friend of God?

Jesus might be your Savior.

but is He your Lord?

think about it. there IS a difference.

a Lord governs over every part of your heart and life. a Lord is a ruler over you. does your life reflect that Christ reigns over you?

on sunday, my pastor preached from Philippians 3:18-20.

"18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior." (NLT)

verse 19 says that for those who are enemies of the cross, their god is their appetite (King James version says "belly" in place of appetite), Meaning, they worship their flesh; those who are really enemies of the cross of Christ live to please their own appetites, their own bellies, instead of living to please God.

not everyone who wears Jesus' name as a badge is really His friend.

that passage just really made me self-reflect and feel the desire to help others examine themselves too.

i hate to see people's fear of conviction carry them to Hell. conviction is designed to bring correction, not condemnation. if you run from the uncomfortable feeling we ALL feel when convicted, you'll never see correction. and we ALL need correction from time to time.

i think my pastor's message may have hit a lot of nerves with folk, but i'm so grateful for his boldness and teaching of the hard-hitting truth of God's word. he NEVER holds anything back out of fear of what people may say or think, and i have so much respect for him and those like him. he spoke about the lifestyles choices we make that do not reflect the Christ we claim to serve. i know some folks probably left church heated. those kinds of messages are my favorite though, because they have the power to bring about the most change, for all who desire to change.

if i can be honest with you, i could live the rest of my life without another "THIS YOUR SEASON, THIS IS YOUR TIME! God's about to pour out an awesome blessing in your life!!" message. people like Joel Osteen make me ILL. Joel Osteen does not preach the unadulterated word of God - He preaches "feel good" messages of hope. but when does he teach people about God's judgment?

hope is all fine and good, but i need folks to know that "good" is not the end that all folks will see. and God is not all that concerned with us being blessed and happy all the time. He desires surrender and total obedience FIRST. our "happiness" and feeling blessed are secondary and tertiary (at best).

those "blessings from Heaven pouring down" messages are great for a quick pick-me-up. those are the messages that have the whole church jumping and shouting and praising God. and yes, God does indeed bless our socks off, and that's great and all. but why don't we get excited about messages like Philippians 3:18-20, that have the potential to really get deep into us and change our whole lives? why are we not more excited about learning the parts of God's word that can bring change in our hearts?? a changed hearts is a miraculous thing!

messages like that could wake someone up who all along has been singing "I Am A Friend of God" and clapping blindly, all the while living a life that made them enemies to God. and waking up is ALWAYS a reason to shout and praise God.

but the church was mighty quiet that day.

people don't shout and get excited about convicting passages.

but i leave church feeling the most changed, the most renewed, the most hopeful, the closest to God when i hear messages like Philippians 3:18-20. messages that are powerful and make me check myself and my walk with Christ are the ones i get the most excited about. they set me on fire to serve God more, to surrender more of myself, to get on my knees and pray and make sure that i'm living a life that is pleasing to my King.

i don't really need people preaching to me all the time about blessings raining down from Heaven. i know God blesses. i need the ones that will help me to grow in my relationship with Christ. i need the ones that will show me how much work i have to do in Him.

we all have so much work to do.

Jesus is not just someone you can claim because it sounds like the right thing to do. Christianity is not just a title to sport. it's a lifestyle. if your life in no way says "Jesus Lives Here," it's important to do some self-reflection. His thoughts should be your thoughts. His ways should be your ways.

this is something i need to always keep in mind. my life and my heart need to match what i profess, which is Christ.

let me tell you, of all the enemies you might make in your lifetime, you really don't want God to be one of them.

something to chew on.