A guy smokes a pack of cigarettes a day for 60 years. One day he goes to the doctor to get a routine physical. The doctor tells him that there is a 99% chance that he will die in a month if he doesn't stop smoking that very day. Unless the guy has a death wish he goes home and immediately throws all of his cigarettes away. Same thing if the doctor had told him that he had high cholesterol he would have gone home and thrown away all of the Crispy Creme Donuts. Those are both pretty big lifestyle changes.
Everyday when you drive to school you go like 25mph over the limit because you are late. Then you get pulled over and get a warning. For the rest of the day you actually drive under the speed limit. At school 5 people told you that they liked the shirt that you wore. The funny thing is that you found the shirt in your basement and only wore it because all of your other close were in the washing machine. After the compliments though it just became your favorite shirt. Lifestyles and fashion tastes can change pretty fast under the right circumstances.
For the month of January we are going to be talking about our personality and lifestyle as a church. We are going to be discussing our Identity as Christ-Followers. This Sunday the focus is Lifechange. Basically, If we believe that Jesus did what he said he could in our lives, then there should be some noticeable changes. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Basically, God is making us into new creations. The transformation should be noticeable too. No one would mistake an axe murderer for a Christian. How do we look different though? What change happened inside of us that is evident to people we come in contact with?
Last night, my wife Alicia and I were talking about this. We talked about how interesting it was that we have committed our lives to Christ, but our lives don't always reflect that committment. Sometimes life change is really noticeable and at other points its not really. That led me to think of another questions as I write my message for this Sunday. What does lifechange look like when its exhibited in all aspects of your life? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
This is interesting. Too often I have wondered the same thing.
I am instantly reminded of two passages that talk about continuing in sin after we have been redeemed. Romans 6-11 which says ... "in the same way, count yourselves dead to sing but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in you mortal body...but rather offer yourselves to God." and 1 Cor. 6:19 "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit..." Both of these passages are addressing particular issues but I think the message is clear. You were purchased!!! Why aren't you living a sold out life!?! It seems that far to often I become content with not reaching out to those around me or with sin remaining in my life or...well the list goes on.
I guess my question of the day is, how do we avoid a life of complacency?
-Chet
Beautifully put, Chet. Laura and I were just discussing avoiding complacancy the other night at dinner. It's a difficult place to be, and an easy trap to fall into. It takes constant vigilance and loved ones surrounding you to hold you accountable. In a sermon Andy gave almost a year ago, he admitted that being a Christian is hard, and was never promised anything else from Jesus. We have to remember that from our "birth" we need to take a drastic change and be one worthy of walking with God.
Abby
Post a Comment