What brought the Apostle Paul to a point in his life where being imprisoned, with the possibility of execution, simply meant another opportunity to glorify God and speak courageously about the resurrection and salvation of Jesus?
'To live is Christ and to die is gain.' (Philippians 1) - what a mantra!
Was it his miraculous conversion: a blinding bright light, the voice of the recently deceased, resurrected and ascended Messiah?
Or was it an opening of his spiritual eyes to the reality of Gods new work. An experiential knowledge of the new dispensation of Spirit and Grace upon the earth.
Many of us have witnessed pretty miraculous things: preserved life after a natural disaster, brutal car-crash survivors, mysterious healing of a terminally ill family member, random rent check in the mail...
How many hold onto that miracle as life-changing from that point onward? I would like to believe that if Jesus opened up the sky and told me to serve Him 100% that I would do so without fail...I've experienced that power in different ways and I still flounder at times.
Paul responded with zeal. He passionately took up his new calling, his new faith and never turned back.
Have you turned back? Have you doubted relentlessly, turned back and found yourself frozen in your tracks? Then PRAY. Pray for a renewed vision for your life, a tenderized heart for His Holiness and your neighbors lostness, a breath of fresh spiritual air found in the Word and written on your soul. You and I can be like Paul.
Showing posts with label lwbc 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lwbc 2011. Show all posts
7/27/11
7/11/11
Unstoppable Generation
I'm not quite a boy anymore but I'm not in the dirt yet.
After spending some time with a group of 7-9th grade students in Madison I'm convinced of some things:
1) Their potential to change the world is astounding.
2) Their access to wealth, knowledge and vast resources is almost unimaginable.
3) That even in this technological-speed-trap of a culture they need the Spirits guidance.
The intangible, mostly slow-going, always mind-blowing, ultimately sin-breaking wisdom of the Spirit of the Lord will make all the difference in the lives of the next generation.
The Philippians, Paul's first European church plant, were in the same boat. Wealthy, protected, resourced, and sitting on the Via Egnatia - a major highway connecting East/West. Like the Philippians, Paul is challenging this next generation to live according to a holier standard amidst such luxury.
The next generation must discover how to change the world in the Power of Christ instead of simply changing the world.
That would be an Unstoppable Generation.
After spending some time with a group of 7-9th grade students in Madison I'm convinced of some things:
1) Their potential to change the world is astounding.
2) Their access to wealth, knowledge and vast resources is almost unimaginable.
3) That even in this technological-speed-trap of a culture they need the Spirits guidance.
The intangible, mostly slow-going, always mind-blowing, ultimately sin-breaking wisdom of the Spirit of the Lord will make all the difference in the lives of the next generation.
The Philippians, Paul's first European church plant, were in the same boat. Wealthy, protected, resourced, and sitting on the Via Egnatia - a major highway connecting East/West. Like the Philippians, Paul is challenging this next generation to live according to a holier standard amidst such luxury.
The next generation must discover how to change the world in the Power of Christ instead of simply changing the world.
That would be an Unstoppable Generation.
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lwbc 2011
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