Lets just forget that it’s October, lets pretend this post is coming to you in September. Actually, what happened to September? I blinked and it was over! It makes me think about life; here today, gone tomorrow. You blink and it’s over! If you haven’t noticed, there seems to be a theme going on with my posts of late. Maybe it’s repetitive, but I feel so strongly about making sure that we are all thinking about our walk with Jesus seriously; like our life depends on it, because it does! We can not live a casual life with Jesus, it has to be intentional. We spend so much of our time and energy on the pursuit of happiness, all the things of this world that are temporary; things that have no real depth or meaning. But we don’t keep that same energy when it comes to the things of heaven. It’s so easy to get caught up in the things of this world, the things that the world tells us is important. Let’s face it, the world is loud and abnoxious. It’s demands are so opposed to God. We can’t lay with the world and expect to please God, it’s impossible! Think about time. We sit, and make our 5 year plan for our lives, because we genuinely believe that we have all the time in the world. But we forget that we are operating on God’s time! There are people that genuinely believe that God exists, but they think that they have plenty of time to pursue the things of God, but right now, it’s all about what they want. What a foolish way to live, especially when you don’t know when your last breath will be!
JAMES 4:4 “YOU ADULTERERS! DON’T YOU REALISE THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD MAKES YOU AN ENEMY OF GOD? I SAY IT AGAIN: IF YOU WANT TO BE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD, YOU MAKE YOURSELF AN ENEMY OF GOD.”
Who are you living to please? We have got to a point in society, thanks to the rise of social media, where if you have an apposing world view, it can make or break you. If enough people are outraged about one thing, and you have a different perspective, good luck, because social outrage, has people willing to burn you at the stake. It’s almost like the culture has a hive mind. There used to be a pc game in the early 90’s called Lemmings. It was a strategy game where you were meant to guide a group of lemmings through obstacles, but the lemmings followed each other, so if one walked off a cliff, they all followed suit. This is what the world has become. If the majority are championing things that God deems as evil, as Christians, we have a duty to stand up for the things of God. But, have we become too comfortable with what the world offers? Have we fallen prey to the schemes of the enemy and become adulterers? I think of prosperity preachers, where the love of money has taken the place of Jesus. If you are a believer who spends all your time thinking about how you can better yourself, without one thought for the kingdom of God, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your heart posture. I am not saying desiring a better life is a sin, but when it becomes all consuming and you can’t be content in not having, thats when you have to ask yourself some serious questions. When you start to sound like the world, becareful you haven’t unknowingly become a lemming!
Let’s talk about comfort. Everyone likes comfort, I love to be comfortable, but at what cost? I think the time is coming when we believers have to fear not what makes us uncomfortable when it comes to the things of God. Remember when you first believed in Jesus, and you were so on fire for God that you didn’t care who knew!? You were practically screaming at the top of your lungs, JESUS!! I think we need to get back to that place. As you become more seasoned in your walk, and the distractions of life like work, family, relationships; the normal day to day things we can’t avoid, start to seep in and take center stage, our voices become a little quiter and the fire doesn’t burn as bright. It’s like Jesus takes second place. We make promises that its just for a season, but it seems like that season never ends. I remember when I first came to Christ, I was so hungry to learn everything I could, I wanted to do everything to serve God. I remember my friend who discipled me, saying that he was envious of my zeal. He was a seasoned believer, and I remember feeling at the time that it was an odd thing to say. How naive I was then. Now seven years in, I totally understand. There are definitely ebbs and flows in this journey. What season are you in right now?
I have been thinking a lot about the sign of the times. We may not know when Jesus will return, but if you pay attention to the world right now, forget the last days, it’s clear that we must be in the last hour! I think about the parable of the 10 virgins or bridesmaids (depending on your translation), particularly the five foolish ones without enough oil in their lamps. It’s clear that they were not paying attention to the sign of the times, thats why they did not have enough oil. The scary part is that they were also bridesmaids, meaning they were believers! Believers that were not ready for Jesus’s second coming! They ALL fell asleep, so it’s clear that falling asleep wasn’t the issue, but being prepared was.
MATTHEW 25: 6-13 ” AT MIDNIGHT THEY WERE ROUSED BY THE SHOUT, ‘LOOK, THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING! COME OUT AND MEET HIM!’ ALL THE BRIDESMAIDS GOT UP AND PREPARED THEIR LAMPS. THEN THE FIVE FOOLISH ONES ASKED THE OTHERS, ‘PLEASE GIVE US SOME OF YOUR OIL BECAUSE OUR LAMPS ARE GOING OUT.’ BUT THE OTHERS REPLIED, ‘WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FOR ALL OF US. GO TO A SHOP AND BUY SOME FOR YOURSELVES.’ BUT WHILE THEY WERE GONE TO BUY OIL, THE BRIDEGROOM CAME. THEN THOSE WHO WERE READY WENT IN WITH HIM TO THE MARRIAGE FEAST, AND THE DOOR WAS LOCKED. LATER, WHEN THE OTHER FIVE BRIDESMAIDS RETURNED, THEY STOOD OUTSIDE, CALLING, ‘LORD! LORD! OPEN THE DOOR FOR US!’ BUT HE CALLED BACK, ‘BELIEVE ME, I DON’T KNOW YOU!’ SO YOU, TOO, MUST KEEP WATCH! FOR YOU DO NOT KNOW THE DAY OR HOUR OF MY RETURN.”
These verses always give me chills, because it’s clear to see how easy it is to become foolish! I don’t want to fall asleep and not be prepared! How many of us can say that they are truly prepared if Jesus came tonight? Would you be like the foolish bridesmaid, trying to borrow and buy oil for your lamp? I want to be ready! I know that falling asleep is inevitable, and this journey like I said before comes with ebbs and flows, but to be unprepared and asleep!? You might aswell be on the wide road to damnation! I want to sound the alarm! I want us as believers to wake up and get ourselves ready for the wedding feast! I want us to make sure that our dress is spotless, that we are waiting with anticipation for His arrival! I feel like that is what the Spirit is doing amongst the body of Christ right now. He is making His church clean, because He desires a spotless bride! Some parts look messy because things being done in the dark are coming to light, but some of it is beautiful, because people are coming to Jesus with a desire for real relationship. When I think of being prepared and what it means to have enough oil in your lamp, to me it’s relationship. Spending time with God in His word, talking to Him in prayer, and always pursuing the things of heaven, instead of the things of this world. It’s having a kingdom agenda over everything!
When we start pursuing the things of heaven, time starts to look different. We are no longer on the worlds clock, which means we start to live differently, think differently. We actually begin to exhale from the struggles of life, because we start to live on God’s time. Only then do you come into your purpose. If you spend time with God in His word, you will quickly discover what your purpose is. Ultimately we all have the same purpose as believers, which is to share the good news, make disciples and teach them how to live in obedience. But we are all different and have different ways of doing it. So find YOUR way! What gifts has He given YOU? Go out and use it! We don’t need to be commisioned by a church body to do what God is calling us to do, for He is our commisioner! When we read Acts and see that the apostles worked while they preached, that should change how we view ministry. Yes, it’s ok for people to be paid in ministry, but it should never become a business! Look at Paul, he was a skilled tent maker, but it’s clear that his main job was going wherever God sent him, preaching and teaching. Paul was living in his purpose, he was on God’s time. I want my main job to be whatever God has put on my heart to do for his kingdom, while my job in this world is secondary. In the last couple of months I have spent time thinking about my kingdom purpose, and what that actually looks like. For me, my gifting has been worship, and I have felt the Holy Spirit push me in ways to share the good news and glorify Him with my worship. This has led me to go out on the street and worship, something I never would have done or thought of doing before. But this season of not finding a church has pushed me outside of my comfort zone and caused me to step out of fear, and trust God with what He has given me. Its small but it has been so impactful, and has connected me with other like minded people. That can only be God! Whatever the gift God has given you, seek God with it, pray that He would reveal your purpose. Remember it will probably make you uncomfortable, but it’s in that place of uncomfort that we see growth!
I hope that you don’t grow tired of this conversation, because I guarantee you that I won’t! Put God first in everything! Let His desires become your desires, and whatever He calls you to do, step out in faith and do not fear, because Jesus promised that He will be with you always, even to the end of the age, that you can be sure of!
COLOSSIANS 3:1-3 “SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN RAISED TO NEW LIFE WITH CHRIST, SET YOUR SIGHTS ON THE REALITIES OF HEAVEN, WHERE CHRIST SITS IN THE PLACE OF HONOR AT GOD’S RIGHT HAND. THINK ABOUT THE THINGS OF HEAVEN, NOT THE THINGS OF EARTH. FOR YOU DIED TO THIS LIFE, AND YOUR REAL LIFE IS HIDDEN WITH CHRIST IN GOD.”
