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David said to Saul, Let no-one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him. Saul replied, You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth. But David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, Go, and the LORD be with you. 1 Sam 17:32 – 37
David’s attitude of faith becomes even more evident when he gets an audience with the king.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
Faith grows when we feed it with the Word of God. The Word is always correct and always true and always real and always the highest authority on any and every subject. You must submit your feelings and opinions to The Word and let the Word change you from the inside out.
Basically if God says it. It is. You have the power to CHOOSE to believe it. You make a CHOICE to overcome the perhaps natural inclinations to doubt by making a choice to trust God. Do whatever you can to change the way you think and go with what God says about Himself and who He is and what He can do.
Don’t give into the feelings of doubt but pray and take the thoughts captive. You have control of your mind and how you think. Don’t let a doubt or a fear spiral out of control. Its like the Gremlins. They started off as cute furry little creatures, harmless… what’s one little gremlin… but if you feed and water them they manifest into nasty nasty nasty creatures. Doubt and fear may seem like a small harmless thought but if you feed it and water it, it will manifest into a nasty in your life.
The Word of God is both an offensive and defensive weapon. Ephesians 6 describes it as a double edged sword. With it you offensively – you attack – the doubts and fears and obstacles. Use your sword (or machine gun as Isaac showed us in his day in the life) to challenge and change your attitudes. The Word gives you faith – and Ephesians 6 describes your faith as a shield to block the fiery darts and attempts of the enemy.
Remember – Jesus used the Word as a weapon to defeat the devil when He said “IT IS WRITTEN”
throughout history, game changers have stepped forward in the faith to affect the way people communicate god’s truth in the culture in which they live. @stickyjesus
David was a game changer. He believed God. He had a history with God.
To David, the Word of God was that God was always with him to deliver him and overcome. God had delivered him from the bear and the lion and God would deliver him from the giant. There was no second guessing God. No but if. No doubt. David was unshakable in his faith in God. He had built up a history of seeing God at work in his life and a history of believing and trusting in God. He had a holy confidence because knew God was faithful.
Take the opportunities around you now to learn faith. Take the opportunities now to overcome doubt.
Build a life long history with God. You can look back through your life and see the evidence of God’s reality in your life. Tony was saying the other night at housegroup that when he got made redundant this year he was feeling stink and unsettled, until he changed his attitude and looked back at the times God had come through in his life and how God had been our provider and had never failed us. He looked back at his history with God and began to stir up thankfulness and look at the good things in His life that God was doing and it brought breakthrough. Tony had met with bears and lions before and so had strategies to tackle the giant with.
David’s skirmishes with the bear and the lion taught him to fight a giant and deliver a nation. What are the bears and lions in your life? Get spiritual muscles and warfare tactics by overcoming them so that on the day you hear the giants insults you’re ready to swing your sling and win!
“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” ~ Oswald Chambers
the world is moving and morphing at warp speed and the meaningless, dead-end chatter and enemy-crafted banter is piling up online like rush hour traffic. Christ is being discarded. biblical values are being marginalized more and more. influence is the currency and increasingly, Christians are broke. if you choose to roam aimlessly and blend into the online world, some pay perish – eternally. @stickyjesus
blend. blend in.
ugh.
when i read that, distaste rose up in my heart!
i dont want to blend in!
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.
Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 MSG, AMP, NKJV
our challenge is to be nonconformists. to not blend in. to be different. to be counter culture.
or on the flip side…
its to conform to God’s Kingdom culture, to be recognizable as His child, to be of His world, not of the world around us.
blending in to me reeks of compromise, silence, head bowing, grayness and living limited.
but when we dont blend in we make a stand for righteousness, we walk by faith not by sight, we love, give, rise up and live to please God.
i dont want to blend in. i know i am not perfect, that i am flawed, but my heart leans towards wanting to be holy and live for Jesus, BECAUSE it pleases Him and BECAUSE He gave His all for me that i might be saved and rescued.
and so i want to live holy, faultless and innocent.
i want to live transformed. the new me wants to live.
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed— not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence— continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life— in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour for nothing. Philippians 2:12-16
when we blend in, we hide the light.
when we compromise, we dim the light.
to shine we must be different from the darkness.
the reality is: We are a Christians. We are forgiven. We are righteous. We are a children of God. We are loved. We are saved. We are redeemed. We are the light of the world. We are called. We are chosen. We are a servant of God. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. We are witnesses empowered by God. We are ministers of reconciliation. We are ambassadors. We are supernatural.
Different.
Don’t blend in. Don’t hide the great things that God has done and is doing. Don’t hide GOD from the world. Don’t hide the light.
Light will always penetrate darkness. It is a law of nature. It is the same way in the spiritual realm. When the light of God shows up, it literally shows up, and the darkness flees before it. It must, because that’s what darkness does when light comes. Simple.
We are not our own? For we were bought at a price ; we were rescued from the useless way of life that we learned from your ancestors. But we know that we were not rescued by such things as silver or gold that don’t last forever. we were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb ; so it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
1 Peter 1:19, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Galatians 2:20
We are not of this world and we don’t cling to it. We make a choice to live our lives in this world, living and breathing and physical, but we are citizens with a Holy Mighty King whom we serve. We don’t blend in with the world. That takes a decision to be made and a decision to be lived upon.
Live bold obedient lives. Make the choice to follow God. Don’t blend yourselves in by compromising. Don’t camouflage yourself by blending in with the world and disobeying God. Don’t let compromise become a way of life. Be holy and follow God.
Don’t compromise in the way you talk.
Don’t compromise in what you wear.
Don’t compromise in relationships.
Don’t compromise in what you watch.
Don’t compromise in what you do socially, in the music you listen to, in the places you go, in the conversations you have, in the computer games you play, in the things you read…
The goal is not to live gray lives but to live lives knowing our awesome amazing God that stretched out his arms on the cross, as Jesus Christ, dying to make the way for us to be saved and clean and forgiven and new. The call is to not blend in but to stand out as lights in this world.
this week i thought i’d answer the questions posted on the read along post over at michelles blog BEYOND BRAVE
1. Where do I get my ideas from?
2. How do I decide who (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to follow?
so where do i get my ideas from?
life
love
the Word
prayer
what i read, what i see, what i watch, what i do, what i learn
songs, stories, sermons
a spark of inspiration
i have some regular features such as totally love tuesday or the 1000 things gratitude list or the snapshot of my week and of course @stickyjesus read along…
i also collect quotes and illustrations to use at a later date in my writing or preaching – i collect words like how others collect stamps or smurfs or soccer cards
i also share my preaching notes or notes from housegroup – and often the processing of thoughts during the preparation time… the spin off thoughts and content collection
i try to blog once or twice a week and often do much more frequently depending on the overflow in my life. there are times when life is busy and our attention is focussed on doing not writing. thats okay. some people can get hooked into a cycle of I MUST BLOG OR THE WORLD WILL END type feeling. for me, i blog because its my blog and my life. i’m not expecting people to be reading and i’m not writing to impress anyone but myself. blogging is easier from the overflow and if you’re a blogger in a dry spell perhaps check what is going INTO your life first – have regular time with God, worship Him, be full with Him again. have time doing the things that fill our emotional tanks – be it people, or cooking, or chick flicks, or walks on the beach, or knitting or any what way. feed yourself.
i think my blog reflects who i am and what i am passionate about – its like a snapshot in words of my heart and my life
in fb and twitter its the same… though probably more random… though i often use them to declare the promises of God – speaking to myself but getting it out there into the world too!
love the randomness of status updates as a look back over the last few days shows!
- today is our national memorial service for the christchurch earthquake 22.02.11 – will be standing with all New Zealand today… and praying for a move of God!
- funniest thing watching my husband and son herd the neighbours chickens who escaped to our house
- let your NOW be found in God
- girls win again
- Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Heb 4:16 AMP
- looking forward to good convo and coffee tomorrow morning
- i live by faith in my awesome God – my Father, my Shepherd, my Saviour – the Creator of the Universe, who spoke and there was light, who breathed out the stars and who knew me before i was born – not by sight!
- He aha te mea nui? He tangata. He tangata. He tangata. …What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people, it is people.
- "Unprecedented days call for uncommon determination, love and commitment to be reflected in the lives of ordinary people following an indescribable King" – via Kristen Williams
- am a very proud mum as BOTH my kids got principals awards today in assembly!
i also love to share worship music that really speaks to me or stirs me towards God – its a great way to share the good things!
likewise with other peoples blog posts – great way to pass on encouragement and challenge and information!
How do I decide who (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to follow?
for me its both about content and connection.
if it looks good and reads good and i’m taking good stuff away from it – yay. and if i make a connection with the writer, then i’m more likely to come back and comment. i’m a connection orientated person.
on twitter i follow some quoters and some pastors and some preachers and some ordinaryies – and again those connections that form can be so real and lifegiving and they are the ones that remain and stick. they’re the ones i will continue to follow and pay attention to. sometimes God will put someone on my heart and through following them a real friendship starts. most people i follow began with someone RT them and i liked it enough to check out more. every few months i go and do a cull (yes – i unashamedly unfollow and unfriend!) and remove people from my follow list, so connection and content are important to me… i like to follow people that challenge and encourage and also conversate. you cant follow everyone. you cant be friends with everyone. there isnt enough time to read and process. i’m blest that i’m a really fast reader, really fast, and a fast typer (such a benefit in the world of social networking) and can read a page rapidly – the ones my eye gravitates to are those who have blest me with their words and contribution/connection. my eye looks out for those ones. make sense? i want to be someone who sticks and contributes and connects. i love people. and i love jesus. and i want people to know jesus. what a gift we have in social networking and blogs!
as we draw to a close of the read along – a few more weeks yet – i just want to honour toni and tami from @stickyjesus for their book – its so passionately overflowing about how awesome God is and how He uses US, ordinary people, to do extraordinary things and how social networking is a wonderful mission field for us to shine His light into and how we can be used, in our ordinary lives from our living rooms to connect with people anywhere and everywhere and be a part of their journey towards salvation in Christ. thanks for demystifying and for awakening in people through your book an awareness of who God is and what He is doing in such a time as this. may God expand your vision and may you continue to communicate the love and grace of God through @stickyjesus and the doors it is opening for you.
i also want to honour michelle for creating the read along platform on her blog BEYOND BRAVE – its being wonderful seeing @stickyjesus in action as we connect and encourage each other to know God and make Him known. its wonderful to meet other people who are on the same page – who see this as a glorious opportunity to reach out to the lost with the hope and reality of God. God bless you michelle as you continue to shine for Him!
come join the conversation about @sticky jesus here: @stickyjesus read along.
so i resisted facebook for so long, did i really need ANOTHER social networking “thing”… esp one that seemed so fast paced and random… yes, they were my initial impressinos of twitter…
but then i grew to love it…
i love the sharing of quotes (i LOVE words and and quotes and collect them like how some people collect stamps, rocks or rugby cards)
i love again the genuine connections i have made
i love again the opportunity to connect with strangers and to shine some love their way
i love the #hashtags
i love how i could find out the play by play score of the rugby first, before “traditional” news media
and then pike river happened.
24.11.10 – New Zealand’s worst mining disaster
twitter was where people gathered, so to speak, to share information, and responses, to speak their heart and share support
twitter had a new meaning and a new purpose
it made the world aware of what happened in our small corner of the world
and again on 22.02.11
the christchurch earthquake, where up to 220+ people may have died. the official toll stands at 163 now, but there are still many missing.
twitter again, and facebook, was the hub of connecting, sharing, weeping together, raising support, calling out for prayer, caring – as well as news and information. complete strangers would physically go and check on someone because of a tweet shout out for help. it directed people to where they could get clean water and food. i’d imagine that for those in christchurch with iphones and the tweets hooked up that way that it would have been a lifeline to information assistance – as there was no power. some suburbs STILL have no power. twitter became the new way to share civil defence information.
this morning i got this tweet:
matthewprewett Matthew Prewett: If it wasn’t for twitter and @fireball3316 I would know hardly anything about the Christchurch earthquake. We need to keep NZ in prayer.
it humbles me.
i felt to tweet lots about the earthquake – the more people praying the better i always think
the more people caring the better the world will become
and because…
its happening here.
this is my land.
my people.
my friends.
and i want the world to know.
i’ve made new friends because of the earthquake. people have asked me to pray. people who dont know jesus yet but know that i pray and are totally shaken. its such a priv.
jesus is using twitter.
to connect His body all around the world.
to connect His people in serving Him and building His Kingdom.
to show love.
twitter has a darkside. people can misread what you say. 140 doesnt give a lot of wiggle room to convey tone sometimes. you’re putting yourself out there and not everyone is full of light and sunshine. even in the christianity those who should be on the same side can be so divided and then act even more dividing by their words and accusations. think before you tweet. read what you’re writing. apologize if need be. have grace. take a deep breath. relinquish your right to be right. have a guard on your heart and your words. speak with gentleness. dont get into bizzaro arguments and the like. we dont need to defend jesus. its also not all about the quantity – its not a numbers game or a popularity contest. for me its quality of connection that makes the experience worth it. dont fall into a trap. dont build your worth on the wrong thing.
this chapter of @stickyjesus is really practical to demystify what twitter is. all those hashtags and #FF and RT? its another language. but really this chapter inspires you to be in the game and to be taking the opportunity to be yourself and share the gospel in your 140 characters… extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience. listen to the Holy Spirit and be led by Him and He will lead you to post things that will speak to peoples hearts. twitter and facebook are gifts from God to us, lets use them for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom. lets use them to demonstrate His love and grace to a lost world.
come join the conversation about @sticky jesus here: @stickyjesus read along.
when i first started on facebook about 3 years ago it was fun. just a fun thing to try. i had resisted the “pressure” to join, thinking it was a more of a juvenile time waster than anything. but wow. i quickly discovered it was a great way to reconnect with old friends, keep connecting with friends now, a fantastic way to connect in ministry with our housegroup and share awesome resources as well as information (housegroup details of what was happening that week), and to make new friends on the way. i love facebook. some may call me an addict. i love to connect and communicate. facebook for me builds bridges. it uses words. it can be a platform to shine and encourage other people. to say “i care” with each “like”.
this week my perspective on facebook changed.
on 22.02.11 christchurch – the 2nd largest city in New Zealand, where i live – suffered a major earthquake. facebook was the first to tell me. i follow both our news channels and they put up BREAKING NEWS reports. it was also my main source of information about friends. i have between 30-50 friends that live in christchurch and some family members, cousins. i dont know how people survived BEFORE facebook in events like this – with each status update from a friend to say “IM SAFE” i rejoiced and embraced the peace that comes with that knowledge that someone is okay. soon i had most people ticked off my list. unfortunately other friends have not been so lucky, and my heart hurts with them. facebook is a place i can communicate with them to say “IM PRAYING and I CARE” whereas pre facebook such messages of support would have been difficult or slower. to send a letter takes time. to ring was impossible because on the first few days there were issues with phones, with lines down and over usage. we were asked to use our phones – nationally – only for emergencies. if you look at my facebook page today it is filled with shared information about the earthquake. a way to connect and process and communicate what is going on. i have a friend, a New Zealander, who lives in america with her husband and children. they have family in Christchurch and he also worked in the CTV building where so many have been lost. they were finding getting information hard and at that stage livefeed from our tv stations was not working. facebook was the way for her to find out good and sad news. it was a way for me to reach out to her and hug her hard, even online!
i have had many conversations this week about prayer and God because of the earthquake. the young man whose workmate i prayed for (and is on page 124 of @stickyjesus) mentioned on a status update i had written that HE was praying too, and that that was a change in his life because of “me” (because of God really!) another friend i have – a facebook friend – who recognized that i was a praying person, and asked for me to pray.
facebook has brought people together.
facebook has brought people together to pray. and practically help. and connect. and care.
i have also been totally humbled at the messages that have been left on my wall of support for me and my country. people overseas who are praying. that does bring such comfort.
last night i also saw the power of facebook in action. my 5 year old daughter has severe food allergies, particularly to dairy and nuts. she had a bad reaction to something she ate and i dashed off to the doctor with her. my husband used facebook, in my account, to ask for prayer. by the time i had got home, only an hour later, she was mostly 100% fine – an amazingly fast recovery, and i had 15+ messages saying people were praying. i felt the love. and i credit God and prayer with her fast recovery.
facebook is awesome. thank God for facebook.
our christianity isnt about rules and regulations. we do have the Bible, the alive, active, powerful revelation of who God is and how to live for Him, the guidelines for how to live a holy life, with some very black and white instructions, but there is no checklist for holiness because it goes deeper than that. its a heart thing. its a relationship thing. God designed it that way because He’s not interested in robots – or pharisees – but He wants friends and followers, He wants lovers and children. its about being LED by the Spirit of God (Romans eight – a moment by moment following and being in tune with Him. we are living in response to His love – living from the inside out – living out the inward righteousness that is the free gift of salvation from Christ – making that our outward experience and reality. being a christian is more than going to church, wearing a christian tshirt, wearing a wwjd wristband… its a relationship with our Father God, brought and paid for by the brutal execution of Jesus Christ on the cross. we have the challenge and the call and the privilege to live that out as a demonstration of the love and grace of God – glowing in the dark – shinning His light – to the world around us, on and offline.
when God sent his son to absorb the sins of the world, it cost Him everything. @stickyjesus
as pastor paul washer says, “we are not called to build empires. we are not called to be accepted. we are called to glorify God.” @stickyjesus
We are in a battle for the souls of mankind. We war against Satan and all of the forces of evil in the universe. Satan has established his kingdom in the hearts of men and women. That kingdom must be destroyed and Christ’s kingdom established, no small task for the church. But it can be accomplished.
One weapon God has placed within the church that can tear down the strongholds of Satan was used mightily in both the Old and New Testaments and throughout the history of the church. It’s the life that is totally yielded to God. That person holds nothing dear to himself except Jesus and His glory. That life will contradict the culture of the day.
God is looking for men and women who will not be conformed to society but rather transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of Jesus. This life will cry out, “I want Jesus more than I want anything!” Where are the men and women in the West willing to lose everything to gain God’s glory on earth? Too many of us think we can have God’s glory at little or no cost. Our tendency is to seek miracles rather than God. We seek to bask in the comfort of blessings rather than focus on “the old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame.” – Sammy Tippet
i love the end download of this chapter of @stickyjesus:
- the gift of salvation is priceless
- the cost is nothing compared to the reward
- you are either hot – or not what He has called you to be
- you can count on adversity, so when it shows up rejoice in it
- you will grow as you continue to “go” toward the life He’s called you to
so often the gospel is presented as a happy happy joy joy thing (remember ren and stimpy), a life of ease and comfort.
tell that to the persecuted christian in the middle east.
or the teenager rejected and bullied at school.
or the wife forced by her non christian husband to not go to church and stay silent.
in everything we face Jesus is with us and for us and we can pray and seek Him and find Him and He gives peace.
but its not an easy life.
He gives joy in the midst of the difficulty.
He gives us comfort because we need comforting.
we overcome by His power and become overcomers because there are obstacles that need overcoming.
i love 2 corinthians 1:4 – He comforts us so we can comfort others.
our life is lived out on the world stage to show the reality of God. raw. real. honest. broken. flawed. hard.
but in that we find peace, hope, love, grace, power, strength, joy.
in the midst.
in the flood. in the fire. (isaiah 43:2)
that’s part of the cost.
God is more interested in our character transformation than our happiness.
difficulties will rub the sharp fleshly edges off us.
they will refine us into the character and likeness of Jesus.
the cost says NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS LORD.
the cost puts Jesus firmly on the throne and surrenders to His leading.
the cost follows the leading of the Spirit, not the desires of the flesh.
the cost is to walk on the narrow road.
“Don’t live under the control of your sinful nature. If you do, you will think about what your sinful nature wants. Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you do, you will think about what the Spirit wants.” (Romans 8:5, NIRV)
its a lifetime of following Jesus. taking up our cross, denying self. salvation – “its not just a one-time decision, it’s a lifetime pursuit.” mark driscoll
when you really understand God’s work in your life, your natural desire will be to surrender your life to Him. to obey Him unconditionally. that posture of surrender will result in radical steps of faith, and a confidence that flows from a heart that’s fully devoted to God’s plans. steven furtick
William Barclay, in commenting on the above verse, said, “To deny oneself means in every moment of life to say no to self, and to say yes to God. To deny oneself means once, finally and for all to dethrone self and to enthrone God. To deny oneself means to obliterate self as the dominant principle of life, and to make God the ruling principle, more, the ruling passion, of life. The life of constant self-denial is the life of constant assent to God.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2, p. 167).
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” Jesus, john 14:23.
challenging eh. love is expressed in obedience. willingly choosing to obey shows love.
“There is a cost, but when you are in love with God, it seems like no cost at all.” -Damon Thompson
fix your eyes upon Jesus. our saviour. the lamb that takes away the sin of the world. the one who laid His life down for us, willingly, to rescue us.
i think i could use colossians 1:20-22 in almost every message i preach and every post i write.
And God was pleased for him to make peace by sacrificing his blood on the cross, so that all beings in heaven and on earth would be brought back to God. You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent.
it says it all doesnt it. the price. the cost. paid by jesus. that i may be accepted and loved and saved.
come join the conversation about @sticky jesus here: @stickyjesus read along.
Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you Isaiah 26:8-9
my mission statement in life is to KNOW GOD and MAKE HIM KNOWN
i am dreaming of revival and of making God famous
so that people will SEE Him and FIND Him and have their eyes opened that He is real and that they will come to know Him too
my life is a demonstration of His love and grace
and every day is an opportunity for me to live as show and tell for Him.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all- surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.
However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
2 Corinthians 4:7 – NIV, CEV, AMP, MSG, NKJV
i am JUST a jar of clay.
i am JUST a vessel.
its not about ME but ALL about HIM
i must decrease and HE must increase
i want to reflect the glory of God
that people will see HIS love and reality
this includes my presence on twitter and facebook.
its another opportunity to lift HIM up.
its another opportunity to present Christ to the world.
its another opportunity to connect and care.
yet sometimes social media can all be about generating the most followers or the most likes or the most whatevers.
it can stroke the ego and make us purr with popularity.
it can take our eyes off jesus and onto ourselves.
it can make us introspect and live to make a greater social impact instead of a greater gospel impact.
its not about me. its all about Him.
i am just the vessel, the jar of clay, the tool.
“it takes absolute intention and diligence to guard your heart in this world. if you let pride in, it will seize every opportunity to separate you from others and, more importantly from God.” @stickyjesus
by staying close to the Famous One you can guard your heart against pride and keep so much of you from dominating so much of everyone else. @stickyjesus
mercifully, God gives us His Word to remind us that our most noble endeavours – while impressive to this world – will never draw heaven’s applause if they lack the heart of humility, which is love. @stickyjesus
this chapter of @stickyjesus reminds us that their is a bigger picture.
and that though we’re important its not about us.
our pastor preached an awesome message on humility last year and challenged us that pride and also introspection (thinking about ourselves LOTS – making us the focus of everything) can be a dangerous path to take and that it takes our eyes off the focus (GOD and HIS plans and purposes) and distorts our perspective of who we are and who we are called to do. humility is not thinking about ourselves too much, too often, or too little – its about not thinking about ourselves really at all. we live to serve and to shine.
our lives are not our own. we are loved and cherished by God. His grace is sufficient for every weakness. in His strength we can do all things.
pride puffs us up into self reliance and introspection and low self esteem can restrict us from pursuing the call of God because we doubt our ability aka HIS ability to use us.
confidence is a good thing – when it accepts and lives in the zone that says God is God and God calls me and God empowers me, not because i am special but because i am ME and He will demonstrate His love and grace and power through me, human as i am.
you are who you are.
a child of God.
now live it.
make God famous.
live for His renown.
come join the conversation about @sticky jesus here: @stickyjesus read along.
life is more than breathing – more than we can touch and see and taste and feel on this planet. there is more to life than the earth and the 80 years or so than we live. the reality is that there are two kingdoms. there are two realms – this physical planet and the spiritual realm. the world and God’s Kingdom. in the 21st century we’ve become so adjusted to the physicality of life that we often forget the spiritual realm – or we lump it in the same category as fairy tales and unicorns and rom coms. even us christians…
the world says that God is dead and not real and or that He’s santa’s 2nd cousin tucked away on a cloud somewhere having bacon and cheese toasties, grooming his long white beard, listening to the latest harpist on his ipod… but the world is blinded by a demonic strategy by our enemy who covers up the greatness of God and shuts Christians down so that people stay captive, stay sick, stay lost, stay in the dark…
when life is over, we can not take anything with us into eternity, except a life that was lived in love and obedience to God. This world is not real, Jesus is ultimate reality. We don’t live for that which is seen, but we must daily live for that which is unseen – the kingdom of heaven and release heaven into this earth through our words, actions and purpose. How awesome is that!
because eternity is real, because God’s Kingdom is real we can be confident there is purpose and strategy for our lives. and also contention.
the great purpose is to demonstrate the love and grace of God – to glow in the dark and show that God IS real, so that people dont miss out and spend eternity without Him.
the contention is to keep people blind and lost and condemned.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
as christians we live in a war zone. we are saved and sent. redeemed and recruited. we are part of God’s glorious plan to see people come to know Him. anyone that wants to be used by God will face contention and battle. the war zone touches evey area of our life. the great strategy of the enemy has always being the same, right from the beginning. God isnt who He says He is, and He doesnt mean what He says. He aims to distract and diswade us from knowing God and living for Him. he hates that we are children of God.
his goal is the same as it was in the garden. he exists to silence God’s message of hope and genuine relationship with His children. don’t pick up the lies the enemy is putting down. @stickyjesus
the enemy knows that if he can capture your thought life, everything else will soon tumble down around you. Christ died to give you holiness, but the enemy aggressively and enthusiastically bets against your holiness before you’ve even had your first cup of coffee. life on this side of heaven is hard. @stickyjesus
while your message as a follower of Christ is grace, hope and healing, there’s a power that works equally hard online (and off-line!) to cancel out your message by generating a perpetual flow of despair, hate and evil @stickyjesus
but in this war we are not unarmed or weak. we are not the losers. we are children and heirs of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who one day will return and breathe upon the enemy and destroy him. the enemy is defeated already at the cross.
God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:13-15
we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to stand and overcome.
Greater is He in you than the one who is in the world. 1 john 4:4
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13
remember the cross and how it defeated the sin in your life for good. you are no longer the underdog or a slave tot eh strongholds that left you helpless. jesus came as your escape route from all of the things you fear. @stickyjesus
as long as there are people on earth, evil will always find his way in and put his flag in the ground. it’s why you need to get serious about infusing the Light and shaping this global meeting place for God’s glory – sooner than later. @stickyjesus
part of the strategy we need as christians to have victory – in the big picture – and in our own personal lives as we live out for jesus is to be intentional and aware. we need to know we’re in a battle and that we are fully armed. we need to know WHO we are serving and WHY. we need to be watching and alert.
Be self- controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 peter 5:8
this isnt just a observance mode. its not just a looking out for danger but its a choice to live our lives aware and living according to the Word of God.
every choice is a choice between light and darkness, between obedience and disobedience, between the flesh and the spirit, between the world and the Kingdom of God. choose God. choose obedience. choose to pick up your cross and deny self and follow Jesus. this is your offensive attack. make choices to avoid evil. make choices to not compromise. make choices to overcome.
this chapter of @stickyjesus gives some really practical strategies for overcoming the onslaught of the enemy who seeks to distract and destroy us and our purpose, thus switching the light out – esp online.
take a heart stand – abide in Jesus
connect with Him – prayer, worship – 1 peter 1:13-15, 1 corinthians 9:27
know your content – know what the Word says and promises – it was jesus’ weapon of choice
trust God to transform you – romans 12:2
worship – prioritize God’s presence
go digitally dark – rest, be refreshed
protect the family bond
pursue and honour fellowship – real life people matter!
establish accountability
value your personal time
be alert – 1 peter 5:8
declare war
be safe online
you really cant relegate danger to a “zone” online. an alarm wont go off if you get too close to a danger zone, nor will a crossing guard wave you through when the coast is clear. Danger is everywhere because we live on a broken planet. @stickyjesus
we are flawed broken people. yet we are forgiven and cleansed. we are being transformed daily. the Holy Spirit is our guide. the Word shows us how to live. we are greatly loved.
we are children of God. citizens of God’s Kingdom.
protect your relationship with God. don’t let sin creep in. don’t compromise. there is always a second chance. and a million and thirty seventh chance. jesus died to make the way for us to be free from sin.
And God was pleased for him to make peace by sacrificing his blood on the cross, so that all beings in heaven and on earth would be brought back to God. You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. Colossians 1:19-22
lets today rise and shine. lets overcome.
come join the conversation about @sticky jesus here: @stickyjesus read along.
throughout history, game changers have stepped forward in the faith to affect the way people communicate god’s truth in the culture in which they live. @stickyjesus
are you a game changer? sounds like it would be someone radical, cool, out there.
but really a game changer is someone surrendered to Christ and open for Him to use them here, there, everywhere – at any time, in their real lives.
God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all- surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7
my life has influence because God is at work in me and through me to the world around me.
i am uniquely positioned to be involved in peoples lives, shining God’s light, glowing in the dark, a visible representation of God.
i can pray.
i can have conversations.
i can live my life with love (ephesians 5:2)
if we’re breathing we’re called. if we’re saved, we’re sent. if we’re rescued and redeemed then we are recruited.
for all of us the call is the same.
know God and make Him known.
our rally cry:
get up on your feet (move)
you’ve been appointed (chosen)
share what you’ve been shown (communicate)
i will rescue you from humankind (courage)
open their eyes (influence)
i am sending you (authority)
it is a message bigger than you (salvation)
from Acts 26:16-18 @stickyjesus
i loved the sense of destiny this chapter of @stickyjesus stirred within me. reading the following passage made me recognize that at the right time God ignites a generation – ignites a PERSON – to step out and step up and declare His Word and His ways in a unique designed for the times way. God communicated to cultures and times in history in unique ways. God is the ultimate game changer. And now, in our times, He is using social media and the internet again to revolutionize the communication of the gospel. He raises up people to be leaders in this new direction and sends them out like the point of an arrow to break ground and seize territory and make a way for others to follow.
communication channels have radically changed since Moses walked down the mountain, stone tablets in hand. OT scribes wrote on parchment made from the treated skins of sheep or goats, and they used pens fashioned from reeds. the prophets preached in synagogues and countrysides. later, paul wrote his letters on scrolls of papayas and gave them to slaves who would deliver them ot the churches in other cities… in 1440 the printing press changed everything as bibles went from locked archives to retail. in 1517 martin luther nailed the 99 theses on the door of the university church in Wittenberg and changed the game. religious literature tracts were used as major channels throughout the turbulence of the protestant reformation in a movement that became known as “Tractarianism”. john calvin wrote, debated and preached tireless during the reformation. in the 18th century, john wesley travelled 250,000 miles by horseback in his efforts to spread the Word, and he preached in open fields to as many as 20,000 at a time. in 1922 aimee semple mcpherson preached what is believed to be the first radio sermon. television and revivals catapulted the reach of billy graham’s ministry. his first televised crusade generated 1.5 million letters to teh television station… @stickyjesus
i am confident and secure that God will speak to THIS generation. to THIS time. to THIS age.
He will use the best methods and the best forums to spread His message of Good News to THIS generation.
and He uses His children to be at the forefront of that.
the message is usually spread through people.
extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary steps of obedience. steven furtick.
are you ready to be used by God?
you can be a history maker. you can be an eternity changer as those around you come to know Jesus.
your life WILL be used by God to demonstrate His love and grace and power.
the way you live makes a difference.
like paul, you can share your life and how God is moving in it. you can mobilize people to pray, to give, to rebuild, to extend hope, and to step forward with the fresh revelation and power that God promised every one of us. @stickyjesus
come join the conversation about @sticky jesus here: @stickyjesus read along.
i love this chapter of @stickyjesus because i love the Holy Spirit and His work in me and to me and through me and for me. i love how God chooses and uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for His fame and glory. i live to know Him and make Him known.
one of my most favourite verses in the bible is 2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
the all surpassing power of God IS GOD – IS the Holy Spirit who lives within us!
Ephesians 3:20 puts it this way: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
the Holy Spirit lives in me. wow. that’s huge. audacious. awesome!
He lives in me as a guarantee of the promises of God for eternity and He’s in me to empower me to serve God and shine for Him. He is the potter and i am the clay and He is in me shaping me and transforming me and making me who God dreams me to be. He’s in me to enable me to walk with God and know God.
again another most favourite passage:
But as it is written:
“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-11
i love the BUT GOD HAS REVEALED THEM TO US THROUGH HIS SPIRIT.
The Holy Spirit reveals to us who God is – His ways, His heart, His love, His guidance, His comfort…
to understand the character of God, study His Word and align your words and actions with HIS attributes, shedding the “stuff” in you that runs against the grain of His holiness. Remind yourself daily of who God is and what He expects you to be and become. @stickyjesus
God is LOVE – 1 john 4:8
God is HOLY – psalm 99:3
God is GOOD – psalm 136:1
God is TRUTHFUL – Numbers 23:19
God is FAITHFUL – 1 thess 5:24
God is RIGHTEOUS – Psalm 71:19
God is COMPASSIONATE – lamentations 3:22-23
God is WISE – romans 16:27
God is FORGIVING and KIND – 1 john 1:9
so how does this connect with blogging/facebook/twitter – anything online?
the Holy Spirit empowers us to connect with people and shine for Him and to speak truth and love to those around us, in real life and online.
the other day i was on twitter following a LOST lecture with the actor who played benjamin linus. yes i still so love Lost. a young woman then posted a brief tweet that she was feeling lost and alone and worried and sad. i sat there for a brief moment, aware of the nudge to my spirit. i tweeted back, you okay? anything a random stranger can help with or pray for? since then we’ve tweeted almost everyday. this young woman is going through some stuff and i believe that God arranged a divine appointment. i would have never seen her tweet but for the LOST lecture and the hashtag i was following. across the miles God organised someone to pray for her and speak life and hope into her situation, to connect her to Jesus. there are opportunities all around us if we are sensitive and intentional to take them.
renowned theologian AW Tozer said of this chosen condition: “if we will let Him, Christ will do in us and through us that which He did in and through the committed believers after Pentecost. the potential is ours…” @stickyjesus
The Holy Spirit makes your life and God’s Word sticky to the rest of the world. so dont log on without Him! @stickyjesus
this chapter of @stickyjesus encourage us to always be logging on with the Holy Spirit. He can guide us and inspire us about WHAT to write. its amazing the times i’ve written something or shared a bible verse and get a reply or comment that it was just what the person needed to read and that it was like right from God to them. that’s amazing and humbling. esp when you’re unaware that you were being led, you were just writing! sometimes i am very aware that i am being led to write or share something. other times i am just being me and writing.
God is so good. He takes our humble offerings… and He can use them to feed the multitudes, just as He took a little boys lunchbox and fed the thousands.
i really loved the way @sitkcyjesus unpacks some of the different ways that we can be open and used by God (and i confess i’ve totally borrowed this list from from Ph1lm’s Blog)
As we do so, we will find that He helps us, including as we seek to engage wisely:
learn the culture – what is going on here? Patterns of interaction, gathering places,etc
listen – be a great listener to people
be tolerant – have compassion for real people with real needs
seek common ground – however different people seem, there is always a point of connection
be present – intentionally spend time with people
keep it simple and powerful – input, interaction, value and follow-up
be original – find your own voice, be authentic, sharing hope and struggles.
keep your words in check – words are powerful things, so we need to be careful what we say and how we come across – communicating is being understood not a one way data dump!
respond well – don’t be rushed to just react but maybe pause before replying.
from Ph1lm’s Blog about Holy Spirit: The Power Source 06 @stickyjesus read along
@stickyjesus issues the challenge for us all to:
be a connector, not an obstacle, to eternity @stickyjesus
to be conducting yourself in a manner worthy to follow Christ online and off-line is a daily practice of humility and surrender. @stickyjesus
what a challenge.
we are not ordinary people.
we are not ordinary bloggers or facebookers or tweeters.
we are agents for God!
dont be an undercover agent!
be also aware of WHO could be reading your status updates or looking at what you “like”
i’m not saying be unauthentic – if you’re having a bad hair day that’s okay. but don’t cross the line. be aware that people are watching you, to see God in you, to evaluate christianity and its reality through you.
i remember when i was in a hall of residence when i was at uni. i was a new christian and had prayed that God would organise the people in the rooms next to me and that we would have divine appointments and they’d get radically saved and revival would break out… yes i did. anyway i made friends with the people at teh total opposite end of the hall. but at the end of the year each of my neighbours popped into my room to say bye and chat. one of them said she had watched me all year. yikes! it was a sobering moment and i immediately asked God to make her forget any mistakes i had made! but… for the glory of God, not to puff me up, she said i was the only real christian she had ever met and we talked for ages about God and life and i told her my story. was amazing. and a good lesson for me that i have never forgot. people are watching and observing us. lets let our light shine so that God is known through our lives. lets be a connector, not an obstacle to eternity.
i love the prayer at the end of this chapter, and will end this post with it:
dear Lord, my one desire is to be filled with Your Holy Spirit – so do Your supernatural, holy work, Lord and come quickly. i need Your Spirit to guide me, teach me, search me and take up residence in every secret place of my heart. Holy Spirit, You are welcome here. Own my thoughts, reign over my words. Quicken my heart to respond to the needs of those around me. Tear down the me that offends You. Obliterate my pride, selfishness, judgement and indifference. Build in me a holy fortress that will withstand any attack. i want to love who You love. have your way with me as i surrender joyfully to the authority and the power of You Holy Spirit. amen.
Lord, you are the potter, and i am the clay…
i am Yours, use me.
come join the conversation about @sticky jesus here: @stickyjesus read along.
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