There's a scene in the movie I Still Know What You Did Last Summer where my favorite actress Jennifer Love Hewitt yells "What are you waiting for huh?" We need that question in regards to following God.
Being a Christian is not just about getting saved and then you're done. That is just the beginning. God has plans for us to be the church. See its not enough to just read the Bible. James 1:22-25 says this. "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."
In the Old Testament there were multiple times God tried to get the people of Israel to understand it was not the sacrifices he wanted but their obedience. Look at Hosea 6:6 "I want you to show love not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings."
Psalms 51:16-17 "You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."
1 Samuel 15:22 "What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission is better than offering the Fat of rams."
See the musicians in the Christian band Petra got this right in their song Seen and Not Heard. "Let your light so shine in all you do with an answer near when they come to you. Don't let your mouth start talking until your feet start walking."
God wants you to do what he says and not sit down and be lazy. I've heard people say they're afraid God will send them to a foreign country. He may but more than likely he'll ask you to love the people around you and display his love for others. Let me tell you something a few years back I had people who I approached with an idea for a Bible study that would meet in the middle of the night for those in the church who worked overnight. It was an idea God laid on my heart because I felt the church actually neglects that group. I had three people who believed enough to push me to be the teacher for it. I didn't know how to teach people to find their way out of a paper bag. God just wanted me to be willing. Now it's turned into a weekly bible study blog. In order to be a doer of his word you have to have a willing heart. Stop treating your faith like a spectator sport. God can and will use you but he needs you to study his word and do what it says.
God is very clear about people who just sit on their hands and do nothing. Consider what he says to the church of Laodicea. Revelation 3:15-16 ". I know the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."
Some of this may feel harsh to you and that is not my intention. Following God can be one of the greatest and most fulfilling adventures ever. I simply wish for you to get up and get to doing the things he commands.
For further reading I suggest you read Matthew 25:31-46 and James 3:14-25
To the new people reading this I add links to music that goes with the blog. I often post them with lyrics so you can learn the songs. I have discovered a few at times with sign language and there's a reason for that. My wife Marion knows sign language and she likes to learn see if that way. If you see something that says with asl that means American Sign Language.
Fantastic post my brother. In my experience, Christians often y’all themselves out of doing the work of God because they are nervous about the possibility of being rejected or because they believe someone else will do the work. My reply to those is: 1) most people that God has placed in my path have been so disillusioned by what the world has to offer that they are looking for anyone with a way out and 2) The workers are so few in the harvest field that it is doubtful that anyone else will get that opportunity to minister to that hurting person.
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