Living Courageously...

At the end of the day, what matters most to you?  Is it that people would like you?  That you would be successful (whatever that means to you)?  That you'd be in a relationship?  That you'd be seen as popular?  That you'd have what you want?  Seriously think about, because the answer is what drives your life.  Is that harsh?  No, it's truth.  You have three commodities that you bring to the table day in day out and spend to accomplish whichever purpose you're chasing: passion, time, and money.  If I were to chase down all three in your life I'd find out exactly what your god is.  Family.  Money.  Stuff.  Popularity.  Relationships.  Gaming.  Sports.  My list could literally be endless as there are countless things we give primacy in our lives to.  The Bible has a word for that- idolatry.  And no, I'm not saying you're out sacrificing a goat on a hill to a statue made in the shape of one of those things.  I am saying that you're placing your hope and worship in a very misguided place, which is no different than the prior outside of the blood and old schoolness of it.

But the truth is we all worship something.  Matter of fact, the most passionate worship I've ever seen wasn't at a church.  Wasn't even to God.  It was at a concert where everyone was singing along at the top of their lungs, arms raised lost in the moment, passionately worshiping a band.  It was evident in the pre-show screamfest as the band entered to a roaring crowd stirred to a frenzy by their entrance setup launching straight into their first song and hooking every single person in that audience, including me.  Never thought about it that way?  It's true- I worshiped at the altar of the Eagles and U2 various times and places...  But, rewind to last weekend (or whenever you were last in worship).  Did it look remotely like a concert where people were sold out and singing at the top of their lungs with songs they love?  I'll answer for you: not likely.  The question is, why?  As people who call ourselves Christians we have more to sing, dance, scream, clap, and celebrate over together than anyone else on the face of this planet!  But we don't.

As we look at  the why, I go back to my original thought- primacy in our lives isn't given to Jesus but something other that takes our limited supply of money, time, and passion and diverts us from our true purpose.  You have something, the question is what it is.  Follow back what you're spending your time on, your money on, what you are most passionate about, and it's what sits enthroned as your god (now there is some wiggle here as you can look based on things you choose to spend those on, not school/work which you have to do).  Period.  I wish I could say that wasn't the case, but it is.  So let's take a look at what Paul had to say in Romans 8:

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.  Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace....But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Did you catch that?  We've been freed from our former slavery to false gods and sin!  Why do we cling to it like it's the last thing in our world when there is something worth infinitely more given to us?  Simple answer: we like our pet sin and hang onto it because it makes us "happy."  But, it's only separating us from God and leaving us a deadened husk...  The inverse means we live filed with the Spirit, plugged into God's infinite power source, doing what He made us to do.  Honestly, I know I have issues and still hang onto some of my "pet" sins.  Like Paul, I wish I didn't, but the truth is I do.  However, there is hope and promise in what Jesus did.  I just have to die.  When  I do, I live from the power of Christ and can live courageously to affect the world around me with His love.  But, it requires me to be in Him and living through Him; not to have just enough Jesus to inoculate me from Him!  So what's in charge of your life?  Is it your stuff?  Your significant other?  Your achievements?  My prayer this morning is that you would live from the Spirit courageously living life in Christ, not just with religion...