Well, it's been a
few days since I issued the challenge to deliberately show the love of Christ
through your actions and words to people you interact with on a daily
basis. So...I'm dying to know how you
did! I know that making yourself
vulnerable and transparent can be, and often times is, a nerve-racking position
to put yourself in. I get it. I'm sure that Jesus was anxious when he was
betrayed, forced to carry his own cross to His place of death, and ultimately
His hanging on the cross, dying for our sins.
Are you picking up what I'm putting down? Jesus died for you and me, for our sins, so
that we would receive eternal life.
As you all know,
I'm sure, we're sinners. We are all
sinners. Romans 3:23 spells that fact
out pretty good for us: For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. In order to be able to receive God's free
gift of salvation through faith alone in Jesus, we have to acknowledge that
fact. We are a broken people who are
incapable of saving ourselves.
Period. Good works are good, but
they won't get you to heaven. Being nice
to people is great, but if you're looking at that to get you into the Pearly
Gates, think again. Coming to church is
awesome, but God will give you the clothesline (football reference in light of
Super Bowl Sunday). All the
aforementioned things are wonderful aspects of a life but it means nothing if
Jesus isn't at your very core, embedded into your heart. Do you want to know what the best way to
share Jesus with someone is? Be in love. You must be head-over-heels in love with
Jesus Christ, that's where you start. If
we don't exhibit the love that Jesus has for us to others, why would anyone
want to be part of the family of God? If
they don't see through our actions and words that Jesus Christ is a life
changer, people may dismiss the power of a relationship with Christ. Is that a risk we're willing to take? I'll speak for myself and say, "absolutely
not!"
Enough
preaching...sorry about that.
My name is
Jeremy. I was able to grow a beard by
the time I was 13 or 14 years old. As it
turned out, this became a curse for me because it allowed me to disguise my age
to cashiers at the local liquor store where I would frequently visit. There are few days during my first two years
in high school that I remember not being drunk.
I didn't care nor was I concerned about stopping. I reluctantly visited a church with a friend
and immediately felt the presence of the Holy Spirit wash over me in a way that
is almost indescribable. Unbeknownst to
me, God was doing His work on my heart even as I pounded back shot after shot,
beer after beer. People were praying for
me. People invited me to church
often. It wasn't until I chose to go
with my friends to church that I realized my life wasn't worth living the way I
was. There was something more out there,
something much bigger than myself. God
transformed my life. I can all but
guarantee that had I not accepted the invitation to church, and ultimately
Jesus' invitation to follow Him, my life would have ended early. Life without Christ isn't a life.
That's my story in
a very brief nutshell. That's what I
shared to someone this weekend while I was doing some last minute grocery
shopping. It was awkward and, at times,
uncomfortable, but I believe that the Holy Spirit put on my heart to talk to
this person. Sometimes your story is
what people need to hear. Maybe someone
needs to hear that you are broken, too.
The difference between your brokenness and a non-believer's is that you
have hope in Jesus Christ.
The first day that
I taught our High Schoolers Sunday School, I gave them two things: first, I
gave each of them a book called "Difference Makers: An Action Guide for
Jesus Followers" which is intended to help them become the difference
makers in their "circle." The
second thing I gave them each was a stack of tracts called, "What Shall I
Do to Inherit Eternal Life." Their
challenge was to use the book to help them become more deliberate in their walk
with the Lord and to be the change agent that people need to hear from. The tracts weren't theirs to keep; rather
they were encouraged to pass them out to everyone they came in contact with. Quite a few of the high school kids were
concerned about telling their story because they grew up in the church for all
or the majority of their lives. I am
here to tell you that even if you grew up in the church, you have a story to
tell. Maybe you've seen the power of God
work miracles. Perhaps you have
witnessed someone addicted to drugs quit cold turkey. You've seen the sick become well. You have seen and heard things that is a
testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit.
People need to hear your story.
Tell them.
Check out what Paul
tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:22: To the weak I became weak, to win the
weak. I have become all things to all
people so that by all possible means I might save some. Have you ever asked God to break your
heart for what breaks His? I believe, in
a way, that's what Paul is talking about here.
We need to have a great burden for those around us, in our church,
community, state, country, and world.
Church, those in the world that don't yet know who Jesus Christ is and what
His love feels like must be told our stories.
As I write this
post, I'm listening to some music.
Normally I don't stop what I'm doing to listen to the actual lyrics, but
for a certain song I stopped what I was doing and just listened. The song was called "While I'm
Waiting." The lyrics start like
this:
I'm waiting, I'm
waiting on You Lord
And I'm hopeful,
I'm waiting on You Lord
Though it is
painful, but patiently I will wait
And I will move
ahead bold and confident
Taking every step
in obedience
It's easy for me to
relate to this song because I was "given the opportunity" to move to
Nebraska for a little over a year. I
have no idea why God has chosen me for this and there have been times that I
just didn't care. But, the bigger
picture is that God has some glorious plans for me in Nebraska. I don't know what they are right now, but I'm
sure it has something to do with leading people to the Lord. You see, our story isn't always what we want
it to be, but it's our story nonetheless.
We must remain patient on Him and "take every step in
obedience" to Him. God has gifted
each of us to fulfill His calling so that by all possible means we might save
some.
Church family, I
encourage you to continue to show the love of Jesus Christ through your actions
and words so that the Holy Spirit will shine through us to those that don't yet
know him.
Thanks for letting
me ramble on for what has now become my longest post. Enjoy the game today and GO SEAHAWKS!!!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jeremy Meier