My Big Struggle...Bit of a Rant

As I read God's Word, I'm never surprised at the new things I learn from a passage I've read over and over before. Yesterday's was no exception...

2 Corinthians 10:2-6 says EXACTLY what I struggle with regarding the church today. Not just FBC Poky, but with a majority of churches across this country.
The idea of Paul having to feel like he's defending his ministry is absolutely funny and sad all at the same time. But it's also a reality where we, as 'pastor folk', live regularly. It's not that people don't understand what we do...it's not that they don't like what we do (often)...it's not even that they don't like us - what they're doing is looking at it all wrong. They are looking at life through the lens of this world and not God's lens.

As a believer, we're not supposed to be living life according to what our culture or world tells us. And yet we do.
As a believer, we're not supposed to be fighting our battles the way the world does.
And yet we do.
As a believer, we're not supposed to be thinking like the world, following the latest whims.
And yet we do.

We've forgotten that what Jesus calls us to is so much more than this world can offer. His thoughts and His ways are much HIGHER than ours (Isaiah 55:9). In other words - we cannot stay where we are in our thinking and in our actions and go with God.

That's my big struggle. We SAY we love God, follow God, serve God - and yet we allow this world to impact our thought life, actions and lifestyle SO MUCH that we aren't any different!

We're not to think like this world thinks, live like this world lives, act like this world acts - we are to be so different that it should make people think we've lost our minds! And what an honor that would be!
I told our church last week that I take it as a compliment when people call me radical or 'out there' in my expectations of God-things. Why shouldn't I?

I want our church to understand that NO MATTER WHAT life hands us, NO MATTER WHAT people say or do, NO MATTER WHAT crisis looms in our life -- OUR GOD is BIGGER and GREATER than any of life's junk! And I pray for the day when excuses prevent us from experiencing God on every level. Allow God to BE God. Trust God for WHO He is, not what you read or hear in the media.

Devour His Word, get to know Him and you won't want or need anything else in life!