What I want

Things get all turned around and upside down so quickly.  Why is that? It always amazes me that I can get so far from where I want to be in such a short amount of time. Sometimes, when I evaluate my heart, I am not who I want to be. I'm not making any sense, am I? Okay, let me try this again.

I don't want to be one of "those" Christians who make people feel bad about themselves. I don't want to make it my "job" to make sure that people understand how "bad" they are. I don't want to be angry about people's sin or blatant disobedience to God's Word. I don't want to puff out my chest and pride-fully say "well, what comes around goes around."  I don't want to focus on where someone has BEEN or what they've DONE. 

I want...what do I want? I don't know how to put it into words. I want to be honestly heartbroken over sin.  I want to be someone who makes people WANT Christ and I want them to want Him NOT because of how bad they feel about themselves.

I want people to want Christ because of how GOOD He is....not because of how bad they are.

I mean, I was well aware of how wretched I was when Jesus drew me to himself. No one needed to tell me all the many reasons I was a bad person. The well meaning people who DID tell me how much I needed Jesus really just made me feel worse about myself. That didn't send me running to the cross. Honestly, that just made me want to give up and die.

Catching a glimpse of how GOOD Jesus is sent me running to Him.

I want to be the sort of person that people are drawn to. I want to be characterized by warmth and caring and understanding. I want to be trusted and trustworthy. I want people to feel comfortable around me. I want to offer hope and comfort...not condemnation and judgment.

At the same time, I am burdened by the sin in people's lives. I want to take them by the shoulders and shake them and scream, "Don't you see what this is doing to you? Don't you see that you are in bondage? Don't you see that this sin is what is stealing your joy and peace?" Goodness, my chest started aching just thinking about it.

So, there is the conflict. I want to show the love of Christ and share the message of Christ because I do believe that Christ is enough. I know that I don't want to be another hateful, judgmental Christian. At the same time, it burdens my heart to see people bound in sin. Still, if the goodness of Christ is what drew me to Him, then I have to believe that the goodness of Christ will draw others to him.

It is so easy to get caught up in how wrong "the world" is. It is easy and it makes me feel better about my own life because I can always find people who sin differently and more blatantly than I do. But comparison isn't the point, is it? The point is to share Christ.

I want to find the balance. I want to live so that there is no question about where I stand with regards to sin. I want to live and speak so that anyone who is around me sees and hears Christ in me. I don't want to be angry and bitter about being a Christian. I don't want to tell everyone what I "have" to do or what I "can't" do. I don't want to keep a check list of things that make me "good". I just want to follow Christ and let Him work in me and thru me. I want Him to fill me up so that HE spills over into my conversations. I want Him to fill me up so that HE spills over onto the people in my life.

That seems pretty simple.


Father God,
I mess things up so quickly. I want to do the right things and say the right things, but I find myself being prideful. Help me to surrender to you more every day. I want you to work in me and thru me Lord. I know that I get in the way of that. Fill me up Lord so that the people you put in my life see you in me and hear you in me. I want the people who know me to know you. I know that you can make that happen.
Amen



 

It's the End of the World as We Know It

Well, the Blood Moon Eclipse has come and gone and we are all still here.

 

It's the End of the World as We Know It (R.E.M.) ran through my head this morning. I started thinking about what "The End of the World as We Know It" could mean and what the ramifications of it would be.

 

Obviously, if the Earth exploded, flew off into space, or catapulted into the sun, those of us who know Christ would find ourselves in heaven. Hmmm...I guess if something like that happens, Christ would come back and rapture us first, right? Never really thought about that before.

 

When Christ raptures the Church, the world as we know it will cease to exist.

 

If there is a zombie apocalypse, the world as we know it will cease to exist. (hee hee)

 

There are all sorts of scenarios that are discussed here and there. Most are interesting to ponder.

In reality though, God's Word tells us that Christ will return to rapture His Church and that no one knows when it will happen.

So.... I'm thinking about something that is probably as far-fetched as a zombie apocalypse.

 

What if all the Christians started living like Jesus?

 

I know...crazy right?

 

Just humor me...

 

What if every single born again believer in Jesus Christ started living like Jesus at, say... 2:00 tomorrow afternoon?

 

What if we stopped chasing the America Dream? What if we all sold our houses, cars, time shares, boats, golf carts and hunting camps and used all that money to feed the hungry and house the homeless? What if we canceled our country club memberships and gym memberships and stopped eating out 3 or 4 times a week so that we don't have to work so many hours and spent more time making disciples? What if we cashed in our IRAs and 401ks and our savings accounts and used that money to care for the widows and orphans? 

 

What if we stopped spending our Saturdays and Sundays and weeknights at the ball fields and spent that time making disciples? What if we spent that time sharing the love of Christ and the promise of salvation with...well, with people.

 

 What if we stopped making excuses for the sin in our own lives? What if we stopped spending so much effort making sure that "the world" knows how wrong they are? What if we saw every person as someone who needs Christ or someone who needs to be discipled?

 

What if we lived like we believe the Bible?

 

 What if "Sunday School Answers" were our REAL answers??

 

 What if we lived every moment of every day with only God's agenda on our agenda?

 

What if our ONLY goal was to make sure that EVERYONE we come in contact with knows the saving power of Jesus?

 

Jesus had a zero tolerance for sin, yet people gave up everything to follow him and traveled days just to be able to hear him teach. Jesus didn't have a praise band, a projector, a 3 point sermon, a children's ministry, a calendar of youth activities or a Sunday School program and people still followed him everywhere he went. He didn't spend time making sure that they understood how bad they were. (except for the religious leaders...he had to call them out) Jesus didn't make excuses for people's sin.  He simply told them to go and sin no more. Done. End of story. Move forward. No drama. No condemnation. Just go and sin no more. People loved him and wanted to be near him.

 

 What if we, as his church, lived like Him?

 

 I'm sure it would be the end of the world as we know it.

 

 Lord,

Many days my life looks no different than anyone else's. I know I can't live a perfect life like Jesus, but I DO want to live MORE like Him. Help me to do that. Show me the things in my life that make me look more like "the world" than like Jesus and help me to remove those things or change those things so that I look more like you.

Amen