If you are not careful life will completely pass you by. I have had to have people convince me over the course of the last few days that the month of February even existed this year. The month started out with a mission trip to Jamaica (you can read about it in some previous posts) that will forever more change my life, and not in the way that most people would assume. Yes God broke my heart for the people of Jamaica, so much so that a return trip is currently being planned for this summer. But God really opened my eyes to the negligence of Him by the people that He has blessed so much. I mean, God's revelation of this in my own personal life simply blew me away, I was speechless, I was prayerless, all I could do was weep; And it didn't stop there!! I place a call to my then 7 1/2 month pregnant wife whom informed me that she was in the hospital with the possibility of the baby coming before I get home. WOW...... did my world turn upside down in a matter of moments!!!
Well to easy your suspense I made it home, but we spent the next two weeks in the hospital before God blessed us with Mason Bryant Lee, who spent a couple of days in the NICU before he was released. And he is simply amazing, but his birth again revealed to me how richly blessed we are but more importantly how much we ignore God. So, over the month of February I spent exactly 3 nights in my own bed. And it was in the uncomfortableness of those 3+ weeks that God taught me so much about who He is and how we as the church need to reverse the trend of neglect toward Him that we are in. We are so entrenched in the intricacies of how we do church that we have forgotten not only what the church is about but also who the church is! We are so concerned over what people think that we have begun to ignore what God says. We have become so busy in trying to attract people to a program or event that we have completely lost focus of the fact that we as Christians are the church and it is we who should be on mission for Christ in our homes (Dad's that is your responsibility), communities, schools, workplaces, and any other place that we find ourselves. Instead, we are trying to draw people in like a moth to a flame, with the end result being death. God is not about a place or a building He is about working in and through you on a daily basis.
We are fooling ourselves into believing the lies of Satan, that one must only say a little prayer, attend church and give an offering to be justified. And if you are not careful Satan will be the ruler of your life instead of God. One of my favorite quotes typifies this perfectly:
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and get on by their life style. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Man, think about that for a moment. Is the life you are living a refection of this or is it a reflection of Jesus Christ. I truly believe that I was like this until God awoke me from my religious stupor. God is NOT the creator of religion. Man is, and all the legalism behind it.
God has blessed me in my life in so many, many way that they are too numerous to count, most recently in the birth of my second child. That, coupled with the previously mentioned, along with the counsel of a dear brother in Christ revealed this question in my life: "Do I want my children growing up thinking that this is who God is and this is what church is about?" And that scares me more than I can even begin to explain. God please give me a revelation, show me what to do!!
I end how a began, with a simple statement that holds tremendous weight in my life as I look to the future of what God is doing in me, and I truly believe that my children's spiritual life depends on it! I know that they are to precious for me to wait for someone else to move.
If you are not careful........................
Well to easy your suspense I made it home, but we spent the next two weeks in the hospital before God blessed us with Mason Bryant Lee, who spent a couple of days in the NICU before he was released. And he is simply amazing, but his birth again revealed to me how richly blessed we are but more importantly how much we ignore God. So, over the month of February I spent exactly 3 nights in my own bed. And it was in the uncomfortableness of those 3+ weeks that God taught me so much about who He is and how we as the church need to reverse the trend of neglect toward Him that we are in. We are so entrenched in the intricacies of how we do church that we have forgotten not only what the church is about but also who the church is! We are so concerned over what people think that we have begun to ignore what God says. We have become so busy in trying to attract people to a program or event that we have completely lost focus of the fact that we as Christians are the church and it is we who should be on mission for Christ in our homes (Dad's that is your responsibility), communities, schools, workplaces, and any other place that we find ourselves. Instead, we are trying to draw people in like a moth to a flame, with the end result being death. God is not about a place or a building He is about working in and through you on a daily basis.
We are fooling ourselves into believing the lies of Satan, that one must only say a little prayer, attend church and give an offering to be justified. And if you are not careful Satan will be the ruler of your life instead of God. One of my favorite quotes typifies this perfectly:
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and get on by their life style. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Man, think about that for a moment. Is the life you are living a refection of this or is it a reflection of Jesus Christ. I truly believe that I was like this until God awoke me from my religious stupor. God is NOT the creator of religion. Man is, and all the legalism behind it.
God has blessed me in my life in so many, many way that they are too numerous to count, most recently in the birth of my second child. That, coupled with the previously mentioned, along with the counsel of a dear brother in Christ revealed this question in my life: "Do I want my children growing up thinking that this is who God is and this is what church is about?" And that scares me more than I can even begin to explain. God please give me a revelation, show me what to do!!
I end how a began, with a simple statement that holds tremendous weight in my life as I look to the future of what God is doing in me, and I truly believe that my children's spiritual life depends on it! I know that they are to precious for me to wait for someone else to move.
If you are not careful........................
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