God Never Planned for You to Be Someone Else
Matthew 5:48 (Msg)
Long before he laid down earth's foundations, God had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. 5 Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) 6 He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Ephesians 1:4-6 (MSG)
Pastor’s Blog
God planned on, created and chose you before the foundation of the world. God doesn’t want you to become anyone other than the you He intended you to be.
All of my Christian life I’ve been susceptible to the discouragement that often comes from teachings that elevate model Christians whose devotional life is “exemplary”. Those with a great “devotional life” are often described in what seems heroic terms: They read big chunks of the Bible every day without exception, get up at 4:00 am and stay in prayer for hours, journal copiously, memorize scripture, and listen to Christian CD’s and Radio all day. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE THINGS ARE WONDERFUL, HOWEVER . .. not everyone meets God in the same way! Some of you are so grumpy and miserable at 4:00 am that not even Jesus wants to be with you at that time of day! (that was supposed to be humorous).
Each of us must learn to pray in our own way and to learn to be fed from the Bible not as someone else gets fed, but according to how God wired you to get fed. Your job is to let God shape you into Christlikeness in the way God intended you to reflect Christ. Thought of this way, spiritual formation leads you to become a “you-ier” version of the you God wants you to be. No one else will ever be able reflect Christ as you can. Nor can you ever grow into someone else’s Christlikeness. Your growth in Christ will never be the same as another’s.
I love how John Ortberg puts it; “disciples are hand crafted, not mass produced.”
Plan to be in church on Sunday. I’ll be doing my best to help you grow not just a devotional life, but a life, one which reflects the things of God and is a soul shaped by God.
I guess I'm one of those folks reading huge chunks of scripture, praying for hours, listening to "Christian" CDs and radio all day long. Is it because I have an "exemplary devotional life"? No! I do that because I'm weak and needy and have to hang on to Him with everything I have.There is nothing heroic about my weakness, nothing to be envied, no special holiness or spectacular spirituality. My devotional life is driven by the knowledge that He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I grab onto the hem of His garment and hang on with both hands. It isn't a devotional discipline, it is a desperate need for Him.
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