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This is optional reading - some people will be bored with it probably and that is OK. But i I feel compelled to tell our story of God's grace to anyone who will listen--Tim
Several years ago, I was sitting in my study, living a very lukewarm Christian life, not even tithing, more concerned about my businesses than with the Kingdom of God.
As I sat there, the Holy Spirit impressed a thought on me as clear as day. It was basically this: Get in or get out. I immediately knew what that meant. If I was going to call myself a "Christian", I needed to follow Jesus 100 percent or not at all.
I wish I could say that from that point on, I was the perfect Christian, perfectly loving, patient, kind, selfless, but I was not then and still am not today, I am sorry to say.
What did happen that day was I started to take the Scriptures at face value and apply it to my life, no matter the cost. I immediately started tithing, because that is the first thing he showed me. I am not a big believer in the 10% rule, but only because I believe that God owns 100%.
I came to understand that when Jesus wasn't kidding when he said these things:
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Matthew 16:24,25)
"Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19:29)
It is a scary thing to let go of everything in a society where we are told to seek financial security. We look like fools, but something that the apostle Paul said really struck home.
It seems that the church in Corinth looked at him like some crazy uncle. They were embarrassed to admit they knew him. They were so sophisticated and wise and respectable and he was such a fool, so dishonored in the sight of the world.
"We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ. We are weak but you are so strong. You are honored, we are dishonored. To this hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutallly treated, we are homeless . . . Up to this moment, we have become the scum of the world." (1 Corinthians 4:10-13).
Paul's example is such a challenge to get off the safe path of social Christianity, to stop watering down the demands of Christianity until it becomes some worthless pablum (i.e. a processed bland cereal for infants - look it up), socially acceptable but spiritually worthless.
Paul issues a very simple challenge:
"Therefore, I urge you to imitate me" (1 Cor. 4:16)
We made a decision to move off the path of personal ambition and join Paul on the path of total commitment, a path where you put everything (including other's opinion of you) at risk to follow Jesus completely. I hope that you have too.
Here are some final things to think about:
- Either we can trust Jesus or we cannot trust Jesus.
- If we can trust Jesus, then we can trust him with everything.
- If we can't trust Jesus with everything, can we trust him at all?
We are not totally there, but this is what drives us on.
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