I remember how it felt to be tired.
Tired of performing.
Tired of living beneath my God given purpose.
Tired of being away from where I belonged… in Christ.
But it all just seemed so hard. I knew that serving Jesus was the right choice. That was not the question. I just did not know how. Yes, I understood the need to repent but I just did not know how to really just come, how to end my affair with the devil and surrender my all to Jesus. It seemed like such a daunting task, such an insurmountable mountain. Would He really forgive me? Could I really live a saved life? I was not ignorant to bible stories. I heard about His love in Sunday school. I sat in church Sunday after Sunday but I was far away from Him because sometimes your head knows truth that your heart rejects!
Perhaps this is where you are today. You are tired of being a cast member in the devil’s show, you are ready to surrender but you just don’t know how to get off the devil’s stage. How do you do this? It is all about putting one foot in front of the other. Yes you acknowledge that you are a sinner, repent of your sins, acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and your need for Him to be your savior. Get into the word, and get to know your new savior. Resist the prideful mindset that you can do saved all by yourself, we need to be accountable to God and to each other. There is a need for getting together with other believers. Pray and ask Him to lead you to a bible believing church filled with a leadership that is crazy enough to preach and live ALL OF HIS WORD. And then after that? Well you pray and ask Him to give you a heart to believe like a child!
Believe what doesn’t make sense, what seems foolish to unbelievers. 1 Corinthians 1:18
Believe that He loves you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3
Believe that as far as the east is from the west that is how far He has removed your sins from you. Psalm 103:12-14
Believe that His grace is sufficient and that He meets you in your place of weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Believe that when you are tempted to go back, you don’t have to be overtaken because God will provide a way of escape… believe for His grace to kick in for you to take the place of escape. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Believe that He will give you power to walk by the spirit and not the flesh. Galatians 5:16-17
How about it? Are you ready to make the best choice of your life, one with eternal consequences? Get off the devil’s stage. A new life awaits you!
Have you sinned and feel condemned? I want to encourage you to receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers and do not return to sin. If you have a repentant heart there is no need to continue to feel condemned. Watch the below video to be encouraged!
I am afraid that we have lied on Jesus more times than we realize. We offer a package and an approach that He does not endorse. We go to great lengths to manipulate people to come to church to “accept” Jesus. But what happens when we can’t keep up the show? What happens when we get tired of chasing people down and coming up with great programs to distract them from what they really want to do, which is SIN!
When I read the word through the proper lens I get to see Jesus for who He really is, in His power and His simplicity. Jesus knew all that He had to offer…life and that more abundantly (John 10:10). Because of this He was confident and knew that He didn’t have to sell Himself to anyone. No gimmicks, no lies, no half-truths. He had no great sales pitch because He is the word made flesh which makes Him enough…more than! He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last and everything in between. He gave it to them straight.
He did this to expose their hearts and to chase away those that were only there for a show, not for true surrender.
So as I comb through scripture and I get to know Jesus, it makes me take a hard look at how I evangelize. Do I invite people to church, leading the conversation with all the programs we may have to pacify their children, and make the parents comfortable or do I shoot it straight. Do I tell them this is the best decision they will ever make but they must be willing to count the cost? Do I tell them that once they put their hands to the plow and if they look back they are not fit for the kingdom (Luke 9:62)? Do I tell them that they will suffer because they accept Christ, but to be encouraged because if they suffer for Him they will also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12)? Do I tell them the truth, do I tell them about Jesus? No this approach is not harsh, it is love on full display. Knowing that if they accept this truth it sets them free (John 8:32) and offers a peace that is beyond human understanding (Philippians 4:7)!
No longer should we be paralyzed if they don’t want Jesus. And for the record, He never tells us to go chase down those who really don’t want Him. Remember what He told the 12 disciples in Luke 9:5 when He first sent them out? The truth of God’s word is a sure repellant to those who don’t mean business with God. If we get people to “come” to Jesus on a faulty foundation and lies they will not have a lasting relationship which is counterproductive, don’t you think? May we be freed from looking “successful” to the world. My God may we hunger for souls that are set on fire! Even if it is only ten of them in the pews!
So I want to encourage you to take a hard look at how you evangelize. Do you find yourself dumbing down God’s standards in an effort to first get them in? This is a worldly approach, one that is not endorsed by Jesus. Come on brothers and sisters, let us go out in love, telling the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth and may God help us to do just that! As we do this, watch God bring in those that are really hungry for Him! We have work to do, and our job is to help bring in true laborers into the kingdom to set this world on fire for our God. How about it? Are you on board to return to true evangelism?
I DO NOT LIKE DRY CHURCH SERVICES…AT ALL!
After all, Jesus DID GET UP from the grave so I am not in mourning.
Every Sunday I go to celebrate the fact that He is resurrected.
His death and His resurrection made my freedom possible!
I am on my way to heaven and I figure that is more than enough reason for me to lose my mind in worship… EVERY SUNDAY!
To really worship and praise, you must be willing to lose your mind.
Lose composure, lose your reputation, let the tears flow, open your mouth with praise, move your feet and DANCE!
Go ahead look at me as if I am crazy, but you must understand that my dance is one of triumph!
My dance is warfare in motion, every move of my feet is a declaration to the enemy that He no longer has me. I AM FREE!
AND INDEED FREE PEOPLE DANCE.
The next time you are in worship and you are overwhelmed with God’s presence I want to encourage you to not hold back. Do not focus on who is around you, instead focus on what God has done for you and enter the worship zone. Lift your hands as a sign of surrender, open your mouth uttering thanksgiving, move your feet and DANCE. Yes it may be awkward at first but you do it enough and you become addicted. You didn’t know? Freedom is addictive. Are you free? Free enough to dance?
Psalm 149:3 NLT
Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.
2 Samuel 6:14 (NLT)
And David danced before the Lord with all his might…”
Jesus provides the perfect example in Mark 4:35-41 of how we are to respond when we are in a storm. Listen and be encouraged!
I was driving the other day and began to reflect on my past and the tears began to flow. Tears of regret. I began to think about some poor choices that I made and the consequences that followed; some of which had an impact on me even after I came to Christ. I began to play out different scenes in my head and the more I thought on them the more depressed I became. The enemy began to accuse and mock me. He reminded me that I should have known better and how could I? I allowed myself to receive the accusations.
Now mind you, I had long repented of these sins. However, in that moment I began to relive them. I allowed the enemy to trick me into feeling condemned. I had to make a choice to SNAP out of this and claim the victory I had in Christ. The Anika that played out in those scenes in my head was dead. I no longer knew this person and by the grace of God, that old Anika will never be resurrected! I have the victory but I had to claim it at that moment of condemnation, it wasn’t an automatic thing. I am in a war and I had no choice but to engage and fight the devil with the truth of God’s word.
I had to remind myself of the NEW & IMPROVED ME! The New blood bought, sanctified, forgiven, victorious, swimming in God’s grace me! I am all for telling others about what God has done in me, but sometimes I have to testify to myself. The more I stood on who I now am, the devil had to get off my back. He had to. I am sure he will revisit again but I thank God that I have the ammunition to fight and to rebuke.
Do you find yourself living in condemnation? What triggers these moment of condemnation? Do you wallow in self-pity or do you stand on the truth of God’s word and fight? If you have repented, don’t hold on to shame that is no longer yours. Don’t let the devil take you back, move forward in who you now are in Christ!
If any man is in Christ He is a new creation. Old things are passed away and behold all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Below are two links to remind you of the new you. Be blessed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQfc7iQecw8