1 Corinthians 15:34

Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God, I speak this to your shame.

When was the last time we stopped and took a good hard look at everything around us and actually let it all sink in? The place we live in is dying and we have the cure, but tragically we withhold it and selfishly keep it all to ourselves. Jesus Christ never intended for us to hide behind the mask of, "My faith is a very personal thing to me." Instead he wants it to be the exact opposite; for us to not just be an open book, but one of those books on CD that tells the story for you! He wants us to proclaim his love to the world openly, shamelessly, and loudly! When we look at ourselves do we see a dusty old book tucked away somewhere, hidden from the rest of the world? Or do we see a book on CD, ready to share the story of Christ's love to anyone who will listen?

laying down the misunderstood

I seem to have found myself on the verge of something that most Christians fear and run away from...laying my life in its entirety down before God; allowing Him free reign over every single aspect of my life, my future, my career, my plans, my marriage, my next few moments, and everything big or small that falls in between! It is profoundly scary to say the least. I mean our plans are the most important thing we culturally conditioned Americans hold on to. We have to be in control of everything and we fear, naturally, that if we are not then something may go tragically wrong. And then what? Who is at fault? How will we pick ourselves up? And wouldn't it have been much smarter to just have taken preventative measures and have everything planned out just as we feel is best? Wow, what a misguided train of thought!!!

To those who actively pursue the words of God and learn it all as a whole, this concept is understood as being a pinnacle action in the life of the believer. There is one moment in which a believer truly begins to thrive in the life God promises and begins to truly know God (not to mention this moment harbors the prime of the believer's impact making), and this moment is the point at which we step back from ALL of our desires, wants, and needs and release all reign to God. This action is deathly terrifying, however, its hard for us to do it, but when we make this action our lifestyle then God's promise to, "...have life, and have it to the full..." becomes intensely multiplied. The fact is letting everything in our lives become wholly submitted to God's desires is the most beneficial thing that we can do. We may not experience a cushy lifestyle or even a safe one, but we will possess a joy that the world does not offer or understand, a provision greater then what is known, and a relationship with God so intimate you will crave its sweetness throughout the day. Simply put we are afraid to drop everything because we either trust ourselves more then we trust God, we want the world not God, or we are afraid of what God may want of us. Whatever our fear, it is undesirable at best compared to the knowledge of what God's perfect plan has in store for us. My challenge both to myself and to you is to take small steps. Deliberately ask God to show you what He would have you to do today that is not part of your plan... and do it!