Spirit lead me
"Roses are red, I have a phone, no one texts me....Forever alone." Seriously?? I am not looking forward to all of the Forever Alone posts I will see from people today. Quit. It. Seriously. Stop. Here's the bottom line..... in Christ, you are never alone. Were never....won't ever....be all alone. Since the beginning of the beginning God has sought to dwell with His people. In the garden, He walked with Adam and Eve. Leaving Egypt, He went before the people as smoke and fire. In the promised land He promised Joshua to go EVeryWhERE His people went. "Do not be discouraged for The Lord, your God, will be with you wherever you go." And guess what, we still serve the exact same God. Faithfully, thankfully, He doesn't change. So what is our problem? Most likely, We are our own problem. Either we don't know the promises of God, or we don't really care. Or we have simply let our focus slip from Heaven to here....from eternal to temporal. And we are not only hurting ourselves with this cleverly worded pity party....we are hurting our witness to the world....and if I could be so bold to say, we hurt the heart of God. You. Are. Not. Alone. I challenge you this Valentine's Day, and every day, to live like it. Love like it. Act like it. You share the gift of life when you tell others of the oneness you share with Christ. A gift that, obviously, most of the world craves!! No one wants to feel alone, or like no one in the world cares for them. Don't you think God put that desire in is on purpose? To drive us to Himself in our need to be 100% loved? Because, that is what He does. Calls us. Draws us. And no matter where you look in this world you will not find love like that in another person. Only through Jesus. So the next time you hear someone say "forever alone" share the gift of Jesus. You are loved, completely, by God. So are your friends.....tell them! I found love......His name is Jesus.
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The struggle is real. You know it. I know it. We all struggle with something. I knew a guy once that struggled with alcohol abuse. This lady I know struggles with perfectionism. Me? I mostly struggle with myself these days. In the past I have struggled with alcohol, sex, anger, control....well probably a lot of the same things as anyone else, really. I'm no better than anyone. Probably worse. But, lately....in the past few years I have become a real hazard to myself....and if I'm honest, to those around me as well. Lately, I have become a real hazard to myself.... "I am a hazard to myself." You don't have to go very far into any social network to find this sentiment and see how pervasive it is. There are songs about it. Relatable posts making it all sound like a big joke. Psychologically speaking when someone is a hazard, or danger, to themselves then they are in imminent danger of harm and need medical help. But, the dangerousness I am talking about isn't that....it is spiritual vs physical. There is a battle waging inside of each Christian, a battle that is real. The struggle IS REAL. The struggle is real! There is an old story about two wolves...you have probably heard it....the proverb ends with sage advice....in the battle the wolf that lives is the one that you feed. And in the life of a Christian it is the same except, as it ends up, the "wolves" represent the two sides of you....physical and spiritual. Whether you are a Christian or not, you have seen someone that says they believe in Jesus struggle. We all have. We all do. We struggle with gossip. Or with coarse joking. With following the crowd. Or a laundry list of other things. A long long long long list. And we wonder, you wonder, why we struggle? Odds are, somewhere along the way we were told it would be easy. So, you just kicked up your feet and went along for the ride. And then when trouble came you thought, " Hey! Isn't this whole "follow Jesus" thing supposed to be all daisies and cotton candy?" Nope. It's not. Sorry if I am the first one to drop the veil. It's not easy. Isn't this whole "follow Jesus" thing supposed to be easy? Nope. And the danger to ourselves increases the closer we get to the truth of Galatians 5:25 "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to the cross and crucified them there." That's does not sound like a walk in the park. But I think the king James translation of Romans 6:6 is even better, more descriptive, "this knowing, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of the sin may be made useless, for our no longer serving sin." I love the language in that. There is a part of us that we must leave behind...that we must crucify...put to death. The part of us that would rise up against the laws of God and cause us to fall into sin. And Romans 7:6 gives a beautiful picture of what awaits us in the aftermath of this destruction...."now we can really serve God.....but in the new way, by the Spirit." You can become a hazard to yourself....and to others. "Danger! Proceed with caution!" That's what the sign says....do you go in anyway? Maybe you settle for standing at the edge peering on tip-toe to get a glimpse of whatever is out there. Maybe you could just walk away. Maybe you SHOULD walk away. How do you decide? I just finished reading a popular book series "Divergent." Without giving too much away, sometimes it is good to think about who put up the parameters we observe that tell us "go" or "stay." Side note.....First, I love to read. Second, I love to try and find deeper meaning in what I read. My mind is constantly racing to find out why what I am reading appeals to me and see if there are applications for real life (yes there is real life and book life...they can become entwined....I promise......ask any reader!) ok, tangent over.....but, still, there is so much relevance in thinking about who or what is in charge of telling us what is dangerous, and what is safe. Especially if we call ourselves Christ followers. Recently, I have felt kind of dangerous. Because new questions come to mind that rival what I have perceived as normal. Ideas scramble for the chance to come to life...on the surface they are chaotic and feral...so raw and revealing that at first I want to recoil and run. Christianity is a dangerous idea In reality, if we are honest about it, Christianity is a dangerous idea. Really. No wonder people can't make sense of us. Just think of what you are saying if you follow a risen Savior. You are saying "dead people don't stay dead." You are saying, "I will follow an unseen God even more than government. Even more than anyone around me. I will subscribe to a force I have neither seen nor touched." That kind of idea is dangerous to society...to the perceived norm....to us if we seek to live a peaceful life under the radar. Can't you see how a life lived under the precepts of scripture changes the culture we live in? It challenges the accepted status quo, it is DANGEROUS! Over the next couple of weeks I will be exploring some of these dangerous topics and encouraging you to step boldly into this "danger zone" of a life fully abandoned to a man that, even though expert executioners killedl Him, He didn't stay dead. Will you accept the challenge to cross the tape and enter the Danger Zone? |
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