Good Afternoon Ladies!! I hope everyone had a great week! Mine was wonderful! Got to spend some time with some wonderful people and had some great conversations!
I was talking with a friend yesterday about church and faith and he shared something with me that the leader of his small group asked him. It hit home for me and made me question the way I'm living and what areas in my life still need work. I thought it would be a great question to share with all of you to get your minds thinking as well.
*If you were on trial today for being a Christian (Catholic, Methodist, basically, a believer in God) would they have enough evidence to convict you?*
I bet this question made some of you stop in your tracts and think and others it may not have fazed you one bit. Please take a couple of minutes and think about that question before you continue reading.
When I thought about this question I honestly tried to think of what evidence I would be able to present in court to prove that I am guilty of being a Christian. I’m a nice person, I care about others, I believe in God and I’m trying to live for him. Then I also thought, would all that be enough for them to find me guilty of being a Christian or would they need more evidence? I don’t know about y’all but this is the one time that I would actually want to be guilty in court. I would want them to tell me “We the jury find you GUILTY of being a Christian!” Some of you are probably thinking, well duh they’d find me guilty because of this, this and this, but if you really take a moment to think about it wouldn’t you want them to have more evidence?! Wouldn't you want them to have a list that goes on and on? I know if you were on trial for a murder that you didn’t commit you’d try and find all the evidence in the world to prove that you didn’t commit this crime. Shouldn’t we do that as Christians? Shouldn’t be showing the world that we are “guilty” as charged and be proud of our faith and beliefs?
Romans 12:2 says “Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete.”
So many of us are so busy trying to live up to the worlds standards and expectations that we allow people and things to change who we are and what we believe in. If we change this habit we will be able to see what God finds good, pleasing and complete. If we know what he finds good, pleasing and complete we can do those things. If we don’t know what God’s expectations of us are how can we meet them? You can’t know what God expects from you if you don’t study. If you do study and you still don’t live for God and change your ways you’re just as guilty as the people that don’t study. What’s the point of studying his word and seeking a better understanding of his word if we aren’t going to change? It’s pointless. We have to allow God to make some changes in our lives. In our attitudes, our speech, the way we treat others and so much more.
Some of you are thinking that this doesn’t apply to you, that you would be found guilty because everyone around you sees how much you love God and sees that you are living for him. Let me remind you what 1 Chronicles 28:9 says “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for the Lord searches every HEART and understands the intention of every THOUGHT. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”
God knows your heart! He knows what we are thinking and feeling at all times. You can fake it till you make it with people here on earth and fool everyone around you, but you can’t fool God. He knows what areas of your life need improvement. He knows what you’re thinking about that person at work that gets on your last nerve and he knows what you’re feeling when someone cuts you off while you’re driving. You don’t have to say those things out loud for God to know.
Today I used ‘Our Daily Bread’ to do my daily devotion. Today’s message was about Caricatures, those drawings that people get of themselves that exaggerate one or more of their physical features. It’s funny to see ourselves like that where something they exaggerate isn’t real or true. That’s what we sometimes do to God. We exaggerate something about him in a way that can turn us or others away from him rather than drawing us near to him. Example, if you have been praying and asking God to teach someone a lesson because they have been hurting you and God doesn’t do it right away or he doesn’t do it the way you want him to, then you get angry at him for not seeking vengeance on your behalf. You think, Gosh Lord, why are you being so nice to them! I wanted them to hurt like I'm hurting. It’s basically like we love God and serve him for our favorite attributes that he has. For some of us we see God as a Judge who seeks justice, others see God as a loving God who doesn’t ever get angry, so when God doesn’t seek justice or when God gets angry we don’t understand it. We get angry or hurt and we shut him out. We have to realize that God is all of these things!
Exodus 34:6-7 says “Then the Lord passed in front of him (Moses) and proclaimed: Yahweh-Yahweh (Yahweh is another name for God, just in case you weren’t sure.J) is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.”
We have to learn to love God for all of his attributes not just the ones we like. We have to learn to live for him, even if that means we have to do things that we don’t want to or vice versa. All of us could do things better to show our love and dedication to God. I’m pretty sure I’m right when I say that ALL of us would want to be considered guilty on the charges of being a Christian. Think about what you need to work on to get the evidence you need in court. We will all serve our day in court, but it will be before the Lord. Make sure you’re ready to prove your love and dedication to him! J
My prayer for all of you, including myself, is that we would figure out unique ways to show our love and dedication to God every day. Also, that we would hold each other accountable when we aren’t doing this, and not get offended or defensive when someone calls us out.
Stay encouraged, inspired and motivated today and help someone else do the same. J
**Challenge**
I challenge all of us to step outside of our comfort zones to find unique ways to show our love to God. I also challenge all of us to ask this question to someone else and get their minds thinking! J
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!
Raynisia Nagel
A Woman After God’s Own Heart
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