"Have you ever longed for a deep conversation that was stimulating and challenging that leads you somewhere?"
Today and over the past couple of days God has been stirring in my heart about our purpose as Christians and the idea of "God-given POTENTIAL"... I sent out that text today to a few of my friends to see what they said about it. It was really random and out of the blue to them, but they simply proved the reason why I am getting frustrated. I am reading a book called "Do Hard Things" by the Harris brothers. The first chapter is about the potential that we as young people have inside of us that is just untapped, and that it hasn't always been this way. Also in my time in the Word I have ran across the word challenge and transform and ability....
If you read my last post you can see where this is coming from... If you didn't, I will recap:
At breakaway Tuesday night I was struck with the idea that if every single person that was singing the words about living a life of selfless faith and being the generation that seeks him and that brings change.. if we all actually lived that... what a difference we would make in the Kingdom. Part of it comes down to the fact that it is uncomfortable to do things that are not in the "norm" of society today.
Before I start on this, I want you to hear what others said in response to that question ((keep in mind that these are my brothers and sisters in Christ))
"Doesn't everyone want that..." I asked well, why don't we do it then? " It's sharing too much of ourselves, most people don't care to share that much about themselves with just anyone and some people dont' care to know that much about people."
"In general, I think it's because today's society has conformed us into believing that everything needs to be short and sweet... It is something that should be changed but starts with us, the Children of God. We have to step it up."
"Because we are so caught up in the world and we want to be socially accepted and society doesn't deem having conversations like that as cool or important."
"I think a lot of believers haven't exercised their faith and knowledge they just store it up."
"Because it is a challenge and now-a-days people don't like a challenge.... they like easy. It's sad but true.""Because we are so caught up in the world and we want to be socially accepted and society doesn't deem having conversations like that as cool or important."
Wow.
So here we are as Children of the King desiring a simple thing like to have a deep conversation with someone and take it as a challenge due to the world we live in. Now aren't we as believers suppose to not be part of the world, but to" let God transform you into a new person my changing the way you think." (Romans 12:2)
Why is such a simple thing hard for us when we are being called to do such greater things and not only that, but we have the POWER inside of us by the Holy Spirit. I mean the word "potential" is bugging me. Why is it still potential if we know about it? Why aren't we using it to do great things for His Kingdom, and not only that, but we will be so much more satisfied with our lives because we are actually following His will for our lives and blessing His Kingdom. What would it look like if we all, young and old, realized that potential in our life and dramatically changed the way we lived in this world. We are here on Earth, we cannot change that. We cannot change that people are becoming less and less genuinely concerned about people, but we, as His people, can become more compassionate, loving, and genuine. I am speaking to myself here as well. He has put passions in each one of us to do something, He didn't put it there for you to say "oh I wish...", He put it there for you to have faith that it will happen with His power and within His will.
So we have this power to bless His Kingdom, and most all of us desperately desire to do that... so, what are we waiting for? It is not going to be easy, it will be challenging, but our faith will grow, our King will be blessed and glorified. Who wants to live an easy life anyway? I mean, let's just think about that... when you are called home, do you want your family to say "He/She was a great Christian. She loved the Lord when it was easy, went on Mission trips to the city, her life was an easy life that she praised the Lord for." I mean, it might sound fine, but wouldn't you rather leave a legacy, wouldn't it be great if your group of friends left a legacy when you left the place you are in now... for those around you to say, "He/She was a warrior, his/her faith was really strong and kinda weirded me out sometime because she/he would be so passionate about being challenged to do something for the Lord."
What would it look like to be different from the societal "norm"? Even just a little bit different.
Here is some scripture that I have been looking at:
For I can do EVERYTHING with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. - Phil. 4:13
2 Corinthians 6: 3-13
2 Corinthians 13:3-4
I DEPEND on Christ's mighty POWER that works within me. - Colossians 1:29
1 Thess. 1:4 -7
1 Thess. 3: 12-13
Ephesians 6:10-18
There are a lot more.
Here's the deal now, I need you, yes YOU, to respond to this and give me some feedback. Feel free to forward it on to whoever you'd like.
This is a challenge not only to myself, but to all believers.
Let's do something for Him and to Him because we all know that our lives are from Him and Him alone.
So here we are as Children of the King desiring a simple thing like to have a deep conversation with someone and take it as a challenge due to the world we live in. Now aren't we as believers suppose to not be part of the world, but to" let God transform you into a new person my changing the way you think." (Romans 12:2)
Why is such a simple thing hard for us when we are being called to do such greater things and not only that, but we have the POWER inside of us by the Holy Spirit. I mean the word "potential" is bugging me. Why is it still potential if we know about it? Why aren't we using it to do great things for His Kingdom, and not only that, but we will be so much more satisfied with our lives because we are actually following His will for our lives and blessing His Kingdom. What would it look like if we all, young and old, realized that potential in our life and dramatically changed the way we lived in this world. We are here on Earth, we cannot change that. We cannot change that people are becoming less and less genuinely concerned about people, but we, as His people, can become more compassionate, loving, and genuine. I am speaking to myself here as well. He has put passions in each one of us to do something, He didn't put it there for you to say "oh I wish...", He put it there for you to have faith that it will happen with His power and within His will.
So we have this power to bless His Kingdom, and most all of us desperately desire to do that... so, what are we waiting for? It is not going to be easy, it will be challenging, but our faith will grow, our King will be blessed and glorified. Who wants to live an easy life anyway? I mean, let's just think about that... when you are called home, do you want your family to say "He/She was a great Christian. She loved the Lord when it was easy, went on Mission trips to the city, her life was an easy life that she praised the Lord for." I mean, it might sound fine, but wouldn't you rather leave a legacy, wouldn't it be great if your group of friends left a legacy when you left the place you are in now... for those around you to say, "He/She was a warrior, his/her faith was really strong and kinda weirded me out sometime because she/he would be so passionate about being challenged to do something for the Lord."
What would it look like to be different from the societal "norm"? Even just a little bit different.
Here is some scripture that I have been looking at:
For I can do EVERYTHING with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. - Phil. 4:13
2 Corinthians 6: 3-13
2 Corinthians 13:3-4
I DEPEND on Christ's mighty POWER that works within me. - Colossians 1:29
1 Thess. 1:4 -7
1 Thess. 3: 12-13
Ephesians 6:10-18
There are a lot more.
Here's the deal now, I need you, yes YOU, to respond to this and give me some feedback. Feel free to forward it on to whoever you'd like.
This is a challenge not only to myself, but to all believers.
Let's do something for Him and to Him because we all know that our lives are from Him and Him alone.
Posts
I agree that, as Christians, we need to be more intentional in our relationships with others. We need to seek those who are lost and show them the light that Christ has given us.
ReplyDeleteThis is just me generalizing, but a lot of the "Christians" I have met over the past year have either been 1) on fire for God but unable to convey Christ's love to others due to their legalistic/offensive comments and judgements or 2) not living for Christ at all. The problem with the people in category 1 is that nonbelieviers find them unapproachable and therefore have no interest in seeking the so called "Christian" lifestyle. The problem with the people in category 2 is that these "Christians" live as the rest of the world lives. Therefore, the rest of the world cannot see Christ; they can only see the sinner. And why would someone who does not know the name of Jesus Christ want to even listen to someone proclaimaing His righteous truths. We need to LOVE one another and live the life God has called us to live, above reproach, so that others cannot deny the love and joy that God gives us.
Satan is eating away at our culture and we are not even paying attention. Scientology is now the popular fad, as seen by high profile Hollywood stars. Our heads are filled with lies and distractions each and every day, as the media tells us messages that completely go against that which is God-breathed, the Bible. We are told that we are not beautiful and that we should view people as their race, nationality, societal class, or political affiliation, rather than viewing others as FRIENDS who NEED God's love.
We need to STOP being so lazy. We are so much more powerful when we are TOGETHER, which is why Satan separates us. The past few weeks, it has even been hard for me to have a real, deep conversation with my closest girl friends. These are the girls that I need to be looking to for prayer, encouragement, and love. Yet, for some reason, I get scared and make excuses so that I don't have to talk to them and show them that I am weak and hurting inside.
I have talked to many people at A&M who have had a rough time this semester for largely unknown reasons. The spiritual warfare CANNOT be denied. Satan is FIGHTING for our school! There is so much going on and we are blinded by our apathy. As followers of Christ, it is our responsibility to join together and fight, seeking the Lord EVERY step along the way. He will be victorious.
"I am the LORD, the GOD of ALL mankind. Is ANYTHING too hard for ME?" Jeremiah 32:27
--Dwig
The reason we are longing for more meaningful, fulfilling conversation that has impact on one another is that is we are made in His image. He had intimate relationship with His Son and Holy Spirit and eventually us. The reason we don't have it, is our own need for protection. Paul talks a little about our motives in I Corinthians 12: 12-23 when he talks about the body not working together because an foot wants to be a hand. We allow jealousy or envy or fear or ...to keep us from reaching out to each other. The next passage in I Corinthians 13: 4-7 gives us a blueprint for how to view each other under "perfect" circumstances. When we are glorified we will be able to love as He loves. Until then we can keep these verses in our minds so that they can transform the way we look at and love others and interact with them Knowing that each of those around us has a need for deep soul interaction, prayer and communication with our heavenly Father, we can begin to talk to them on a different level.
ReplyDeleteThis past spring I learned an invaluable way to begin deep interaction with people. It was simply to say, "What can I pray about for you?" You can ask this of anyone- your waitress at a restaurant, "We are just about to pray over our food, what can we pray about for you?" You can ask it of a friend, a person you see in class, someone at work, your professor, someone in store. Some people will say,"I am good but others will begin to share a need with you." When I learned this, I heard a story about a waitress who shared a need for her husband who the next day went to the office of the church from where this prayer had been offered. He was not a believer and now (short version) 8 years later he is a pastor of a church. You don't know where a simple question will lead but you have to get involved with each other.
Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave and strong. Your every action must be done with love. I Corinthians 16:3-14