Jesus was offensive at times. I'm sure the rich man was offended when Jesus told him to sell off all of his possessions. I bet the pharisees were often offended by Christ's life and the truths that He spoke that challenged their way of life.
Too many times, we try to avoid being offensive and end up allowing our loved ones and brothers and sisters in Christ to live in sin and hurt because we are too afraid of offending them. Is ok to be offensive if we are speaking in love and in truth.
This concept is why my blog is named "blunt".
Ephesians 4:14-15
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." (NIV)
Proverbs 27:6
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." (NIV)
4) What I do is important.
Ok, what you do is important, but not the most important thing. God cares about the heart.
He knows about and forgives us for all of our sins. If we focus on having a heart like Christ's then we will become more like Him and our actions will resemble His.
So many Christians spend their life trying to perform at a certain level and missing the whole point. Jesus accepts and loves us the way we are and sees and cares about our heart alone.
The heart is the place to start and the do will surely follow. (thats catchy)
3) Ministy is only for some people.
Why were you made? Surely there is a reason. God created each of us for His purposes and to bring glory to His name in our world. He love you and has a purpose in mind and a plan to fulfill it if you will just yield and surrender control.
When I say ministry I don't just mean in a church. God can use you wherever you are and do great things. A good place to start identifying God's plan for you is "What are you passionate about?" and "What are you great at?". Remember, He made you that way for a reason.
The whole Bible is about God bringing glory to Himself through people. The Israelites were blessed so that they could be a blessing. (See Genesis 12:1-3)
Abraham's physical descendants, the Israelites, didn't do a great job at passing their blessing on to "every nation". They didn't like Gentiles much and pretty much kept all of God's blessing to themselves. But every since the new testament, Jesus, and the first church in Acts, it has been the job of the spiritual descendants of Abraham to pass the blessing to all nations. Thats us! Unfortunately, most of the church today is doing about as good a job as Israel did.
"The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed" -- Hudson Taylor
2) The Holy Spirit is spooky.
The Bible talks a lot about the Holy Spirit and He is just as important as the other 2 parts of the Trinity. And practically, He is even more important, because He is our connection with God. He is with us, in us, upon us, and fills us.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God(Matt 3:16), gentle like a dove(Acts 2:2-4), refreshing like water (John 7:38, 39), soothing like oil (1 Samuel 16:13, Acts 10:38), mighty like fire (Luke 3:16), our comforter (John 14:16,17), our Counselor (John 14:26), He imparts hope (Romans 15:13), He directs us in prayer (Romans 8:26), He teaches us (John 14:26), He empowers us for service (Acts 1:8), He frees us from the Power of Sin (Romans 8:2), He reveals what God has for us (1 Cor. 2:9), He gives us gifts (1 Cor. 12-14), He brings conviction (not condemnation) (John 16:7-8), He sancitfies us (Romans 15:15-16), and He makes us fruitful (Galatians 5:22-23).
Where would we be without the Holy Spirit?
Don't be afraid to pray for His guidance and live life with Him in everything you do.
We are so blessed to have God in us, and we can't ever take that for granted.
Oh, and He is not spooky. He is friendly and loving like nothing else in this world.
Do not let what you see in this crazy world turn you off from the Holy Spirit, just read what the truth of the Bible has to say about Him.
1)Life is easier as a Christian.
This is number one because it is very common and very wrong.
If you don't believe me, just spend a little time in the New Testament. Or click here to read my post about suffering. And check out www.persecution.com
- 1 Peter 4:12-13
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (NIV)
Through Christ we do have Peace and Joy! That is huge.
Christ does love us and does want us to be happy and blessed.
But, we were not created for the purpose of our happiness but for His glory.
1 Corinthians 10:31
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
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