cool that Jesus said "if you want to be PERFECT, go," because our perfection comes from our sanctification, which is our constant struggle to punch sin in the face and glorify God. Everyone who has accepted Christ as their Savior is perfect in God's eyes, no doubt our sin is covered. God knows that we could never repay Him for that...but He wants us to want to be perfect. He doesn't say "Be God" he says "Be imitators of God" if we could repay Him, Jesus died in vain, He knows that.
I know this is lots of rambling...but this is the best part...
If i saw God move in me as much as He does, i'd be a stupid little "flesher" and take the credit. God knows this, that's how He made us, He knows what's best for us. He has called us to be perfect, but we can only be perfect through Him. That is what's best for us.
When God opens my eyes to things like this, i fall so much more in love with Him!! When i realize that i'm so ungrateful and dumb, and that He has made me perfect, i can't speak. It says in 1 John that we love Him because He first loved us. Praise God!! That's something that should take your breath away...He loved you first, even when you were a sinner, and didn't even care about Him...
So... I challenge us all to read Ephesians 6:10-20, and put our trust in God...because hey...God is faithful!! Let's go!!
Once again, TONS of verses are flooding my brain.
After bible study tonight, at which we talked about discipleship and evangelism, i was walking back from Africa because that's where i parked...and i was just talking to God, friendly conversation with my best friend....you know....and i said "God you are so faithful" and i stopped...and God said, "I am, you know that."
BAM! i said how many times do i have to say that to get it?? it seems that everyday i think to myself "wow...you know...God really is faithful, he doesn't lie..." This got me thinking...I"am not saying it's a bad thing to see God's faithfulness and be amazed...but surprised? that pretty much shows that i don't think He's capable of something...i'm an idiot for that one...
So i applied this to my life in the area of sharing the Gospel and God's love with people...
Jeremiah 1:7 "for you shall go"
Matthew 28:19 "Go and make"
Matthew 5:20 "they immediately left their nets"
Luke 5:11 "they forsook all and followed Him"
Matthew 19:21 "If you want to be perfect, go"
God doesn't mince words. He tells us to go. I don't think this means necessarily that we have to literally be constantly on the move, like nomads or something...but we should always follow Christ. We should be out of our "comfort zone" or our "self-centered little area that we have allowed God to come into" which is how it usually is. Instead of allowing God to come into our lives, and boxing Him in, we should allow ourselves to GO into God's life. I don't think that happens enough, i know it doesn't happen enough in my life.
Continuing with my conversation with God, I said "God, i say that i live to glorify your name. I say that my joy comes from your glorification. And yet...i'm too stupid to let you flow through me and let your love spread like wildfire and surrender my life to you, so that you may be glorified." I know that God moves in me, i can see it, and it fills me with a joy that i cannot explain, it's Holy joy. But so often, i'm convicted about letting my flesh stop God's spirit! here's an example, at lunch like 20 Christians sit at a table, and eat and talk, but don't share God's love with the 500 people around them who may not know Christ. 20 people who have the Holy Spirit IN them, would rather eat and talk to each other than share the Gospel and glorify God. I'm one of them. Perfect example of how food can be an idol, also, an example about how we can be our own idols. These things have become more important to us than trusting God. If we trusted Him the way He wants us to, we'd be out telling everyone about Jesus and eating when God told us to eat. That's how Jesus lived. He went out everyday, and gave everything to God. We're called to be imitators of God.
I think it's really cool that Jesus said "if you want to be PERFECT, go," because our perfection comes from our sanctification, which is our constant struggle to punch sin in the face and glorify God. Everyone who has accepted Christ as their Savior is perfect in God's eyes, no doubt our sin is covered. God knows that we could never repay Him for that...but He wants us to want to be perfect. He doesn't say "Be God" he says "Be imitators of God" if we could repay Him, Jesus died in vain, He knows that.
I know this is lots of rambling...but this is the best part...
If i saw God move in me as much as He does, i'd be a stupid little "flesher" and take the credit. God knows this, that's how He made us, He knows what's best for us. He has called us to be perfect, but we can only be perfect through Him. That is what's best for us.
When God opens my eyes to things like this, i fall so much more in love with Him!! When i realize that i'm so ungrateful and dumb, and that He has made me perfect, i can't speak. It says in 1 John that we love Him because He first loved us. Praise God!! That's something that should take your breath away...He loved you first, even when you were a sinner, and didn't even care about Him...
So... I challenge us all to read Ephesians 6:10-20, and put our trust in God...because hey...God is faithful!! Let's go!!