I was recently at a friend's house. I would like to start this by saying she's a wonderful God fearing Christian and this is not meant to say otherwise. It's a nice country house with beautiful things, including a Faberge egg, which I still don't understand the point of.
Among all of these things, in the corner, she had a cabinet with a little figurine of Jesus on top. It was the only sign in the whole house that suggested she was a Jesus follower. I instantly felt the spirit say "Don't put Jesus in the corner of your life."
Too often Jesus is just a facet of who we are. He isn't allowed to infiltrate every single aspect of our lives. Stay where we put you, Lord. You can have this one part of my heart, this one part of my life. We like to use Jesus when it suits us. When we need to feel better about ourselves, or even to make people think about us in a certain way. This happens often in churches. We walk in, sing to our God, listen to a sermon, and then leave Jesus right there in the pew. If people really looked at our lives, not just the face we put on, but the way that we live our lives, would they see Jesus?
Would they know the love of Jesus if they know us? Or would we clearly need to present the corner for them to recognize us as Christians?
There was a study where they compared Christian lifestyles with those of nonbelievers. In most cases, you couldn't tell one from the other based on the way they lived. How can we expect God to recognize us as His, when our fellow man can't even tell?
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Matthew 7:21-23.
99% of people will come to the conclusion that I'm a Christian, based on what I post on facebook. Would I have the same numbers if they looked at the way I treat people? If they overheard my prayer life? If they saw how often I read the bible? I once had someone tell me that anyone can pretend to be a Christian. You can stand in a garage and call yourself a car, but it doesn't make you one.
I want every single move that I make, from the time I open my eyes, to the time I close them again, to point to Jesus. I want Him to flood every single area of my life. When people see me, I want them to see Him. I want people to know him, not just know of Him, and how can I introduce them to a God I don't even know?
Each one of us gets to decide what we do with Jesus, and where we keep Him. Will we let Jesus mold our entire existence? Will we let Him take his rightful place, as Lord over our lives? Or will we keep Him on display, out of our way, in the corner?
Among all of these things, in the corner, she had a cabinet with a little figurine of Jesus on top. It was the only sign in the whole house that suggested she was a Jesus follower. I instantly felt the spirit say "Don't put Jesus in the corner of your life."
Too often Jesus is just a facet of who we are. He isn't allowed to infiltrate every single aspect of our lives. Stay where we put you, Lord. You can have this one part of my heart, this one part of my life. We like to use Jesus when it suits us. When we need to feel better about ourselves, or even to make people think about us in a certain way. This happens often in churches. We walk in, sing to our God, listen to a sermon, and then leave Jesus right there in the pew. If people really looked at our lives, not just the face we put on, but the way that we live our lives, would they see Jesus?
Would they know the love of Jesus if they know us? Or would we clearly need to present the corner for them to recognize us as Christians?
There was a study where they compared Christian lifestyles with those of nonbelievers. In most cases, you couldn't tell one from the other based on the way they lived. How can we expect God to recognize us as His, when our fellow man can't even tell?
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Matthew 7:21-23.
99% of people will come to the conclusion that I'm a Christian, based on what I post on facebook. Would I have the same numbers if they looked at the way I treat people? If they overheard my prayer life? If they saw how often I read the bible? I once had someone tell me that anyone can pretend to be a Christian. You can stand in a garage and call yourself a car, but it doesn't make you one.
I want every single move that I make, from the time I open my eyes, to the time I close them again, to point to Jesus. I want Him to flood every single area of my life. When people see me, I want them to see Him. I want people to know him, not just know of Him, and how can I introduce them to a God I don't even know?
Each one of us gets to decide what we do with Jesus, and where we keep Him. Will we let Jesus mold our entire existence? Will we let Him take his rightful place, as Lord over our lives? Or will we keep Him on display, out of our way, in the corner?
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