{EZEKIEL 11:19 - I will take from them their hearts of stone, and give to them hearts of flesh.}
My time with the complacent church has always stuck with me. Over the years I have remembered the dull and disinterested eyes that drove me to seek out answers about passion for God, and His plan for the life of a believer. One of the first things He showed me was this:
Believers have the habit of crossing over the line of Salvation, and standing still on the other side - even though there is a road of growth and adventure stretching endlessly on before them.This endless road of growth does begin with salvation, but does not end there by any means. Check out Philippians 1:6 with me:
"...being confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus."Salvation is not the end of the ride! It is merely a mile marker on a long stretch of highway. Since that is the case, what is the next step?
Renovation.
John 15:2 says,
"He cuts away every branch in Me [Jesus] that does not bear fruit; and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, so that it will bear even more."
This whole process of turning a stone heart into a heart of flesh? It's not easy. Pruning? Yeah, it hurts. When you accept Christ, and then take the step forward on the highway, God will repeatedly take away any imperfection in your life. One by one he will begin to yank away the weeds, cut out the rot, and trim the edges of your imperfect heart. And it will hurt you. It has hurt me.
But it is so worth it! Even if it takes the pain of disappointment, and the sting of letting things go in order for a heart to grow continuously closer to Christ, I am in.
Ask yourself : Am I going to walk forward? Am I going to allow God to cut away the old me, to burn out the weeds in my heart, to mold me to be more like Him?
...Or am I going to stand still on the other side of Salvation, ignoring the growth and joy I could have if I just kept walking forward?
I usually don't comment on things, but a blog that is this well written and thought out definitely deserves more than just my measly little comment. Because what is a comment other than inspiration and encouragement for the author of their writing piece? Well, if the comment is seething with hatred I suppose that's something different, but even then you can get constructive criticism from it, most of the time. I stumbled upon your blog this morning (Jan 30, yeah it took me two days to write this, but I started late last night) while creeping around Facebook. A post popped up in what I call the creeper box (you know the box above the "friends who are online list"). The post said something about really liking your latest blog post, that immediately caught my attention. I love reading things and looking at sites people I know have created. The creativity shown through their careful design, the clever wit in the lines, it appeals to the artistic and the satirical side of me. With this in mind I went to your "about" page and found your site. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact your blog is mostly spiritual and not in the overly-used-verses-everyone-knows kind of way. Your blog is real, grounded in scripture, and relatable in ways that some youth pastors can't always hit. Also, something in the way you write that makes me think of R.C Sproul ( I just realized R.C. Sproul, C.J. Mahaney, C.S. Lewis, what is with influential Christian writers not penning their first and middle names?), although I don't know if he has your sense of adventure. With the way you write I feel as if I'm reading a book written by one of the aforementioned authors, not the experiences of someone I see in the hallway every day of school. We'll I'm out of things to say, except for if you have a list of avid readers somewhere you can add me to the list.
ReplyDeleteP.S. The Holiness of God by R.C Sproul is a great read.
P.S.S Thanks for taking the time to read my lengthy comment!
Of course I think of things to say once I've posted. *Sigh* I need to stop doing that... "Veritatem dicentis" is a very clever use of Latin and "...Drove my Chevy to the levy..." despite solemnity that, that little excerpt is in I chuckled at the reference
DeleteJeremiah. I usually don't get comments, but yours is a welcome change to that! Your encouragement is so appreciated, but even more than that, I am glad my blog is being read in the voice it was written in. This has been a way for me to do what I love, share Whom I love, with everyone I love...and it always makes me happy when more people find their way here.
DeleteI will certainly have to look into those books...I'm kind of a book junkie.
As for 'signing up'. If you have a google account or a blog, you can click "join this site" underneath the followers box at the top of the page. And I always update to FB when I've written a new post.
Thank you so much for the encouragement, and you should know - you've got some serious talent yourself. Keep with it, possibilities are endless when it comes to your thoughts on paper.
Well, I am happy to say I am now a follower of your illustrious blog! Your lack of comments is really the only reason I was compelled to write anything. I've been through enough online writing communities to understand the value of a well worded comment/review. The fact that I didn't find any comments on your blog struck me as just wrong, so I decided to change that. This was definitely a first for me, but then again I've always preferred to be the silent observer and not the casual commenter.
DeleteI'm always happy to pass on the title of a good book to a fellow book junkie.
Thank you! I find that my thoughts really come together when I'm writing with pen and paper or typing at a computer, rather than the jumbled mess of free floating thoughts (some days they seem to be mixed together in ways comparable to Jambalaya) I have throughout the day. Writing is a passion I have and one that I will definitely continue to pursue.