Leg lifts. 15 minutes. Stop when the machine goes off.
It takes a little work to make a muscle stronger. My knee was injured from running, and I've been going to physical therapy for a few weeks now. At the end of each session, I get hooked up to a machine that sends electric shock to my muscles to make them contract (it's not as bad as it sounds- trust me). Each time the pulse begins to contract my muscle, I have to lift and hold my leg for 5 seconds. 15 minutes.
"If you get tired, you can just flex your muscle and then rest, instead of lifting it up and down." Easy way out.
Well, I get there -- tired.
So, naturally, I stop lifting my leg. And about 30 seconds later, the buzzer rings and the shock stops and I sigh.
I could have kept going if I would have known it was only 30 seconds longer.
How many times have I taken that easy way out? I get a little tired, so I don't try as hard.
Isn't that what faith is for? Pushing through when it hurts, embracing the hurt, knowing it will make us stronger. Not knowing when a trial is over, and not asking, but just taking it for what it is- learning and growing in the process. It may be painful in the process, and it may be exhausting, but the muscle is strengthening. It may seem as if it will never end, but God is saying, "Just a few more lifts....come on, you can do it."
The school year's coming to an end. Classes are almost over. Time to move. New schedule. Different crowds. But I can't just quit at the end, as to-do lists get longer and days get shorter and I grow weary. I have to finish, and the Lord would have me finish well.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Showing posts with label Mediocre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mediocre. Show all posts
May 3, 2011
Apr 24, 2010
It's Not Okay.
It's time for revival. The church is dead. The American church is dying in its own buildings without even knowing it.
Yet, there are some who see the sad reality. Christians are going through the motions, living comfortable lives of sin, thinking that everything is ok. IT'S NOT OKAY! Mediocre is not okay. Lukewarm is not okay. Compromise does not cut it.
What happened to black and white? Right and wrong? What happened to following the Bible instead of "interpretations" of the Bible that we select as our favorite because they justify sinful actions? What happened to living as Christ demands?
My heart is broken and torn up today. This past week, I have come to realize the state of modern church. I'm sick of political correctness, and making people "feel good." That's not what it's about.
The reality is that there is a heaven and there is a hell. And everyone here on earth is destined to one of those places. If it's not heaven, it's hell. And, we walk around with the audacity to think that it's okay to live in sin and keep the Gospel to ourselves. One more time...IT'S NOT OKAY.
Only a few months ago, I was living in this mediocre, lukewarm existence. The worst part about being lukewarm is that you don't know it. Billy (Eikon pastor) talked about this on Wednesday. In Revelation 3, Christ tells the Laodicean church, "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were on or the other!" One or the other? Why would Christ want someone to be cold? Because at least they know they're cold! They know something needs to be done. If you're hot, you know you're hot. But if you're lukewarm, you think everything's okay. IT'S NOT OKAY.
Christ demands radical obedience to His message. Yes, we are all sinners, but we can't keep using that as a crutch. With Christ comes victory over sin. With prayer comes a shield of protection. Christians aren't supposed to look the same as the world, with a little of God's grace sprinkled on us. Just because we're forgiven doesn't mean we have permission to do whatever we want. Our lives are not our own. Our bodies are not our own. Our dreams are not ours. Do you see the pattern here? It's not about us, but everything in today's church tells us that it is.
We've gotta get past us. That's where Satan has us trapped. If our Christianity revolves around us, we never get anywhere because yeah- we will always have problems. We can't wait until the conditions are "perfect" before we decide to help someone out. Christ went out of His way to help others when His conditions were the worst. He ministered on the cross!!! Why, then, are we caught up in (insert sin here) when Christ has given us authority and power to overcome such sin and focus on others?
If we push past ourselves, that's when we experience Christ, because it was never about us in the first place. Christ didn't die so that we could hear the Gospel, be saved, and feel comfortable in lives of mediocrity. Christ died so that our lives would be so radically transformed that the world wouldn't recognize them as normal. They would see something completely different and passionate and intriguing that would make them wonder why in the world we would act so absurd.
The church needs revival. The world needs God. And I need to get off my butt and do something about it.
"14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” 19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[a] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?"
I think what we have is an entire generation that has been fooled into believing that the sinner's prayer is good enough. Believing that God saves and that Jesus died for you isn't good enough. Our lives must reflect the fact that we have come into contact with that reality.
As a result of this false doctrine, we have a world full of people who believe that they are okay. Faith without works is dead. I have a classroom full of peers who raised their hands and said they were "Christians" (while their language alone is enough to have Paul roll over in his grave). Faith without works is dead.
Being lukewarm is much worse than being either hot or cold. My heart is burdened for the lukewarm of the world. I was one of them. I was content in false Christianity, believing that it was okay to do whatever I wanted. That's not following Jesus.
Praise God He saved me from that state, from that trickery of the Devil! But I cannot be content with just getting over it. God saved me for a reason. I have to reach others with this message, not with a "high and mighty" I'm-better-than-you-and-can't-relate-to-how-you're-living attitude. No! It has to come from a heart that says- yeah, I was right where you were. And it's not a safe place to be. We don't know how much time we have left. Today is the day for change. No more mediocrity. No more fake Christians. It's unacceptable. The church is doing society a dishonor by turning its head and ignoring this state of existence, even accepting this state of existence. It needs to be called out. We cannot stay silent and pretend it's okay. People are dying and going to hell. IT'S NOT OKAY.
Yet, there are some who see the sad reality. Christians are going through the motions, living comfortable lives of sin, thinking that everything is ok. IT'S NOT OKAY! Mediocre is not okay. Lukewarm is not okay. Compromise does not cut it.
What happened to black and white? Right and wrong? What happened to following the Bible instead of "interpretations" of the Bible that we select as our favorite because they justify sinful actions? What happened to living as Christ demands?
My heart is broken and torn up today. This past week, I have come to realize the state of modern church. I'm sick of political correctness, and making people "feel good." That's not what it's about.
The reality is that there is a heaven and there is a hell. And everyone here on earth is destined to one of those places. If it's not heaven, it's hell. And, we walk around with the audacity to think that it's okay to live in sin and keep the Gospel to ourselves. One more time...IT'S NOT OKAY.
Only a few months ago, I was living in this mediocre, lukewarm existence. The worst part about being lukewarm is that you don't know it. Billy (Eikon pastor) talked about this on Wednesday. In Revelation 3, Christ tells the Laodicean church, "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were on or the other!" One or the other? Why would Christ want someone to be cold? Because at least they know they're cold! They know something needs to be done. If you're hot, you know you're hot. But if you're lukewarm, you think everything's okay. IT'S NOT OKAY.
Christ demands radical obedience to His message. Yes, we are all sinners, but we can't keep using that as a crutch. With Christ comes victory over sin. With prayer comes a shield of protection. Christians aren't supposed to look the same as the world, with a little of God's grace sprinkled on us. Just because we're forgiven doesn't mean we have permission to do whatever we want. Our lives are not our own. Our bodies are not our own. Our dreams are not ours. Do you see the pattern here? It's not about us, but everything in today's church tells us that it is.
We've gotta get past us. That's where Satan has us trapped. If our Christianity revolves around us, we never get anywhere because yeah- we will always have problems. We can't wait until the conditions are "perfect" before we decide to help someone out. Christ went out of His way to help others when His conditions were the worst. He ministered on the cross!!! Why, then, are we caught up in (insert sin here) when Christ has given us authority and power to overcome such sin and focus on others?
If we push past ourselves, that's when we experience Christ, because it was never about us in the first place. Christ didn't die so that we could hear the Gospel, be saved, and feel comfortable in lives of mediocrity. Christ died so that our lives would be so radically transformed that the world wouldn't recognize them as normal. They would see something completely different and passionate and intriguing that would make them wonder why in the world we would act so absurd.
The church needs revival. The world needs God. And I need to get off my butt and do something about it.
"14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” 19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[a] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?"
I think what we have is an entire generation that has been fooled into believing that the sinner's prayer is good enough. Believing that God saves and that Jesus died for you isn't good enough. Our lives must reflect the fact that we have come into contact with that reality.
As a result of this false doctrine, we have a world full of people who believe that they are okay. Faith without works is dead. I have a classroom full of peers who raised their hands and said they were "Christians" (while their language alone is enough to have Paul roll over in his grave). Faith without works is dead.
Being lukewarm is much worse than being either hot or cold. My heart is burdened for the lukewarm of the world. I was one of them. I was content in false Christianity, believing that it was okay to do whatever I wanted. That's not following Jesus.
Praise God He saved me from that state, from that trickery of the Devil! But I cannot be content with just getting over it. God saved me for a reason. I have to reach others with this message, not with a "high and mighty" I'm-better-than-you-and-can't-relate-to-how-you're-living attitude. No! It has to come from a heart that says- yeah, I was right where you were. And it's not a safe place to be. We don't know how much time we have left. Today is the day for change. No more mediocrity. No more fake Christians. It's unacceptable. The church is doing society a dishonor by turning its head and ignoring this state of existence, even accepting this state of existence. It needs to be called out. We cannot stay silent and pretend it's okay. People are dying and going to hell. IT'S NOT OKAY.
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