God's Zone

Have you ever wondered what your life could hold? Or what potential you have?

I’m sure everyone has faced or will face this question sometime in their life.

“What are you gonna do when you’re out of school?”

If you thought this question is obnoxious as you’re going through high school, it’ll only get worse as you approach graduation.

Many people have asked me this question, and I always struggle to answer. Because, the truth is, I don’t know. Yes, I have ideas of what God may have in store for my future but nothing definite for now. Some people may scoff and say, “So what are you gonna do about it?” Do about it? I don’t need to do anything other than wait on God’s timing. No, I’m not gonna get lazy and sit around as I wait, but my ultimate passion is to follow God. I want to hear when He calls so I’ll be listening. For now I will serve Him to the best of my ability right where I am. And do you know what? I’m okay with that. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past year, it’s that waiting on God is essential.

Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we forget they ultimately belong to Christ. How can you live for Him when the only time you think about Him is when you see your Bible, laying untouched on your nightstand?

When you have enough courage to step out of your comfort zone and into God’s zone, God will do amazing things with your life. I have learned that it takes a choice to follow His will. He may lead you to a task that looks daunting; but if you are willing, He will give you the courage to succeed. When you succeed, many times He will throw another task your way, maybe an even harder one. When He reveals Himself to you, drop everything and follow Him like the disciples did. Life will not be fulfilling unless it is lived in complete submission to Christ.

“Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” ~ Luke 9:23 (NIV)

When you step out of your comfort zone and into God’s zone, you will be victorious!

Be Radical

Love can transform any building into a home, but sometimes it seems that the love does not reach its way into the furthest niches of a house. From a child’s eyes, a few corners always contain the fear of impending doom. 

For me, the cellar was a place of dark secrets kept by menacing monsters. Mom, unaware of the danger, sent me on a mission of terror to the dark recesses of the basement to fetch a jar of luscious, sweet canned peaches.

I timidly opened the large wooden door that kept the long corridor of stairs from view. The fifteen steps into the darkness were painfully slow and well contemplated as I pictured in my mind the horror that awaited me. 

Finally finishing the painstaking journey to the basement, I slowly opened the second door at the bottom of the stairs, revealing the overwhelming darkness concealed behind. 

My heart pounding, I dashed around the corner and lunged at the light switch. I was saved! Light flooded into the large expanse of darkness, leaving only shadows in which the monsters could hide. 

My mind was racing as I pictured those horrible beasts. The black of the monsters sharply contrasted their beady yellow eyes that I could feel staring at my back as I headed toward the cellar. 

The large metal cellar door stood before me. I shivered as the cold steel of the knob met with my frail hands. As I cautiously turned the stubborn knob, an icy chill escaped the cellar, whispering in my ear the terror held within. 

I groped in the darkness for the second life-saving switch. Flicking that plastic piece of protection, my heart rejoiced to see the illuminated, sparkling jar of gold.

 I had found my treasure, my peaches. Clutching the golden jar of goodness in my arms, I retraced my steps to give my mother the prize. 

Childhood fears can control our minds as they cause us to imagine the world as a big dark place with monsters around every corner.

As Christians, we have a power greater than any dark monster in the corner, the power of Christ in us. The world is an evil place full of sin and deceit, but we are to shine in the darkness and bring those monsters out of the dark. 

We are given a job to do in Matthew 28:18-20. Our obedience is required. When mom asked me to fetch that jar of peaches, I obeyed even though I was terrified. When God calls us to His work, it can be terrifying; but Isaiah 51:7-8 tells us that we do not need to fear because the power that God has gifted us with is greater than all the evil in the world. 

Christians are called to be radical. We aren't to be quiet and indifferent. We must stand for truth. Jeremiah 1:17-19 powerfully shows God’s spiritual protection over those He has called to do His will. At the end of time, your service on this earth will be replaced with a city of gold. The glory of heaven will outweigh the struggles of this life.

Don’t be complacent. Don’t let your fear control you.

Go for Gold. Go for God.

Be radical.

Hey, i'm back again :D well, i never really left... i came across this great blog post that really challenged me. see for yourself. All credits go to Jarrid Wilson at http://jarridwilson.com/poser-christianity/.

Poser Christianity

September 13, 2012 

Ask yourself three questions. I’ll do the same.

1. Am I a poser Christian?

2. Am I always trying to impress the people around me? 

3. Am I comfortable with who God has created me to be?

As I sit here in my local coffee shop and drink my iced-vanilla latte (a real manly drink), I’ve begun to look around me and wonder what type of lifestyle I am portraying as I sip my de-caffeinated beverage.

I’ve already noticed a few people walk through the entrance, and immediately stare at the bibles on my table with a dumfounded look upon their face. In fact, one lady even gave me a little, “Pfff” , then rolled her eyes as she made her way to the nearest barista. As faithful and holy as I want to claim to be, I wont try to hide that insecure thoughts have now begun running through my head. Hey, I’m human…

Satan Has Me Thinking: “Maybe I should put my bibles away so I don’t make people feel uncomfortable.” Or, ”Maybe I should go to a different coffee shop where the tables are more secluded.”

Instantly I’ve snapped out of my insecure trance and said, “NO!” This is exactly why I am writing this post… So that people who claim to follow Jesus will actually start acting like it, regardless of who they are surrounded by. The title of this post is ”Poser Christianity,” and as silly as the title may sound, I want to make sure that my life portrays a living, and breathing example of Jesus Christ and not some washed out 1/2 crafted replica.

TRUTH: Maybe I should just be who God created me to be and stop making excuses as to why I should be someone else. Maybe I should care less about the shallow opinions of some coffee drinking soccer mom, and only focus on the opinion that matters. God’s.

WHY? Because! Since the day I was born, God set aside a place for me in His kingdom. My calling is to walk like Jesus walked, talk like He talked, and serve like He served. I’m sick and tired of our generation being sick and tired. Be who God has called you to be, and not who the world wants you to be.

Even as I continue to write this there is a battle for my heart that wages every single day. No matter where I am writing, tweeting, or posting, the world will try to pull me one way, while the truth of The Gospel moves to lead me the right way. It’s a battle that we must prepare for every day of our lives. And regardless of your past, you can make a change today for the better of your future.

Poser Christianity is an epidemic I believe to be sweeping across churches around the world. Don’t let someone who is infected by it give it to you.

- Jarrid Wilson

Portions from "Living as If People Mattered"

These paragraphs are taken from “Living as If People Mattered,” a chapter in The Micah Mandate by George Grant.

 

Those of us who have received the compassion of the Lord on High are to demonstrate tenderness in kind to all those around us. This is precisely the lesson Jesus was driving at in the parable of the unmerciful slave (Matthew 18:23-35).

                The moral of the parable is clear. The needy around us are living symbols of our own former helplessness and privation. We are therefore to be living symbols of God’s justice, mercy, and compassion. We are to do as He has done. God has set the pattern by His gracious working in our lives. We are to follow that pattern by serving others in the power of the indwelling Spirit.

                In other words, the Gospel calls us to live daily as if people really matter. It calls us to live lives of selfless concern. We are to pay attention to the needs of others. In both word and deed, in both thought and action we are to weave ordinary kindness into the very fabric of our lives.

                But this kind of ingrained mercy goes far beyond mere politeness. We are to demonstrate concern for the poor. We are to show pity toward the weak. We are to rescue the afflicted from violence. We are to familiarize ourselves with the case of the helpless, give of our wealth, and share of our sustenance. We are to put on “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). We are to take up “the case of the stranger” (Job 29:16). We are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31) and “rescue those being led away to death” (Proverbs 24:11-12).

                According to the Scriptures, this kind of comprehensive servanthood emphasis is, in fact, a primary indication of the authenticity of our faith: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

                We are called to do “righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18:19 NASB). WE are to be ministers of God’s peace, instruments of His love, and ambassadors of His kingdom. We are to care for the helpless, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the prisoner, and protect the innocent. We are to live lives of merciful service.

                Grave societal dilemmas that have always busied the church before—like defending the sanctity of life, caring for the aged, and protecting the helpless—have mentally and practically separated from our other “spiritual” responsibilities. They have been relegated to the status of “issues,” even declared “political” and put on the other side of the fence from us in “the separation of church and state.”

                From a biblical perspective, though, these things are not “issues”; they cannot be separated from our tasks….They are central to our purpose and calling in the world.

                In fact, most of the church’s greatest heroes are those who willingly gave the best of their lives to the less fortunate. Service was their hallmark. Mercy was their emblem.

                                                                                                                                                                                         

                I was challenged when I read this, to open my heart to those around me. As Christ added the poor and rejected, so are we to sacrifice our wants for the aid of the hurting.

                Charles Spurgeon said, “God’s intent in endowing any person with more substance than he needs is that he may have the pleasurable office, or rather the delightful privilege, of relieving want and woe. Alas, how many there are who consider that store which God has put into their hands on purpose for the poor and needy, to be only so much provision for their excessive luxury, a luxury which pampers them but yields them neither benefit nor pleasure.”

Live Life Like a Lamb

Live Life Like a Lamb

Somewhere among the rolling Irish and Scottish hills, lies a mystical peace that draws man to its countryside. The melodious song of a bird in the grass, the carefree breeze off a tumultuous ocean, and the reminiscent mentality of days past—these all pull on a heart searching for peace. And in amongst the waving grass stands a solitary shepherd with his following.

            The bond of a ewe and her lamb is mesmerizing as she shelters and protects her young. Her complete trust lies in the hands of her shepherd. She knows her master will do everything in his power to protect her and her lamb.

            As the lamb begins to grow, he too learns the boundaries of the shepherd’s circle of protection. Young as he is, his shy nature makes him avoid contact with the shepherd. If the shepherd approaches the lamb, he will submit to the master’s tender caress; but will make no initiative to seek for the devotion of the shepherd.

            As he matures, he realizes the potential that the shepherd has for his young life. The lamb no longer is shy; but contrarily, responds in a passion longing for the shepherd. He now craves the caresses of the master and dwells in the shepherd’s presence always.

            So many people are longing for that same care and affection, as the young shy lamb. We are God’s witnesses of peace to them. We are to reach out our hand to them just as the shepherd does his lambs, gaining their trust. As the world’s eyes are opened to the passionate, fulfilling life God has for them, they will crave the caresses of the Master and find peace in the Shepherd. As the lamb builds a relationship of love and respect with the shepherd, HIS shepherd, so Christians across the globe strive for a stronger relationship with God. We are to be the light to lead the world to the Shepherd, OUR Shepherd.

Trust

We all like surprises. And it's the anticipation that makes the wait worthwhile. Lately, God has been teaching me to be spontaneous. If you're anything like me, you're a control freak. I have to know who, what, when, where, and why before I commit to something. But God tells us not to worry. Worry doesn't lessen your stress for tomorrow, it only adds to your stress today. Anyways back to surprises. This past year God has taught me a lot about waiting on Him and searching for His will. One night, I got home from work, exhausted and tired of trying to appear happy for the customers. I sat in my car and sighed, "Ok, God. I know what you've been working on me about, and I will submit. Even though it doesn't make logical sense, I'll do it." But where to go from there. I tried to take His plan into my own hands. But let me tell you, only He can accomplish His plan. I tried every way possible to make it work; but it wasn't until I gave up, that I left room for Him to work. His plan is amazing. All we need to do is follow where He leads. He used people I didn't even know: Canadians, Mexicans, and Americans. It was phenomenal! I challenge you to a higher trust in God. We have know idea what the future holds; but we do know, God is in it. He already knows what we will face and has already created a way through it. JUST TRUST.

Faithfulness

Sometimes when we struggle to hear God, we conclude that He is distant at the moment. Truth be told, He is still right there beside you, supporting you every step of the way. He is never distant, but only quiet. His quietness encourages us to increase our faithfulness. So often we talk about how faithful God is; and it's true, He is the ultimate example of loyalty. But as much as we need a faithful God, He wants a faithful You. I challenge you to use your tough times to strengthen you. Don't let them make you bitter towards God. He is God. He knows what He's doing. And He also knows how he will get you through the situation. He is faithful. He will be with you as long as you let Him. And best of all He loves You. HE  LOVES  YOU! an almighty powerful God who longs for a heart to heart relationship with You. Isn't that incredible?