Forgetting
It’s interesting to me to think about how quick people can forget. Someone has something great happen to them, like an amazing experience, something supernatural, and over time, they seem to just let it go. Everyone is so quick to bring up the Israelites, and how they were stuck in the desert for 40 years because of there doubting and complaining, are we much different?
So many times I see people go and have an authentic encounter, where there lives are impacted, and over time they grow numb to it. They seem to ignore what happened, or try to call it an emotional high. At the same time, you could look at how many people deceive themselves into thinking that they can claim, “I’m a Christian” and live like everyone else. Clearly ignoring 2nd Corinthians 6 where it says, “come out and be separate says the Lord”… how does this happen?
You know what’s interesting to think about, it was only 40 days. It was only 40 days from the time where the Israelites saw the mountain covered in smoke, saw the fire, heard the thunder and lighting because God was moving; to where they made a golden calf to be an idol. 40 days after seeing God work miracles, the Israelites forget what happened. You can read in Exodus 32 how Aaron, who was Moses’ right hand guy, was the man who molded the idol for the Israelites after only 40 days. How could that happen? In the same way, how is it we can go to a camp, and get radically touched, only to forget about it after a couple weeks? How can we go to church and get transformed on a Sunday, then go and smoke a joint on Monday? How can we take our eye off the prize so easily after seeing God move?
I think the biggest thing is we get distracted. It’s easy to get distracted, in fact, it’s natural to get distracted. Why is it natural to get distracted? Well lets think about this, there’s this dude, he hates you, wants the very worst for you, and he sees that you have caught something that will change your life, and make it worth something. Do you really think he’s going to want to sit back and watch you reach for the stars? No, of coarse not, he’s going to throw every curve ball he can at you. He will try to overcome your emotions, might even throw you into some weird situations, because he hates you. He wants you to loose so bad, that he will give you something that seems kind of good, just to keep you away from this amazing plan God has for your life. Unfortunately, the scar of the church today is too often, we give in. It’s crazy how your mess will mess up your identity. Think about how many people you know are insecure, could even be one of your weaknesses, and how it cripples them; it consumes there mind, you can see it through how they talk, and it determines how they live. Here’s a crazy thought, you don’t have to fall back. How about you turn your mess, into a message.
Satan is real folks, and guess what, he’s totally content with you being a silent, back row, Christian. Someone who likes to live decent on Sunday, then walks through, and lives like, hell for the rest of the week. That kind of person will never have a real affect on anything, so the devil really isn’t intimidated by that. But when little old satan sees some kid, with a fire in his eyes, the look like he wants to take over the world for Jesus. That kind of look makes the devil a little nervous. That’s why he tries to hit you so hard right after your experience, because he knows that he needs to get you to fall quickly, because if you can keep this fire going, you will be unshakable. So he does everything in his power to make you doubt, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so you murmur and complain, preventing God from taking action. Sounds kind of like the Israelites, here's something to ponder on, easy doesn't make you happy...
It breaks my heart to watch people lower their convictions, for a piece of temporary pleasure that ends up haunting them for the rest of their life. It looked so good at that moment, what happened? How did you get to this point? Would you have ever done this during your encounter? How did you get distracted? It happened because you took your eye off the prize, and instead of focusing on things to come, you got stuck thinking about the now. You probably got kind of selfish, as you started to wonder if it was really worth the sacrifice, and you stopped reaching for the stars, and settled with crap. You can’t stop God, but you can miss him.
God has a purpose, and it is going to be fulfilled with, or without you. You have to commit, look back and remember what God has done in you. John 8:36 says, “He who the son has set free, is free indeed.” People get discouraged when looking at what is seen, focus on the unseen. Focus on the Promise! Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts I have toward you says the Lord, Thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give you a future, and a hope.” Don’t throw in the towel, you’ve just begun. God will give you all the strength you need.
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
Psalms 11 says, “In the Lord I place my trust…”
Psalms 27, “The Lord is the Strength of my life…”
And if you have screwed up, and you don’t know what to believe because you feel as if God’s plan has passed you by, don’t quit. It’s never to late to make everyday for the rest of your life count. Make it count, if God can use a man who used to lock people in church’s and burn them to the ground, surely he can use you. In fact, that guy wrote most the new testament, his name was Paul, just think about what God can use you to do. God never kicks us out of his will, we leave. "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" James 4
CS Lewis put it like this, "Aim for heaven, and you will get heaven and Earth; aim for Earth, and you will get neither" Make your life count, allow God to be the strength of your life. The problem we often encounter isn't that God isn't speaking, the problem we face is that he is, and we aren't listening...
Draw near to God, and Remember what he has freed you from. Don't focus on your situation, or the circumstance you may be in, instead focus on the promise and Where God is taking you.
Be Blessed
Dan Michno
It’s interesting to me to think about how quick people can forget. Someone has something great happen to them, like an amazing experience, something supernatural, and over time, they seem to just let it go. Everyone is so quick to bring up the Israelites, and how they were stuck in the desert for 40 years because of there doubting and complaining, are we much different?
So many times I see people go and have an authentic encounter, where there lives are impacted, and over time they grow numb to it. They seem to ignore what happened, or try to call it an emotional high. At the same time, you could look at how many people deceive themselves into thinking that they can claim, “I’m a Christian” and live like everyone else. Clearly ignoring 2nd Corinthians 6 where it says, “come out and be separate says the Lord”… how does this happen?
You know what’s interesting to think about, it was only 40 days. It was only 40 days from the time where the Israelites saw the mountain covered in smoke, saw the fire, heard the thunder and lighting because God was moving; to where they made a golden calf to be an idol. 40 days after seeing God work miracles, the Israelites forget what happened. You can read in Exodus 32 how Aaron, who was Moses’ right hand guy, was the man who molded the idol for the Israelites after only 40 days. How could that happen? In the same way, how is it we can go to a camp, and get radically touched, only to forget about it after a couple weeks? How can we go to church and get transformed on a Sunday, then go and smoke a joint on Monday? How can we take our eye off the prize so easily after seeing God move?
I think the biggest thing is we get distracted. It’s easy to get distracted, in fact, it’s natural to get distracted. Why is it natural to get distracted? Well lets think about this, there’s this dude, he hates you, wants the very worst for you, and he sees that you have caught something that will change your life, and make it worth something. Do you really think he’s going to want to sit back and watch you reach for the stars? No, of coarse not, he’s going to throw every curve ball he can at you. He will try to overcome your emotions, might even throw you into some weird situations, because he hates you. He wants you to loose so bad, that he will give you something that seems kind of good, just to keep you away from this amazing plan God has for your life. Unfortunately, the scar of the church today is too often, we give in. It’s crazy how your mess will mess up your identity. Think about how many people you know are insecure, could even be one of your weaknesses, and how it cripples them; it consumes there mind, you can see it through how they talk, and it determines how they live. Here’s a crazy thought, you don’t have to fall back. How about you turn your mess, into a message.
Satan is real folks, and guess what, he’s totally content with you being a silent, back row, Christian. Someone who likes to live decent on Sunday, then walks through, and lives like, hell for the rest of the week. That kind of person will never have a real affect on anything, so the devil really isn’t intimidated by that. But when little old satan sees some kid, with a fire in his eyes, the look like he wants to take over the world for Jesus. That kind of look makes the devil a little nervous. That’s why he tries to hit you so hard right after your experience, because he knows that he needs to get you to fall quickly, because if you can keep this fire going, you will be unshakable. So he does everything in his power to make you doubt, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so you murmur and complain, preventing God from taking action. Sounds kind of like the Israelites, here's something to ponder on, easy doesn't make you happy...
It breaks my heart to watch people lower their convictions, for a piece of temporary pleasure that ends up haunting them for the rest of their life. It looked so good at that moment, what happened? How did you get to this point? Would you have ever done this during your encounter? How did you get distracted? It happened because you took your eye off the prize, and instead of focusing on things to come, you got stuck thinking about the now. You probably got kind of selfish, as you started to wonder if it was really worth the sacrifice, and you stopped reaching for the stars, and settled with crap. You can’t stop God, but you can miss him.
God has a purpose, and it is going to be fulfilled with, or without you. You have to commit, look back and remember what God has done in you. John 8:36 says, “He who the son has set free, is free indeed.” People get discouraged when looking at what is seen, focus on the unseen. Focus on the Promise! Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts I have toward you says the Lord, Thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give you a future, and a hope.” Don’t throw in the towel, you’ve just begun. God will give you all the strength you need.
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
Psalms 11 says, “In the Lord I place my trust…”
Psalms 27, “The Lord is the Strength of my life…”
And if you have screwed up, and you don’t know what to believe because you feel as if God’s plan has passed you by, don’t quit. It’s never to late to make everyday for the rest of your life count. Make it count, if God can use a man who used to lock people in church’s and burn them to the ground, surely he can use you. In fact, that guy wrote most the new testament, his name was Paul, just think about what God can use you to do. God never kicks us out of his will, we leave. "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" James 4
CS Lewis put it like this, "Aim for heaven, and you will get heaven and Earth; aim for Earth, and you will get neither" Make your life count, allow God to be the strength of your life. The problem we often encounter isn't that God isn't speaking, the problem we face is that he is, and we aren't listening...
Draw near to God, and Remember what he has freed you from. Don't focus on your situation, or the circumstance you may be in, instead focus on the promise and Where God is taking you.
Be Blessed
Dan Michno
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