Something happened this week that got me thinking about what it really means to be a Christian.
We live in a society where everything is about self. If something doesn’t directly benefit us then we aren’t willing to give ourselves away to it. But when I think about the life of a Christian, I look at Jesus and He was the furthest thing from selfish. He genuinely cared about others before himself! It is more than just living right and making it into Heaven. Yes, I think it is awesome that we can choose to make Heaven our home by saying yes to Jesus, but it isn’t enough if I am the only one I know that makes it there.
What does saying “yes” mean as a Christian?
Saying yes doesn’t mean living out purpose to benefit yourself. It is the direct opposite. It means dying to yourself and seeking HIS will for your life. That will 100% involve serving Him and His people! Saying yes to the Lord has nothing to do with us at all. We scratch the plans we had for our lives to adopt His divine will. If we give Him our lives we find out what He wants for us but if we hold onto our lives we will loose it!
Jesus said to them all, "If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses life because of me will save it."
Luke 9:23-24
The reason why my yes isn’t only for me is because my yes is connected to the cause of Christ! It is so much bigger than myself! If I keep my love for Jesus balled up in my pocket just for me, how will unbelievers around me come to know Him. Yes, the Lord can do anything He wants and show up in ways that would grab ahold to someone’s heart but He partners with us to help do His work here on Earth.
When we are doing HIS work, He fills us up with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes us bold and capable where we would not be on our own strength! The undignified Christian is full of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts chapter 4 we see that Peter and John were told to stop preaching the word of God. After being released, they went back to their people and told them about what happened. The people immediately began to cry out to Lord. Instead of hiding Jesus and putting Him away in a box, they prayed that the Lord would touch them giving them the power to heal and perform signs and wonders in His name. Then the bible says,
"When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled were shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly."
-Acts 4:31
That is why we are able to go out into the world and proclaim the name of the Lord despite opposition because He gives us BOLDNESS! If we keep Christ hidden, we quench the Holy Spirit and become unwilling to do what the spirit is prompting us and unable to hear what it is telling us to say.
Recently my co-worker/good friend was having a hard time dealing with something personal. My husband and I were praying about it and left it in the hands of the Lord. The very next day, my friend was having a really tough time so when he left work I made sure to text him some point that evening to check in on him. Long story short I didn’t remember to text him until it was almost 9pm. I thought it was probably too late to text him and so I didn’t. Immediately the Holy Spirit prompted me to reach out. The more I kept talking myself out of it, the more I was unsettled! Thank you Holy Spirit.
I texted him to see how he was doing and he called me right after I sent the message. My friend was crying and asking me to pray for his wife. I was taken back because he doesn’t attend church and doesn’t claim to have a relationship with Christ. This humbled me because God reminded me that my relationship with HIM is not all about me! It is tied to His mission and His purpose in drawing people back TO Him.
Thank you Jesus that I was filled with the Holy Spirit and could carry out what He wanted me to do. My friend didn’t tell me to pray for the heck of it, but He asked because He has heard the testimonies of the handy work of God in my life because I tell him! If I never say anything, how will anyone know that this covenant I am in with God is real?
There are people who are watching you and seeing if you really walk the walk and talk the talk. That is why we can’t be lukewarm. We have to maintain our witness! We will stumble, yes, but the people around you should know that you are on fire for the Lord! You don’t look the way you used to or sound like other people when you talk. You are set apart and here to do the LORD’S WORK! There is nothing selfish about that. We sign up for a life of servanthood when we give our lives to Christ. That is what should be on display for the believer and unbeliever to see clearly. That it is all about Him and not about me! The bible says,
"For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
-Mark 10:45
Since this is true, how can we ever think we aren't supposed to serve! Even Jesus came as a man to serve!
We have to be full of truth no matter how watered down the word of God is becoming. Preach and share the WORD! Not anything you put together yourself!
Christians are a reflection of HIM. The light in the darkness! A lighthouse that helps direct those who are lost back to the Father. Why do you think the bible says we have to die DAILY and pick up or cross? It is because we must remain humble and lowly like Jesus perfectly displayed for us here on Earth. It is designed to help us prioritize HIS will over our own.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
-Matthew 5:13-16
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