Today was my first encounter with the new college class i will be joining at my church. I am not going to lie to you. I was really nervous, and honestly i don't know why i was because these are the same people i went to high school with when i was a freshman. So i knew everyone there, but i have this nervous part of me that likes to act up when i am around people older than me.
Okay sorry i am getting off topic here. I seem to do that a lot though. Anyway, tonight was the first night in a bible study called Radical by David Platt that our class is going through. It is a very interesting book to say the least. In the beginning of the book it tells a story of how people risk their lives and their families every day just to learn and preach the gospel of Christ. Some were persecuted and others were kidnapped and tortured. Other believers were threatened to stop going to church and reading the Bible.
Now i don't know about you, but if i were in that situation i am not sure how i would react. The story reminds me of the shooting at the college where that boy took the lives of innocent students just because they believed in Christ. I would have been so frightened as the guy was going down the line shooting my peers one by one as they proclaimed they believed in Christ. I would be thinking in my head "Is God worth dying for?" And i know what some of you are thinking. Why would you even think that? Yeah, i know right? But just think if you were put in that situation what would be going through your mind. Would you want to leave behind your parents, siblings, friends, your spouse, your life?
Well i have news for you, it states in the Bible under Matthew 10:33, "But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven." You should not think twice about sharing with others that you love Him and 100 % believe in Christ.
Something Mrs. Donna Kay said tonight has stuck in my brain and has made me think. She asked us a question tonight that made me want to change how i view my life. She asked us if we would be willing to give up everything to follow Christ. Now that is a big question to ask yourself. It has been racing through my mind like crazy. We looked at Luke 14:25-33. Let me break it down to those of you who are like me and need things to be broken down to the simplest form possible. Those few verses have made such an impact on me.
Verses 25-27 say this. They say if you are not willing to put Christ before your father, mother, wife, children, sisters, brothers, and your own life then you cannot become a disciple of Christ. And also if you cannot claim Christ as your Savior and put him first in your life then you cannot become a disciple of Christ. Simple as that right? I know right now in my life i have not been putting Christ first in my life. I have been putting other things first like my boyfriend, technology, friends, and yes even family before Him. Boy! I feel very unholy i guess you would say. I have a lot of things i need to change. I know i haven't been praying like i should and i am going to change that immediately.
In verse 33 it says if you can't say bye to all your possessions then you cannot become a disciple of Christ. Pretty hard? Making you think about how your life is going right now? I know I am. So this is only the first day and already I'm finding things that need to be remodeled in my life.
Here is how I am going to change:
1.) I will stop putting earthly things before Christ
2.) I will tell anyone and everyone that asks...or doesn't ask....that I love Christ and i believe in Him 100%!
3.) Stop letting influences from my boyfriend, friends, family, and even myself get in the way of knowing Christ
4.) Give up all my possessions for Christ in order to become a disciple of Christ.
5.) Pray everyday for things, people, and praises in my life
I challenge you to come up with things that will be changed in your life and follow through with them everyday.
Now i don't know if i explained this well enough to change someones life. I pray i did. I know it is changing mine. Hope this gave you something to ponder on.
And just remember...."Would you be willing to give up everything to follow Christ?"
The ladies at my church are studying A.W. Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God". We have been talking about "the blessedness of possessing nothing". That chapter was really hard for me. It is so easy to put family, things, world, etc above Christ. The sad part about it is that it is so gradual that you don't realize how far you have strayed from Christ. I was about your age when I decided to get "serious" about Christ and "clean up" my life. After all, I was now a grown up college kid. It was time to put away the childish things of high school. I made changes in my life that, like a new year's resolution, didn't last very long. When I would fail in one area, I would change something in another area to compensate. Sadly, it took me almost 15 years to realize I had made myself a spiritual straight jacket and I was miserable! God graciously began to show me my self-righteousness and my selfish motives behind all I had done "in His name". I didn't care about honoring God or Christ in my life, I just wanted people to praise me over my super spirituality. I have often prayed that God would send someone to tell (and show by their life) all those poor people I "taught" the truth. So many wasted years and opportunities. I pray, that you will not follow my miserable rocky path, but instead truly seek to honor and serve Him out of love for the Savior. I have found that when I am doing this with my heart, soul, mind, and strength, all things seem to find their proper place. I wish I could give a testimony of doing this perfectly, but I, like all believers, struggle everyday to remember this. I pray that all you do, you do for Him.
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