Lately, the Lord has been teaching me a lot of things about what it means to truly be a follower of Christ. It's both challenging and exciting. Let me back up a bit and tell you a little about myself and what God has done in my life.
I am blessed to have grown up in a Christian home with loving Godly parents who taught me about my heavenly Father. I grew up going to church and practically living at church because at least one of my parents has always been on staff in some capacity. I learned right and wrong very early and like most children, saw the world in a very black and white way. But then I got older and the black and white seemed to run together and turn into gray. I began to realize that life is hard. It's messy. Bad things happen in the world. People have struggles. That, of course, begged the question, why? Why do bad things happen? Why do people suffer? Why do things go not the way we want them to sometimes? Well I don't claim to have all the answers to these questions but I do think I have somewhere to start. It's rather simple, really. Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, everything changed. Sin entered the world and everything changed. Their hearts changed. Their purpose changed. And their world changed. We still live in a broken world, and it goes back to that day in the garden when Eve listened to the voice of the enemy and tried to be like God. She tried to take control. This was never meant to be. And because of that one act, I am sinful. I am broken. Just like you.
I have not always realized how sinful I am. Like I said, I grew up in a Christian home and in the church. I knew about God and I was a "good person". I always hated getting into trouble and I never wanted to be in the wrong. You see, the thing about being a good person is we can easily convince ourselves that we are not really sinful. We can convince ourselves that we are good, but we are not. It wasn't until college when I truly realized just how sinful I am. I mean, I really felt it. I felt dirty, broken, useless, helpless, and overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed with just how much I needed someone to literally save me from my sinfulness. We are all born as a morally evil being. Now I know this sounds so awful that it almost can't be true, but it is. When we come into this world, we are dead in our sin. We need someone who can take us from death to life! Without Christ and the regeneration that the Holy Spirit brings to our lives, we are enslaved to sin. Now some of us might be doing drugs, or struggle with drinking, or we're living in sexual sin, etc.... but others of us are just going through the motions. Both are equally sinful. God says that he spits the lukewarm out of his mouth. The point is, no matter what we struggle with, we need the power of God in our lives, working daily to transform us and to renew us.
This is my testimony in a bottom line... God brought me out of death and into life. Life that is so rich, satisfying, and powerful that nothing else can compare. Being a good person does not have saving power. But the name of God has saving power. He will take you out of whatever pit you are in and bring you into marvelous life. A lot of times it is easy to feel like we don't have a testimony if we don't have this huge story that blows peoples minds and signs book deals. But here's the thing: every story is huge because the fact that we were dead in our sin, literally on a track that was heading for eternal death, where we were living on this earth apart from God and moving to being alive in Christ, with the assurance of one day being in heaven praising our God forever, and living with God right here and right now on this earth is incredible! THAT IS HUGE. Believe it.
Here's the thing though... if we want this transforming power in our lives, this abundant life, then we must let it take over every aspect of our lives. Knowing ABOUT God is not enough. We must KNOW God. Tonight I went to this event on campus where Louie Giglio spoke and Kristian Stanfill and Christy Nockels led worship. It was an amazing time. Louie talked about the difference between information and revelation. In other words, the difference between knowing about God and actually knowing him. He gave this example...
In college I took this geography class and on the first day of lab we took out all these topographical maps. While everyone else was cussing and complaining about having to study maps, I was secretly really excited. He said that he loves maps, and to this day has a world atlas next to his bed that he reads at night. Ha. He owned up to being an oober nerd. Anyways, they were studying Mt. Rainier, which is in Washington. When it came time to take the test, he said that he was disappointed because the test didn't ask him enough about Mt. Rainier, so he wrote on the back... things that I know about Mt. Rainier that you didn't put on the test... and then he proceeded to write tons of extra information on the back of the test. True story. He ended up getting a 118 on his geography test and becoming an expert on Mt. Rainier. Fast forward to the summer and he goes on this camping trip with a buddy all across North America. One of the places they went to was Mt. Rainier. After they got to the top of the mountain, which is 5,000 ft. above sea level, they got out of their car and started walking through a meadow where the snow was just melting even though it was July. Then, right before Louie was going to give his presentation on Mt. Rainier to his friend, he said he started sobbing. Not like a few tears falling on your face crying, but sobbing. He said he couldn't stop sobbing and he didn't know what happened. So he just went back to the car and drove back down the mountain to the campsite. The next night when they stopped at a new campsite, he was lying in the tent asking God what had happened to him and why he just broke down like that. He said he felt like God told him that he was teaching him something... He was teaching him the difference between knowing information about something and actually experiencing something and knowing it. So powerful.
He shared this story because he was trying to help us see something. Just knowing about God is not enough. The worst thing to think is that we are fine. Psalm 34 says to taste and see that the Lord is good! We can only taste and see when we know Him. God must give us revelation and open our eyes to see how sinful we are, but how adequate He is. No matter what your struggle is, whether you see it as something big or something small, the Lord can deliver you from it. The Lord wants to let his Spirit rest on you, to let his joy rest on you, and to let his peace rest on you. We must trust that the blood of Jesus Christ covers our brokenness and our sinfulness. We must believe that the Holy Spirit can do a work in our lives and transform our hearts. If you want to step out of death and into life, there is only one way to do it!
Father, we pray to you, in the name of your Son, and in the dependency on the Holy Spirit. Break into our lives and renew us. Release the chains of sin. Break off the shackles of shame. Release us from the things that keep pulling us back into sin. We need you and the life that you desire to give to us. Real, powerful, everlasting life. We desire to walk with you daily. Teach us your ways oh Lord, that we might know you more. Help us to see that knowing you is the most important thing. And from there, we are commanded to share this truth with others. This is what you delight in Lord. May we, as your servants, hear your voice and obey.
The good Word:
"But when the goodness and lovingkindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."- Titus 3:5
"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For the one who has died has been set free from sin."- Romans 6:6-7
"Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."- 1 Corinthians 15: 55-58
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."- 2 Corinthians 5:17
"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."- 2 Corinthians 12:9
"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."- Galatians 5:1
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