When I was young I took pride in the shock value of my lifestyle.
For example, I use to sing Amazing Grace on the way to the bars/dance halls just to aggrivate my friends. I told raunchy jokes and on and on …
Then, I got born again at the age of 33, I met Jesus (in the spirit)! He gave me a new heart! He turned my world right side up. I not only received Jesus as my Savior, I also made Jesus Lord over my life. I began to read my Bible with the attitude of not my way, but Your way. I started believing God’s word, and this started producing a change in me. Deliverance from addictions, sickness, depression, and old mind sets.
I had became His disciple.
I still have my own personality, but now my life has a purpose. For the first time, it no longer centers around me, and what I had believed, or was taught. It is centered around Jesus, and I fell in love with Him through His word, and He teaches me that I was created in the image of God. Not what my feelings express, or what others say about our origins etc.
So my beliefs started changing and soon my words/actions started to mirror more and more how God thinks. I am still a work in progress, but a true change none the less.
When I made this heart decision, someone close to me expressed their concern for my “odd” behavior.
“Oh, my gosh Brenda!! Will you PLEASE stop talking about religious stuff. I mean we keep expecting you to shave your head at any minute, grab a tamborine and start hanging out at the airports!”
LOL!!! (I don’t even own a tamborine!)
I’m not mad at this person at all. I can’t blame them. When we were growing up only someone who had “the call” like a preacher or missionary would be that interested in the Bible and Jesus.
But the truth is, all those who have chosen Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who have truly been born again, are called. The Bible is the correct representation of “normal.” We have strayed so far from the truth in our way of thinking that its principles seem strange and foreign to our society today.
I received this article a while back and I would like to share part of it with you.
“How much does the Bible get in the way of what you believe? If you’re like most Christians, you believe in Jesus, but you’ve compartmentalized your faith so that your Bible beliefs have only a little influence over other areas of your life. For many, the Bible doesn’t influence what they believe one iota! As long as they claim to believe on Jesus, they think they can believe whatever they want about issues in life and society. That is absolutely wrong! All that this means is they have not been taught to observe all things Jesus commanded: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20a] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.Matthew 28:19-20a, New King James VersionYou see, a disciple is a person who observes all things Jesus commanded. By and large, the church has not been making disciples. Their goal has basically been “Let’s just get people born again and make sure they’re headed to heaven. Everything else will work out.” This has caused problems. Because the church isn’t teaching people to observe all things Jesus commanded, there’s a void in society where Christians ought to be taking a stand. When it comes to social, moral issues, a lot of Christians are silent or they oppose what the Bible says. They’ve professed faith in the Lord, but they aren’t disciples. That might sound shocking to you, but look at how Jesus responded to people who only put faith in Him: Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.John 8:31It’s not enough just to get saved so you won’t go to hell. It’s not about an insurance policy. You have to continue in Jesus’ words if you’re going to be His disciple. This ought to be the goal of every single Christian! Yet it’s amazing how many don’t get this. They think the Bible shouldn’t influence what they think about economics, racial issues, marriage, or health. When it comes to hot topics like homosexuality, abortion, and evolution, the church is divided. Most would say, “See, now you’ve gone to meddling. You just need to stick to preaching the Word and stop getting into politics and social issues.” But I am preaching the Word! It’s not me who is invading the social, political arena; these things are encroaching on what the Bible has to say. The Word of God has instruction for every one of these areas. The Word of God has a lot to say about the issues we’re facing in society today. If we stay silent, the unbelievers-who don’t have a biblical worldview-are going to be the ones establishing all of the policies, determining what we can and can’t say, and what we can do and can’t do. This is already happening, and many Christians have just accepted this. They’ve moved away from the words of Jesus. They don’t know what the Word of God has to say on all of these things.” “You can love God and be liberal in your social views, but you can’t love the Word and be that way.” “…You truly are born again, love God, and you’re headed to heaven, but you still hold viewpoints that are completely opposite of what the Word says. If your attitude, your doctrine, or your worldview doesn’t line up with the Word of God, you need to change it, not change the Word of God. That’s big! Some of you reading this hold views that are completely contrary to the Word of God, yet you call yourselves committed Christians. I’m telling you that you cannot continue to do this and then call yourselves disciples. I was recently visiting with a minister who, from the pulpit, was intentionally silent on the issue of homosexuality. He said, “I want to love these people. I don’t want to condemn anybody or turn them away.” I agree that we aren’t supposed to condemn people and we should love them, but I told him, “What about the kids who are growing up in your church? The secular world is very aggressive in promoting their agenda. If the church doesn’t stand up and say what is right and preach the Word, then the views of the world will be forced upon our young people. In the vacuum caused by the godly being silent, they’ll believe these lies and adopt views that are completely contrary to the Word of God. It’s wonderful to be inclusive and to make people feel welcome to come to your church, but you’re not doing them any favors by not speaking the truth.” He said, “I never thought of that.” It’s because the church has basically retreated to where all that ministers will defend and stand on is the born-again experience-whether people are going to heaven or not. While this is happening, the world is preaching their doctrine. Sadly, a lot of Christians are buying into this because there isn’t an opposing voice, or anyone standing up for the truth. Well, I’m taking a stand against things that undermine the Word of God! You need to take that same stand. You might take offense at this because that was not the way you were raised, you weren’t educated this way, or you’ve believed things for so long that you don’t know if you can change. But, like I started off asking, how much do you let the Word of God get in the way of what you believe? Are you willing to take a stand? Are you willing to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus, instead of just a convert? These are all good questions to ask yourself.”My own testimony is that I was very liberal minded for the first part of my life, and for the most part, I continued this mind set for about 10 years after. Although, I was now on the “fence” about abortions and homosexuality etc., I was still ignorant of what the word of God said about it.Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world (beliefs/observations/opinions), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Parenthesis mine.)I did not intend for this to happen, but after I started renewing my mind in God’s word, well, I dove into God’s word with a liberal mind but I did not stay that way. I am not speaking about being religious, on the contrary, God’s kind of love will compel you to speak the truth in love because Jesus came in “grace and truth.” (John 1:17)Brothers and Sisters, our children and young adults are searching for the truth, they might not all be as vocal about it, you might even call it the “silent scream,” but they are watching and listening how the church (body of Christ) are responding to today’s world views. Not out of anger at people- but a righteous anger aimed at Satan and his lying agendas that are “stealing, killing and destroying” peoples lives. Both the born, and un-born. The unconditional love for other’s will make you bold, to speak His truth in love … but first we have to know what the truth is, be disciples of God’s word, step out of our prayer closets and take a stand both vocally and in our own lifestyles … we are called to love other’s more than ourselves. |
Ps. The Bible has given us instruction on every single issue facing society today. From protecting our borders, to the sanity of life at conception and everything in-between. When we vote for Godly principles, we are voting for “God’s will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (This article is re-printed with permission from Andrew Wommack Ministries- www.awmi.net. The teaching of “Observing All Things” can be viewed free of charge or ordered on their website.) Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com |
