WHO FREAKING CARES...

I've gotta tell you, God is doing some POWERFUL things in the lives of people at Heritage.  I count myself fortunate just to be a part of this fellowship and thank God often for the places he puts me in and the people he puts me around.

The biggest part of what is happening is that people are believing with their whole hearts that the ONLY thing that matters is growing in a relationship with Jesus Christ and then making the most of that specifically by loving and serving others, ultimately allowing them to see that faith lived out in the world.

My personal opinion is that the whole last paragraph scares the crap out of most people.  I know that because for the longest time I lived with a beat-down and beat-up heart and head that got in the way of seeing the truth.  The other side is that most of us fear what might happen in our lives if we buy into this.  We are scared to death that God might send us to some long lost third-world country where we will surely die at the hand of some sword-slinging, non-English speaking, painted up wacko.

Man, we sure do miss out on alot due to fear.  And we can ONLY blame ourselves.

See, we ALL individually have the opportunity to make our OWN choices and choose our OWN attitude.  We live with the freedom to pursue truth and what is right, and then live out what it is that we have sought after and chosen to believe.  We are blessed with the chance to challenge ourselves, and utilize an abundance of resources that we have at our own fingertips to help best solidify our faith and decisions. 

The problem is that we are scared and lazy. 

I ask you this today---Who are you so scared of that it keeps you from being your best you?  Who and what are you living for? 

I think that for a long time I was scared of what other people would think if I wrote, talked, blogged, or sang about Jesus and my faith.  I was too busy worrying about pleasing people and being accepted by them and therefore was robbing myself of the peace and further pursuit of my faith and purpose here on earth.  I thank God that the day came that I realized that no matter who it is out there, they are just another person like I am, and my desire is that at a minimum, they know Jesus and have the opportunity to know the joy and peace that I do from making the best decision I ever have made.  From there, it is on the other person to grow.  That is the beauty of our relationship with the Lord---it is ours and only ours.  Nobody gets to tell anybody else how to grow and develop it, but rather we all have an individual responsibility to put effort into it.

Back to the title and point of this today.  Stop and think about what your response would be if God stood in front of you and told you He wanted to use you in great and mighty ways.  Would you think how awesome that would be, or rather would you stop and think about what you might have to give up or miss out on, or who might look at you funny or talk about you badly for being some kind of "freak"-----WHO FREAKING CARES!!!

I URGE you to put all of your effort into pursuing your faith.  I have NEVER heard of one single person that EVER regretted a decision like that.  When our hearts are right, when we seek the Lord with all we have and trust Him, there is such a peace and joy that no person or thing on this earth can compete with.  But you can't have it unless you believe it and then pursue it.  If you don't, you are only ROBBING YOURSELF!

If I can ever be a resource or help to you in any way, or if you have questions or concerns about Jesus or your faith, please do not hesitate to reach out and email me.  I would love to do my best to answer according to what I know from my own life, and also point you in a direction that can better suit your needs.

I hope each of you has an amazing week, and I am praying for ALL followers of Jesus today that we will be equipped with a level of boldness and authenticity that we have never before seen in our lives.  That we will live our faith out in such a way that others see Jesus in our hearts and through our lives, and that they will be overcome with conviction and questions and have no choice but to learn about and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior! 

LIVE RADICALLY!  LIVE FAITHFULLY!  LIVE IN EXPECTATION!  DON'T LIMIT GOD!!!