Being "Normal"

I've spent most of my Christian life as a "Casual Christian".  It's only been the in the last couple of weeks that I've moved from being a casual christian to a normal christian.  Well what does a casual Christian even look like? you may be asking!  Lets look at the word Christian first!  Christian simply means "Little Christ" or "Follower of Christ".  I like the term "Little Christ".  Christians are people who accept the teachings of Jesus Christ, and choose to live in accordance to his teachings.  Now lets look at the word casual.  Casual means, "without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; unconcerned."  Wow.  that doesn't sound like it goes with being a christian now does it?  But the funny thing is, is so many Christians are just like this!  We love Jesus, and He loves us.  We just stroll through our Christian life trying to be good and do good things, without actually thinking about what God really wants us to be doing.  Even active Christians can be like this.  Active as in "I'm an official member of the WWJD club and I help out at the soup kitchen".   So you help out at the local soup kitchen, that's amazing.............  so can a group of boy scouts.  I've seen movie stars doing this stuff in the tabloids too.  And don't get me started with Oprah!  Don't get me wrong,  these things are important.  Christians should be doing these things, I understand that.  But if that's the extent of your faith, you need to stop and look at what Jesus really emphasized in his teachings and his lifestyle. This is where we look at the word "normal".  Normal means, "Conforming to the standard; natural; serving to establish the standard." Natural... I like that.  Jesus is the most normal christian in the Bible.  Funny how most Christians would call his life radical!  but it wasn't.  He lived how a normal Christian should live.  He lived With Kingdom principles, and brought it with him everywhere and in everything he did.  That's normal.

     The kingdom needs to become "the normal" for us.  He taught it and lived it, so we could learn it and live it too, "the normal".  Casual Christianity isn't enough, clearly!  We need to be normal.  Or to put it differently,  the kingdom lifestyle that Jesus lived needs to become natural (aka: normal) to us.  Wow, I'm just killing the word normal here! I'll use the word natural now.  When Jesus fed five thousand people (Matt 14:13) with only five loaves of bread and two fish, that was nothing more than natural in the kingdom, when Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1), again, only natural in the kingdom.  Bill Johnson said something really cool in one of his messages, He said "With natural treasures I can buy everyone here at church a lunch, but with the natural treasures of the Kingdom, I can buy one lunch and multiply it!"

Again, if you volunteer at a soup kitchen, that's awesome. You're going out of your way to serve others and God honors that.  I don't want anyone to think I'm bashing good deeds here.  But serve others with the intention of bringing the Kingdom to those your serving. That's what Jesus did.  That's what living normal should look like for a Christian.  What's natural in the Kingdom can be our natural way of living.  Let's step away from being casual and leave that to the boy scouts, shall we?

Prayer

Lord help me!  I want to live.  I want to walk constantly in your presence.  Lord, give me open doors to do your work, so I can prove myself to You.  I want to honor You and glorify You.  You are worthy, Lord.  I no longer desire to be a vessel for the world, but for You, Father!  I want to carry your Spirit, Lord, wherever I go.  Overflow out of me, so you can spill onto others.  Be contagious through me Father.  Lord do this not only for me, but your church Father God.  Move among your church, Lord.  Fill us with joy, Father.  Give us your "to do list".  Lord let us see with your eyes the people that need your love, so we can love on them.  Lord, let us hear with your ears the people's cries, so we can answer them with love.  And what things we have to do in are own lives, Father, be with us as we do them.  In all the things we do, let your Name be glorified.  Lord, this isn't just wishful thinking! I want to reflect You.  A perfect mirror image, Lord.  Help me to stand strong against the enemy, Lord.  My hearts desires are against the enemy's ways, and he will try to fill my head with lies.  Be with me in those times, God.  The devil may know your Word more than I do, and he will use it to confuse me. But You know my heart more than he does, and You will use it to tear down his dark kingdom!!!  I will not live for him, I will not believe in his lies, I won't live a life that empowers him.  Use me, Father, to reap havoc in his dark kingdom.  Shine through me, and let that light push out the darkness.  And again, Father, let this prayer not be just for me, but my Brothers and Sisters as well.  So many of us are ready.  And for those who aren't Lord,  help us to raise them up in You and prepare them.  This is the life your Son lived, and I want to live just like your Son. 

Growth of a Promise

I sand floors for a living.  I really want to be a pastor someday, but thats not happening right now.  It doesn't mean it won't happen, it just means I'm not there yet.  I need to grow, I need to take that seed that God put in me years ago, and I need to water it, and nurture it.  There are other seeds God has planted in me that I need to do this with as well.  Every Christian has seeds, "giftings" if you will, that need nourishment and food to grow.  So here's the issue I think can happen often and has happened with me.  We expect instant results!  God plants a seed in our hearts, and like worldly culture today....BAM we need it now!  Think of it.  You've heard other people talk about how we live in a "Microwave Society", a "McDonald's Society", a "High-Speed Society".  So I'm not going to focus on that.  Let's look at "God's Society".  Take Jesus for example.  Jesus was like 30 when he started his ministry!  Luke 2:40 tells us that as child he GREW in strength and wisdom, and it says it again in verse 52.  Jesus had to grow in wisdom. That can't be right, can it?  Jesus, the son of the most high God, the savior of our hearts, grew....... in wisdom.  He had to.  He set aside his divinity when he was born into this world.  Everything he did, he had to do AS A MAN! He had to eat like a man, sleep like a man, work like a man, GROW like a man.  And more than just physical stature and normal lifestyle, he also needed to grow in his relationship with his Father.  It took Jesus time to grow, so you know it's going to take time for us to grow as well. 
     You see, growth is key in the Kingdom.  Think of the example of the oak tree. This great and mighty tree comes from a tiny little acorn.  The acorn sprouts and begins to grow.  A little sapling springs from the ground and begins to grow leaves. This little sapling endures the freezing winters and the harsh stormy winds of earths weather.  In time this sapling becomes a massive tree that has endured the worst weather to become what it is, what God made it to be.  All because of one tiny seed.  Hebrews 10:36 says "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." I like the new living translations version, it says "Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."  How sweet it is.  It takes time... days, weeks, years for that promise to come to fruition.  The promise is the seed.  The seed is in you.  God planted it there.  Now feed it, nurture it, and watch it grow into something beautiful. 

Intimacy = Miracles

Bill Johnson asked a really good question in his devotional book "When Heaven Invades Earth".  He asked, "What do you think helps create an opportunity for a miracle?"  I've heard answers like, faith, disaster, obedience, etc.  Not that any of these are wrong, but my wife had an answer that really made me raise a brow.  Intimacy with God.  Intimacy.  The more I Thought about it, the more it made sense.  Think of an intimate relationship you may have,  I'm not just speaking sexual.  I'm talking about someone you know inside and out.  Maybe it's your husband or your wife, your BFF, a brother or sister... whoever!  I'll use my wife for example.  I know everything about her, because I'm intimate with her.  I can pick her voice out in a crowd of people. I can read her body language. I can look into her eyes and read what she's saying (usually when I'm in for it). I can feel her "vibrations" if you will.  I know the desires of her heart.  How?  Because our relationship goes deep.  She tells me the desires of her heart!  Now think of someone you know, but not that well.  Can you pick their voice out in a crowd? Can you read their body language?  Probably not, because you don't know much about that person.  Our relationship with God is no different.  The deeper we go with him, the more he reveals Himself to us.  Having an intimate relationship with God means we can hear his voice in the crowd,  we can read his vibrations, and know the desires of his heart!  Sweet!
     Now back to the question.  What do you think helps create an opportunity for a miracle?  If I'm walking down the street and I hear the voice of God telling me to pray for the homeless guy on the corner, it's intimacy that allows me to hear His voice.  He then tells me to lay hands on the homeless man so he can be healed. Now I'm hearing the desires of His heart.  Then comes obedience to do what He's asked me,  and then faith that His will be done through me.  Both coming from being intimate with the "Lover of My Soul".  Things like this should happen daily for Christians.  We need to go deeper with God, so that just like your earthly intimate relationships, we can always be aware of His voice.