From Bad to Best

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."  -1 Peter 5:8
 

Sometimes when I think about the state of our culture, I feel burdened.  When I see or hear about music video with lots of sex and violence and all of the millions of views these videos have on YouTube, it makes my heart heavy.  

"How many people are being led into things that are spiritually dangerous for them?!?" I think.  The artists representing these videos do not care about the spiritual well-being of these millions of viewers, mostly young and impressionable. They do not have an awareness of the spiritual reality of what they are living out when they make these types of videos. (Or maybe they do?) The producers, music executives, and artists mostly care about the bottom dollar - what will sell.  We are always pushing the envelope as a culture with the mentality, "What can we get by with that excites people but doesn't go over the line too much...?" 

But, as Christians, we are called to live out a different example.  We are called to spread the good news of the kingdom, creatively, effectively, and authentically.  How much better could life be if all of us knew the freedom, love, and amazing life we could have in Christ?  Plus, heaven for eternity! 

When I first came to Christ, I came to Him because I realized how bad my life had been.  I was depressed, suicidal, and I hated myself.  But when I received a revelation of His love, I was changed into a different person.  I went from bad to best.  

Are you choosing the best in your life, so you can lead others to the best?  Pray that God would help you in this, so that we would not be swayed by the world, but instead become the people God has called us to be, to renew, restore, and show the best way - the way of redemption through Jesus Christ. 

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." -Romans 12:2
 
When we choose His way, we will discover the best for our lives.

God's Refining Fire

"Then I will purify them and put them to the test, just as gold and silver are purified and tested. They will pray in my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'You are my people,' and they will reply, 'You, LORD, are our God!'" Zechariah 13:9 (CEV)

Did you know that God tests us? He doesn't do it to be mean or to play a joke on us, but He does it to see where our heart is. He does this because this is the most important thing to him - our heart.
 
As children of His, he wants us to experience life as it was meant to be, full of purpose, meaning, and great relationships. In order for us to experience those things, he puts us through the "refining fire". This is the place of testing, where the bad comes out, and the good stays intact, like gold in a kiln.
 
Everyday, we experience tests and trials, though we may not recognize them as such. When big ones happen, we question God. "Why did this happen? Why did they do that to me? It wasn't right! It wasn't fair! God, change them!" When really, it is us He is desiring to change.
 
Have you ever heard the quote, "He loves us too much to keep us where we are"? It may already be an old cliché to you, but I believe it to be true. Testing removes the impurities in our hearts, so we may be found spotless and holy, as a living sacrifice, just as Jesus was. (1 Peter 1:19)
 
Have you experienced God's testing? If not, ask him to work his perfect miracle in you, to transform you into a person who reflects God's glory. Let the gold that is in you be refined, so that the destiny God has for you can be revealed and lived out. Let him work his perfect miracle in you today.

Spiritual Seasons

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build..." -Ecc 3:1-3

One night at our church discipleship group, our worship leader had something she felt needed to be shared during prayer.

"I feel like God wants some of you to know that everyone goes through spiritual seasons, much like we're in a season change right now. Some of you may be in spring, where you're excited about new ideas and new things happening in your life. Others of you may be in winter, where you don't see much going on. But I want you to know that being in a different spiritual season is all okay, and it is all a part of God's plan."

Life in God has spiritual seasons. Sometimes our lives may be in flux. We may not know quite where we are going, and that is okay. We might be shedding old thought patters and beliefs that we need to get rid of in order to take us to a new place. We need to trust God in these seasons. We may be in a harvest season, enjoying the fruit of our labors. We may find ourselves in a dry place, like winter, or we may find ourselves in a place where everything is blooming and we are seeing a lot of spiritual fruit, like summer.

Whatever the season, know that God has a purpose for the season that you are in right now. Like the trees outside, when we're firmly planted in Him, these season changes are a natural part of being a Christian. Sometimes we need to be pruned. Plants that aren't pruned aren't able to grow to their full potential. We need to remember to hold tight to Him and trust Him during these season changes so He can do the greater work in our lives, and so Christ's glory can be revealed in us.

What season are you in right now?

Pure Vessels

"And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Him." -1 John 3:5

Are you a pure vessel? Being committed to be a Christian involves a continual process of sanctification, and even more so if you are a teacher of God's word.  (John 17:19, James 3:1)  Although Jesus has paid the price for our sins, and we continually receive His forgiveness, there are still things He will require of us so that we become complete and more like Him.  (James 1:4)  This most often has to do with issues of our hearts. "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."  -Proverbs 4:23

Recently my husband and I went to a marriage conference and one of the sessions was about transparency.  The couple that was speaking talked about their journey of sanctification, which involved the man getting free from issues of adultery.   This of course caused a lot of strife in their marriage, and even though the man had repented to his wife for those things that had happened long ago, he found himself in "sin management", trying to manage the effects that this spiritual root of sin had on him.

This couple had been invited by a pastor to minister to a group of people at a leadership conference, but before they arrived, they had had an argument.  The man felt convicted that they should not minister to this group of people due to the fact that there was strife in their hearts.  As the pastor introduced him, he told him that they were not prepared to minister, and that their hearts were not pure.  The crowd went completely silent.  After a few moments the pastor held the microphone and repented for times when he and his wife ministered with strife in their hearts.  Ninety percent of the crowd got on their knees to repent and the Holy Spirit ministered to the large crowd for more than an hour.  It was very powerful!

As this couple described what had happened, the woman said that when we minister the truth of the gospel but have strife in our hearts, people can receive a double message:  one of God's truth, but then also of whatever unresolved sin is dwelling in our hearts. 

Are you a pure vessel?  Do you make repentance a regular practice in your life?   Pray that God will reveal and remove anything that may block His grace, light, and power in your life.  His word says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -1 John 1:9