Thursday, May 22, 2008

A Call To Action!!

10:02 AM by Christi Bowman

We, as Christians, know, academically, that God wants to change the world, that Christ wants to call ALL people to himself. We have a vague idea of the great commission, and that God's plan to save the world includes us. But many of us have NO idea how to go about this, and most of us are uncomfortable, if not down right scared to share our faith.

I read this morning in Ephesians, chapter 1 verse 23 (MSG).

Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.

Reading that verse brought to mind the verse I quoted on yesterday's post, Ephesians 3:20

God can do anything, you know, far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

After reading that I thought about Ephesians 2:20-22 (MSG).

God is building a home. He's using us all, irrespective of how we got here, in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day, a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

God wants to do far greater things in us than we can ever even hope to imagine. God wants to use us, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to do miraculous things. So as to bring both Christians, and non Christians to Himself (Eph 3:6). We as individuals are called to be a part of something greater than ourselves, a community of believers, a church. We are to take what Christ is doing in us individually, through our gifts, and add it to Christ's body, the church. And, with all of us together as the church, letting God's Holy Spirit flow through us, Christ reaches the world. He says that is how He does it. (Eph 1:23 msg).

God NEEDS US to reach the world! Whether he has chosen to need us is semantic. God works through us both individually and corporately as we allow Him. Don't you want to be a part of that? We have to start allowing Him! How do we allow Him? We seek Him with all our hearts. We have to STOP trying to please Him with our acts of service. Galatians 3: 2-4 says:

How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?

It may seem like a slow process to our American mindset. Americans want things to happen quickly. Time is irrelevant to God. Philippians 1:6 says:

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Our only part in this is to seek Him. Believe that He wants abundant life for you, on earth, and that He stopped at NOTHING to make sure you would have it. He WILL use things like the Bible, His inspired word, to change some of the lies you unknowingly believe about Him...but YOU HAVE TO READ IT FIRST. He will bring people into your life that challenge some of your belief systems, but you have to be open to it. Pray for faith. God WANTS to give it to you.

God wants to mold YOU into the person He created you to be. He wants to flow through you. Corporately we are the church, but individually we are too (I Cor 3:16). As Christ's church, be the center of the world. Allow Him to work within YOU, and through YOU He can do ANYTHING...far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams. Through YOU He will speak, and act, and fill EVERYTHING with His presence. Now THAT'S AWESOME!!!

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