How Are We Any Different?

If we are so different why are we the same? I keep calling out to Christians that we are different than those without Jesus. We have been made new; a new creation. The Word tells us that we are not to live by the patterns of this world because we no longer belong to it. So if this is true, and I believe with all my being it is, why are we so similar to everyone else? We say the words but we are still living on the surface of the fullness of God instead of plunging into the depth of this new creation.

How much of scripture do we have to read before it starts sinking in? In truth, we can read it all of our days and still never allow it to affect us because we have to allow the Holy Spirit the freedom to do something with it in us. Scripture after scripture tell how we are transformed and now have a different mind and heart, a different perspective, a different way of responding to our environment. We have a greater purpose than survival in this place.

Our purpose is to proclaim Jesus and live by his character. Our purpose is to allow him to glorify himself in us that he would be revealed to the world through us. He is the Light in the darkness and we carry that light but we do not carry him in our strength but by the power of God in us. We are totally different from what we were and have been called to a greater purpose and are being shaped and moulded into that purpose.

It is vital that we understand that we, in our old character, are not able to live the life we are called to. We do not have the resources or strength to get it done. Left up to us, we would rather stay in bed. Left up to us, we would rather leave everyone alone and make our own way in the world. Left up to us, we would live and let live. Left to our own, we would fit into this world. But we are not left to our own. This is what we have to understand:

To this end I labor,struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:29)

These are the words of Apostle Paul, the great champion of the Church. This is the man who brought the gospel of grace to the Gentile world, who spent his life with a people who were not his people, understanding that in the new order God had brought through Jesus, he had a new people. Paul did not have the strength or ability to do this. What he did was impossible for one man to do, to endure. But he tells us here that he did not do it in himself, but he struggled with all of Jesus' energy in him.

This is my concern, that we are building too much in our own ability and wisdom, that we are building a shallow church that is void of any of God's power and glory. We are not unintelligent. We are very resourceful. We can do a lot that looks great according to the pattern of this world, but what does it look like from God's perspective? God does not glorify himself by what we do for him but by what he does through us. If we do not understand the difference we have yet to plunge into the depth of his fullness.

Do not be satisfied by what you can do for Jesus. Do not be satisfied with your sand castles, as wonderful and clever as they may seem. Don't build your life on the principles of this world, whitewashed by the vocabulary of the Bible. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are glorifying God while fulfilling your own desires. Abandon it all. Give it all up. Surrender the whole thing and tell Jesus you want what he wants. Then, let the Holy Spirit lead, trusting he will do the impossible through you while you press on with all his energy. Let's show this world just how different we are in Jesus.

Are You In Need Of More Energy?

I am interrupting my regularly scheduled blog to bring you what is on my heart today. I was at prayer meeting last night and as I prayed the Spirit put words in my mouth that I began to listen to. That's the funny thing about prayer, if we really listen to the Spirit we end up being a mouth piece for what God wants released in prayer instead of our own thoughts.

I had a young man write me once to ask me what he should do. He was finding he had no energy or drive to do anything. My response was simple: Get off the couch. Sounds dumb but it isn't. Physically the best way to gain energy is to spend energy. The more you are inactive the less energy you will have. If you want to increase your energy start a walking routine. The more you put out the more you gain. The same holds true spiritually.

We have an obesity problem in the Church and it is causing a lack of energy. We have a lot of people sitting around on the couch, being entertained. We fill ourselves up on the Word but we never do anything. We gain a lot of knowledge but we don't do anything with it. We are much into the theory of Jesus, we couch others from our armchairs, we are great at calling the game, but we do not get up and participate. We go to the stadium every week to sit in the stands and act as a roaring and excited crowd but we never get out on the field. We lack spiritual energy and intimacy with Jesus because we have no exercise routine. We have to spend energy to gain energy.

There is nothing more energizing than leading someone to Jesus. When we are actually living our faith, trusting God to give us the words to talk to people about Jesus, we grow in our intimacy with the Lord. When we are living with the purpose of being sensitive to the Spirit we come alive in our own spirit. Suddenly we are a lot more aware of what God is doing around us and we want to be even more involved. Suddenly we are constantly aware of his presence, his will and desire for us, his call for us to take action. We are moving from cheering fan to full flung player with a desire to pour all of our energy into the game.

Of course it isn't a game. This is about life and death for people lost in a dying world. We seem to lose sight of the fact that this is not about us and everything about them. We are not here to gain all the "toys" or build our own little kingdoms. We aren't even here to have a comfortable life. We are here to tell others about Jesus. We are here to work out our salvation daily and this is done as we do the Word of God. We are participants in this war, not spectators.

It is great that people have a hunger for the Word and that they want to gain knowledge, but there is more to it than that. The Word of God must be put into action in our life and to do that we have to get off the couch. This world has a lot of distractions, some of which are interesting and attractive, but it is not for us to step aside from our calling and rest for a while. James says it best:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)

So, it's time to get up off of that couch and gain some spiritually energy. It's time to get into the game. It's time to come alive in Jesus. Put into action all that knowledge you have gained. Just do it.