Ian Thomas, a Christian speaker once said, "The Lord Jesus died on the cross not just to get you out of Hell and into Heaven. He died upon the cross to get God out of Heaven and into you."
The past few weeks I have been trying to understand what he meant. I was thinking to myself, "Does this mean that every thought and every action I do belongs to Christ?" The answer is yes.
Today's Christianity has tainted the idea of what being a Christian really means. Other religions are rapidly growing because many people believe Christians are hypocrites. It is so frustrating! According to religioustolerance.com, 22% of the world's population is Muslim, and that number is increasing day by day. They are the second largest religion in the world. Did you know that in America, for every 1 male convert to Islam, 4 females convert to Islam? (themodernreligion.com). Recent surveys have concluded that 56% of the people who claim to be Christians don’t read the Bible. Most of us believe that saying the “Sinner’s Prayer” is all we have to do. Getting into heaven is good enough for us, as long as we do not have to follow all the rules. We pick out things in the Bible we want to follow, and ignore the ones that we don’t. To say “I am a Christian” today means little when the character of God is not present. I sometimes lose the Character of God as well. It is a part of who we are as humans who were born into sin. But society continues to tell us it’s “Ok.” Since when is the world’s version of good and evil okay?
You’re not going to like this.
We allow ourselves to indulge in the worlds pleasures, pleasing ourselves more than we please the spirit. Every time I think about this, I think about the verse that says, “Do not quench the Spirit”- (1st Thessalonians 5:19). But we grieve the Holy Spirit all the time. Think about it, is your spirit hungry? Do you find yourself being incomplete in some way, searching for fulfillment in money, clothes, sex, mindless fantasies, relationships, violence, alcohol, or drugs?
Jesus loves you and me. So much.
As a person who has received the beautiful gift of salvation and seen God at work, I don’t want a mediocre Christian life. I want a life of fulfillment and abundant Joy, living for Him. Sometimes we forget why Jesus came to earth. He left His glorious body and home in heaven to live among scoffers, heathens, the sick, and sinners alike. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10). The thief is Satan, the “prince of this world”. You could say that it is the world itself, stealing away truth and joy. But Jesus came so that we could live. Live ABUNDANTLY. His life on earth was a living testimony to how we should live our lives. We walk around with all this pride, exalting ourselves and trying Drakes version of “Successful”. We are forgetting about the people who are lost, hurt, and blind. Blind to their calling and blind to the word of God and truth. We think God owes us something. We deserve eternity in Hell; that’s what we deserve. It sounds harsh, but please hear me out: You are not your own. We need to stop seeking His hand and start seeking His face. Jesus said we were brought with a price, and that price was paid in full that night He died on the Cross for you and me. It should have been us hanging up there, being taunted and mocked by Satan. But it wasn’t.
I hope you can hear my heart in this.
Just a thought.
The past few weeks I have been trying to understand what he meant. I was thinking to myself, "Does this mean that every thought and every action I do belongs to Christ?" The answer is yes.
Today's Christianity has tainted the idea of what being a Christian really means. Other religions are rapidly growing because many people believe Christians are hypocrites. It is so frustrating! According to religioustolerance.com, 22% of the world's population is Muslim, and that number is increasing day by day. They are the second largest religion in the world. Did you know that in America, for every 1 male convert to Islam, 4 females convert to Islam? (themodernreligion.com). Recent surveys have concluded that 56% of the people who claim to be Christians don’t read the Bible. Most of us believe that saying the “Sinner’s Prayer” is all we have to do. Getting into heaven is good enough for us, as long as we do not have to follow all the rules. We pick out things in the Bible we want to follow, and ignore the ones that we don’t. To say “I am a Christian” today means little when the character of God is not present. I sometimes lose the Character of God as well. It is a part of who we are as humans who were born into sin. But society continues to tell us it’s “Ok.” Since when is the world’s version of good and evil okay?
You’re not going to like this.
We allow ourselves to indulge in the worlds pleasures, pleasing ourselves more than we please the spirit. Every time I think about this, I think about the verse that says, “Do not quench the Spirit”- (1st Thessalonians 5:19). But we grieve the Holy Spirit all the time. Think about it, is your spirit hungry? Do you find yourself being incomplete in some way, searching for fulfillment in money, clothes, sex, mindless fantasies, relationships, violence, alcohol, or drugs?
Jesus loves you and me. So much.
As a person who has received the beautiful gift of salvation and seen God at work, I don’t want a mediocre Christian life. I want a life of fulfillment and abundant Joy, living for Him. Sometimes we forget why Jesus came to earth. He left His glorious body and home in heaven to live among scoffers, heathens, the sick, and sinners alike. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10). The thief is Satan, the “prince of this world”. You could say that it is the world itself, stealing away truth and joy. But Jesus came so that we could live. Live ABUNDANTLY. His life on earth was a living testimony to how we should live our lives. We walk around with all this pride, exalting ourselves and trying Drakes version of “Successful”. We are forgetting about the people who are lost, hurt, and blind. Blind to their calling and blind to the word of God and truth. We think God owes us something. We deserve eternity in Hell; that’s what we deserve. It sounds harsh, but please hear me out: You are not your own. We need to stop seeking His hand and start seeking His face. Jesus said we were brought with a price, and that price was paid in full that night He died on the Cross for you and me. It should have been us hanging up there, being taunted and mocked by Satan. But it wasn’t.
I hope you can hear my heart in this.
Just a thought.
This is a word from God I pray ppl see this!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is the Lord speaking! God, I'm listening!
ReplyDelete