I have been thinking about what makes us change our lives once we find the reality of Jesus.
It seems pretty simple on the surface but I think its worth taking a look at but there is more to it than meets the eye.
In the environment of The Fathers House Church we see people on a daily basis "wrestle" with the idea of God and the promises of the gospel. What is told to the clients and interns is, "your life will be the best it has ever been." THAT IS TRUE, and we make no apologies for being confident of the result of following Jesus.
What I am being more aware of is people becoming part of community, following rules (for the most part!), doing the programs and meetings and seeing their lives change. Good right? Well yes....but....removed from community will they be successful?
Maybe, but I'm not satisfied with maybe.
I want to see transformation like hero's from the Bible saw transformation.
They had radical experiences from God that radically changed the way they thought, acted and behaved. Peter went from scared of losing his life because a servant girl called him out after Jesus was arrested to, being so bold as to stand up in the middle of Jerusalem, after Holy Spirit came in the upper room, announcing to everyone who would listen, "this is Jesus who you crucified"!
Peter changed his behavior from pretend bold but really scared, to really bold and not afraid. How?
Through experience with God.
If we want to see more lives changed we have to invite an experience with God.
We must have a transformational experience with God for us to have permanent success.
The key to all this is found in Acts 4 when the Holy Spirit showed up again just like He had in Acts 2. They needed to continue to have amazing experiences with God. It was never a one time deal.
We need to have a relationship with God where we hunger for more and more experience with Him that continues to shift our thinking. Then we will see true transformation, success will not have to be about a geographical location but the reality of Jesus found through experience.
It seems pretty simple on the surface but I think its worth taking a look at but there is more to it than meets the eye.
In the environment of The Fathers House Church we see people on a daily basis "wrestle" with the idea of God and the promises of the gospel. What is told to the clients and interns is, "your life will be the best it has ever been." THAT IS TRUE, and we make no apologies for being confident of the result of following Jesus.
What I am being more aware of is people becoming part of community, following rules (for the most part!), doing the programs and meetings and seeing their lives change. Good right? Well yes....but....removed from community will they be successful?
Maybe, but I'm not satisfied with maybe.
I want to see transformation like hero's from the Bible saw transformation.
They had radical experiences from God that radically changed the way they thought, acted and behaved. Peter went from scared of losing his life because a servant girl called him out after Jesus was arrested to, being so bold as to stand up in the middle of Jerusalem, after Holy Spirit came in the upper room, announcing to everyone who would listen, "this is Jesus who you crucified"!
Peter changed his behavior from pretend bold but really scared, to really bold and not afraid. How?
Through experience with God.
If we want to see more lives changed we have to invite an experience with God.
We must have a transformational experience with God for us to have permanent success.
The key to all this is found in Acts 4 when the Holy Spirit showed up again just like He had in Acts 2. They needed to continue to have amazing experiences with God. It was never a one time deal.
We need to have a relationship with God where we hunger for more and more experience with Him that continues to shift our thinking. Then we will see true transformation, success will not have to be about a geographical location but the reality of Jesus found through experience.
wow that was great. I want more of it...
ReplyDeleteGood stuff keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete