I'm not really that interesting but we'll see how this goes. I grew up in church and did all the things that "good Christians" do so naturally I thought I was a real Christ follower because my life looked like everyone else in the church. I mean I knew who God was and I told people I was praying for them so I was good, right? My safe church life went on like this for years. Things needed to change because my relationship with God was as deep as a kiddie pool and I didn't know how to get out of my fakeness. Four years ago I was fed up with myself and I got real with God. I knew that it was my own fault that I wasn't close to God. James 4:8 says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." I had all the knowledge about God but if I was honest I would admit that I was comfortable in my fake Christian life that didn't convict me to do anything with God. I let go of what people told me the Christian life was supposed to look like and I read the Bible for myself and found that my life wasn't adding up. I claimed to worship the God that holds all things together as it says in Colossians 1:17 yet all I cared about was myself. I didn't have a heart for the lost and the least of these. The Lord changed me as I realized that all that I am is plain to God as 2 Corinthians 5:11 says. He knew the motives of my heart and still welcomed me back when I came to my senses and ran to Him. Just typing that gives me chills. Man! I'm four years old in my Christian walk and the Lord keeps shaping my heart and desires. In the last year or so God really convicted me about my willingness to share Him with others. When I say "really" I mean He REALLY convicted me. Since then, I've been like a little kid who just trusts their dad to not only protect them but also to lead them. What I do isn't radical at all. I just trust and obey. How can I say I want to go deeper in my relationship with Christ but then ignore everything He asks me to do? Looking like a fool doesn't phase me. I wouldn't trade this closeness with God for anything the world has to offer me. Many times when I've talked about God's love to complete strangers at a gas station or wherever, I've thought to myself THIS is Jesus' heart. This complete stranger that is opening up to me and sharing their pain with me is the heart of Christ. People are God's heart. I want my life to make sense when I compare it to what it really means to be a disciple. I'm not special by any means. It's only the grace of God in my life.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
my testimony
Amy Harris encouraged me to start a blog so here it is! ( I'll be adding this to my resume.)
I'm not really that interesting but we'll see how this goes. I grew up in church and did all the things that "good Christians" do so naturally I thought I was a real Christ follower because my life looked like everyone else in the church. I mean I knew who God was and I told people I was praying for them so I was good, right? My safe church life went on like this for years. Things needed to change because my relationship with God was as deep as a kiddie pool and I didn't know how to get out of my fakeness. Four years ago I was fed up with myself and I got real with God. I knew that it was my own fault that I wasn't close to God. James 4:8 says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." I had all the knowledge about God but if I was honest I would admit that I was comfortable in my fake Christian life that didn't convict me to do anything with God. I let go of what people told me the Christian life was supposed to look like and I read the Bible for myself and found that my life wasn't adding up. I claimed to worship the God that holds all things together as it says in Colossians 1:17 yet all I cared about was myself. I didn't have a heart for the lost and the least of these. The Lord changed me as I realized that all that I am is plain to God as 2 Corinthians 5:11 says. He knew the motives of my heart and still welcomed me back when I came to my senses and ran to Him. Just typing that gives me chills. Man! I'm four years old in my Christian walk and the Lord keeps shaping my heart and desires. In the last year or so God really convicted me about my willingness to share Him with others. When I say "really" I mean He REALLY convicted me. Since then, I've been like a little kid who just trusts their dad to not only protect them but also to lead them. What I do isn't radical at all. I just trust and obey. How can I say I want to go deeper in my relationship with Christ but then ignore everything He asks me to do? Looking like a fool doesn't phase me. I wouldn't trade this closeness with God for anything the world has to offer me. Many times when I've talked about God's love to complete strangers at a gas station or wherever, I've thought to myself THIS is Jesus' heart. This complete stranger that is opening up to me and sharing their pain with me is the heart of Christ. People are God's heart. I want my life to make sense when I compare it to what it really means to be a disciple. I'm not special by any means. It's only the grace of God in my life.
I'm not really that interesting but we'll see how this goes. I grew up in church and did all the things that "good Christians" do so naturally I thought I was a real Christ follower because my life looked like everyone else in the church. I mean I knew who God was and I told people I was praying for them so I was good, right? My safe church life went on like this for years. Things needed to change because my relationship with God was as deep as a kiddie pool and I didn't know how to get out of my fakeness. Four years ago I was fed up with myself and I got real with God. I knew that it was my own fault that I wasn't close to God. James 4:8 says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." I had all the knowledge about God but if I was honest I would admit that I was comfortable in my fake Christian life that didn't convict me to do anything with God. I let go of what people told me the Christian life was supposed to look like and I read the Bible for myself and found that my life wasn't adding up. I claimed to worship the God that holds all things together as it says in Colossians 1:17 yet all I cared about was myself. I didn't have a heart for the lost and the least of these. The Lord changed me as I realized that all that I am is plain to God as 2 Corinthians 5:11 says. He knew the motives of my heart and still welcomed me back when I came to my senses and ran to Him. Just typing that gives me chills. Man! I'm four years old in my Christian walk and the Lord keeps shaping my heart and desires. In the last year or so God really convicted me about my willingness to share Him with others. When I say "really" I mean He REALLY convicted me. Since then, I've been like a little kid who just trusts their dad to not only protect them but also to lead them. What I do isn't radical at all. I just trust and obey. How can I say I want to go deeper in my relationship with Christ but then ignore everything He asks me to do? Looking like a fool doesn't phase me. I wouldn't trade this closeness with God for anything the world has to offer me. Many times when I've talked about God's love to complete strangers at a gas station or wherever, I've thought to myself THIS is Jesus' heart. This complete stranger that is opening up to me and sharing their pain with me is the heart of Christ. People are God's heart. I want my life to make sense when I compare it to what it really means to be a disciple. I'm not special by any means. It's only the grace of God in my life.
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