Becoming The Difference

Who Are we?

Matthew 9:37-38

37) Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38) Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest field."

Our goal as Christians is to win souls for the Kingdom. But when we appear to be the same as everyone else, what are we selling? A waste of time? 

It is very hard to be a Christian in America! We have all that we need. How can we teach our friends about a God who forgives and gives us all we need, when we already have it? 

A big difference between us and them is this... We still make mistakes, but we realize the need for Jesus in our lives. But we cannot appear as hypocrites, it is one thing to say you're saved it is another to act it. We know that we're messed up, we know that the only thing that separates us is that we have Christ in us.

We used to be these disgusting, raunchy, lying, backstabbing, gossiping, lustful, greedy, and malicious creatures! But the old has passed away because of our life found in Christ, we have been satisfied! 

But do we still struggle? Of course we do, but because of Jesus' sacrifice we can repent and grow stronger through our failures.

THE PROBLEM: We still try to be apart of this world! We have quenched our thirsts for the things of this world, but we still go back to our old sins like a dog returns to its vomit. And if we go around with the Christian image, but don't show a difference in our lives we have labeled Christianity as a facade.

We try so hard to be like Jesus, but we also want to be accepted by our friends. Jesus said that we would be hated for being different, so we can't act too surprised when we rub people the wrong way with our belief in God and His word.

 Like in John 17,

14) I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

Jesus goes on in this prayer to ask for our protection, because he knows that the evil one will want to hinder us. 

Satan wants us to feel comfortable. Do you really think an attack from the evil one would consist of him jumping you in a dark alley with a cape and pitchfork? No, if he scared you, you would most likely want to run straight to God, and he does not want that. Satan wants you to be nice and comfortable, so you have no need for God in your life.

And so millions of Christians fall to the pressure. We want to accepted by our friends, so we do whatever they might do even if it contradicts our faith and morals. We try to impress that guy or girl at the party and end up doing something we might regret, and that would destroy our witnessing opportunities with those that look up to us. We try to be like the other guys, looking at pornography and dismantling our view of women as equals, and desensitizing our minds. We try to be like other girls, who dress in barely any clothing, causing guys to get a wrong view of you, and causing your brothers in Christ to fall to lust and temptation. We try to be like those who drink, trying to escape your pains, and trying to satisfy a thirst that cannot be quenched by anything other than Christ. We lie to our parents so we can stay out later doing something we probably shouldn't be doing. We swear, curse and scream obscenities when we should be blessing, and encouraging others... 

In simpler terms.. We fail. And others watching us fail think, "Why do I need their Jesus, they're no different than me?"  

We will fall, but when we fall we need to be humble, and we need to repent right away. Because if our witness is blown then we have lost everything, and that person may lose all respect for Christians, assuming we are all the same.

Ephesians 2:1-10

   ¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them

We enter into this world spiritually dead........ BUT  NOW  WE  ARE  ALIVE  IN CHRIST, AND  NOTHING  CAN SEPARATE  US  FROM  HIS  LOVE  AND GRACE!

Im hoping this post helped you somehow, and I hope you can share it with others. Thanks for reading!

Blake J.