…people are what it is all about
i sure do love people. all kinds of people. hurting people…healthy people…lonely people…popular people…friendly people…angry people (well i do have some problems with angry people, but GOD still loves them)…young people…old people…inbetween people.
the truth is, in my self, i can get all busy with stuff instead of people but with GOD inside me, people matter more than stuff. HE makes all the difference doesn’t HE? HE really does.
wouldn’t it be great if the church was filled with people who were filled with GOD? wouldn’t that make all the difference in what GOD has given us to do? people are what it is all about.
i have been broken lately with the fact that the people in harvest church that i lead, live very difficult, stressful, impossible lives. they are my heros. my heart breaks for them. my hand salutes them. they are what it is all about. they are why GOD sent JESUS to this earth. they are why HE sent me to vegas. not to build a great church for my glory but to hold and enourage and uplift people who matter, really matter to GOD.
i need HIM. they need HIM. people are what it is all about.
February 23rd, 2006 at 5:37 pm
Very passionate post. We all need to keep that type of urgency in our daily lives. But, if WE need Christ, and THEY need Christ, isn’t Christ (God) what it’s really about?
People are great, but I think God is who all our doings are really about. He says, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.” Job 40 and 41 talk about how great God is, emphasizing that we are nothing without Him. I mean, I’d like to think I’m “all that,” but in reality, I am nothing with Christ’s benevolent and undeserved grace and salvation. Without that, I am an “object of wrath” according to what Paul writes to the Romans. Even though his followers are his children and heirs with Christ (those who believe), it really boils down to be all about God. At least that’s what I read in the overarching themes of God’s Word.
But we should have a passion for reaching the unreached. it’s obvious that God wants them to be reached or he wouldn’t have sent us to the utmost ends of the earth. He wouldn’t have said through Paul that God desires that all men come to know him as their saviour and King.
February 23rd, 2006 at 5:39 pm
(sorry I hit the Enter key before I finished, hehe).
I think the passion you express for reaching those who do not know Christ is ideal. Very well said.
February 25th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
If the church was filled with people who are filled with God, the church would become a place that sinners are truly welcome. Isn’t it ironic that the church is full of pretenders. During the week, we pretend to not need God, by leading our sinful lives. On Sunday morning, we pretend to not be sinners, because we fully rely upon God.
God has shown His love for us (sinners) by sending His Son. He has given us the most precious gift of all. All He asks is for our love for Him and our neighbors, people.
Another rambling thought, is it possible that the church is not full of people who are filled with God, because they have learned that the only thing that God requires of them is a “personal” relationship with him? There is not corporate responsibility in that message. There is not acknowledgement of the transformation that happens when we enter a personal relationship, which makes us want to be obedient to Him. To please Him. To honor the great commission, to come to His front porch to fellowship with others.
Some thoughts from the midwest.
March 1st, 2006 at 4:48 am
Scott, thanks for your Midwest thoughts
I think the church is full of broken, sinful people. That’s the whole reason we need Christ. To say “the church is full of pretenders” is a gross exaggeration that is not only false but also not of the God’s heart. To say such a thing implies that you’re looking down from your own ivory tower of righteousness onto the masses of hypocrites that do not practice what they preach. I know dozens if not several hundred authentic, Christ following believers who open up their homes, their tables, and their lives to the lost. Though there may be many pretenders among believers, it is wholly inaccurate to say “full of.”
If you really believe that the Church is as “full of pretenders,” what are you doing to fix that? Rather than posting comments about people’s hypocrisy, maybe we should work to build up, encourage, and correct (in love, not judgment) the hearts and attitudes of the confused and mislead individuals.
Just some thoughts from Texas.