I Love My Churchનમૂનો

For years, Christianity has been crippled by the myth that Jesus wants us to “play it safe.” Jesus didn’t play it safe. None of the apostles played it safe. The church in Acts did not pray for safety; they prayed for boldness!!!

Safety cannot be our goal. What is that one thing you know the Lord is calling you to do? You know it’s a risk. You know that for this thing to happen you are going to need divine intervention. What is it? Why are you not doing it?

People have asked me, “How do I know that it’s God telling me to do it and not just an idea I had?” Here are three identifying marks I have experienced:

1. The thing God has called you to do will not contradict His Word.

I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and He speaks as loudly today as He did in Acts. However, the Holy Spirit will not contradict the Bible. If “that thing” that you feel called to do directly conflicts with God’s Word, it’s not God telling you to do it.

2. You can’t get away from this thought.

It dominates your thinking, and the more you marinate on it the more you feel like you might explode. For example, in 1996 Jesus was telling me to start a church. Instead of running out and doing it immediately, I began reading books on starting churches and dove into the Bible to see what it taught about the subject. The more I prayed, studied and read, the hotter the fire inside of me became.

3. Godly people in your life affirm it.

If I share an idea, and the people God has placed in my life to love and challenge me push back, I take a step back to pray and think through the idea until the Lord gives me greater clarity or shows me that my friends’ wise counsel is exactly what I needed to hear.

Life is short, hell is hot, and eternity is forever!!! The world has never been impacted by Christians who spent their lives begging God not to let anything bad happen to them. Jesus is good, but He is not safe.