Do you see it? What do you see happening?

God is always at work around you.

Do you see it? What do you see happening?

Knowing God only comes through experience as He reveals Himself to you.

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him" - John 14:21

So, what kind of Christian are you?
The answer to that question will define how you are currently experiencing God.

Are you a self-centered Christian that is too busy and loving this world in ways that distract you from not only seeing the work of God around you, but you are also too distracted to even know where God is calling you to participate in His work?

Are you a Christian of convenience?
Do you believe in God just enough by talking to God sometimes (mainly when you are wanting something from Him) and you attend church and maybe even serve in some way, to where you don't really feel convicted or challenged because you are really just "going through the motions"? Would you consider yourself a "SEASONAL" Christian?

Are you a Christ-Centered Christian?
Are you all about God? Is your life completely revolving around the will of God? Are you ALL IN? If you are a Christ-centered Christian people probably think you are a little crazy, right? Even your Christian friends!?

"Suffer hardship with [me], as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier."
- 2 Tim 2:3-4

"But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed [are ye:] and fear not their fear, neither be troubled; but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: [being] ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:  having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ.  For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing. - 1 Peter 3:14-17

I can easily say that I am not 100% Christ-centered 100% of the time, but it is something that I am constantly thriving for on a continual basis. In my efforts to say Christ focused I have made some life changes and I continue to look for ways to always be Christ - focused.

The interesting thing about this is: I have not only been looked at as "crazy" by my friends who are non-believers (which can be expected because they just don't comprehend the genuine meaning behind it), but I have definitely been challenged in how my life-changes towards becoming more Christ-focused, by my fellow Christian family! I have to admit that has been unnerving at times.

I will give you a sample of a "time of transformation" that God was definitely challenging me where I was seen as a bit "crazy" by both Christians and non-Christians. Here is how I was experiencing God:
I felt convicted with how easy, as a stay-at-home mom, it was to just kill the time my watching tv. I have always been pretty conservative with what I watch. I hate watching anything that involves "being dark". I don't like watching movies and shows that involve witchcraft, and ones that throw out all moral when it comes to excessive profanity, nudity, and sexuality, etc. So, sure watching tv is not a bad thing, right? I'm not watching anything "bad". Well, what about this idea...how much time have I wasted doing virtually nothing in front of the tv when I could have been spending it with God by studying His word, praying, seeking His guidance by listening to sermons both at church and even online, being fruitful, etc. So...my new lifestyle was exactly this: DO NOTHING unless it gave glory and focused on God in some way. If it didn't do either of these things it was OUT, OUT, OUT! That meant not watching the same tv shows or movies that I was watching, that meant spending more time reading and praying and listening. So, I did just that.

Guess what? Following this new lifestyle challenged and changed me in so many ways! I became closer to God and I learned a lot. I learned a lot about God, not just about Him, but I got to EXPERIENCE Him in ways I never had before. I learned that God doesn't want us to be self-centered, or a convenient Christian. He wants me to be a Christ-centered Christian.

I learned that I need to be a 'WATCHMAN' at ALL times. I need to be prepared and "studied" so that I can be prepared for the things He has written that is to come. I don't want to be a fool and fall for the enemies tricks and plays. So, I need to be on alert and I need to rely on God in EVERYTHING. Seeking Him in everything even the little things that don't seem that important.

I learned that the traditions of this world such as holiday and even church traditions can be foolish and I don't have to abide by them, regardless of how not participating in such things makes me look.
I was constantly asking myself: is what I am doing scriptural, is what I am doing glorifying to God? If the answer was no, then I wasn't going to involve myself in such things.

This lifestyle changed me. It made me see things in a whole different light: In His eyes. Sure, many times it would cause me to burst in tears for something that didn't seem like a big deal and even for what seemed to be no reason at all. My attitude and my life 'lens' changed. It changed me, it changed my marriage, and you better believe it changed how several people saw me. I even had a family member 'unfriend' me on facebook because they could not understand how my facebook status expressed that the closer I was getting to God the sadder I became in many ways. This person argued that it should be the other way around and that I should be happier, not sadder the closer I was to God. I openly agreed with this person, but also explained how it was possible to experience both happiness and saddness equally. Unfortunately, this person just couldn't grasp that and it resulted in 'unfriending' me.

My fellow Christians thought I was being crazy because I was withdrawing myself from "normal" things. I didn't see it that way. I saw it as focusing my time on Godly things and doing things that were fruitful and not wasting valuable time. Think about it... The day you stand before God how would you feel about being negatively judged because you wasted so much time doing fruitless things, like watching tv (specifically things that were not glorifying to God). I think about that a lot. I don't want to be that person.

My fellow non-Christians thought I was being crazy because well...it just didn't make sense. This made a perfect opportunity to share not only my faith, but I got to share about my experience(s) with God! This totally created a curiosity and an opportunity for  questions to be asked and seeds to be planted.

Experiencing God is a beautiful thing, regardless of what anyone thinks. You may be called crazy, you may lose relationships, you might offend, you might cause confusion in others...but in the name of glorifying God, it is so worth it!

Liar, liar!

Have you ever heard:
You have to get in debt to prosper?
(Lady) You have to be skinny to be beautiful?
(Man) You have to be muscular to be attractive?
You will be happy when you have all the "toys" you've ever wanted?
You are defined by what you wear?
You are defined by your job?
You are defined by how much money you have?
You will be happy when you have achieved so many success'?
You will never amount to anything?
You aren't good enough?


Guess what? These are all lies! Lies, lies, lies!!!

These are all sneaky little lies that haunt us, tear us down and even ruin lives.


God wants your experience in your relationship with Him to be great. Not just good, but great!
But, there is one thing that likes to pull you back with full force...and that thing is ugly little lies that the enemy is constantly whispering into your mind... Think about it... How many times a day do you feel discouraged from your relationship with God?

Do you talk to Him less?
Do you have less faith than yesterday?
Are you less active and more numb in participating in God's will than you were yesterday, last week, last month?

Why do you think this is?
Could it be because of all the lies you are hearing and they are so convincing because you can see how they can be true and you have heard them again and again so you think they must be true?

How can you get out of this rut that you are in?
It starts with removing yourself from yourself and experiencing God in His greatness.

You may need to start reevaluating your life and removing things.

Here are some steps that may be key in crushing those ugly little lies:

Remove sin and replace it with Holiness.
Remove lies and Replace them with the Truth.
Remove inaction and replace it with Action.

1 Peter 2:1-2 says:
"So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment."

Sin keeps us from God and spiritual growth. Sin seeks to destroy us and that is why we must remove sin and replace it with Holiness, truth and actions that are God-centered. 

As a Christian our lives aren't meant to be boring. But, sometimes we just live a boring life because we are trying to live it on our own...and that is a result of believing lies. We all get discouraged. Those ugly little lies will always be there to tear us down, but no one can separate us from the love of God. So, if we want our lives to be more than just "good" we must stop hitting the "snooze" button on our spiritual alarm clocks and get up on the first command. Otherwise, we too easily become numb and we start walking through life as if we are just going through the motions.

James 5:16 says:
"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results"
Our relationship with God can be great! But it takes action. Sometimes it may cause you to make sacrifices like walking completely out of your comfort zone and that may mean removing things from your life that you never thought you could live without. If you are not challenged by the greatness of God, perhaps it could be because you are hitting the "snooze" button one too many times.


In what way is God's greatness challenging you today?