The Battle to Believe... and Slow-down
Yesterday we gathered as a church to talk about two things the Lord is teaching us in light of His mission and where we are in the journey; 1) the power of belief; and 2) the need to slow down.
Our beliefs shape what we value, and therefore how we live our lives (spend our time, our energy, our money, etc...). In fact, what we believe is so crucial to the life of the Christian God commanded we test ourselves to see where we are in the faith (1 Tim 4). And so we paused to ask... "Do we believe we have ALL been called to be missionaries of Jesus who share the Gospel with our world (2 Cor 5; Matt 28)? Do we believe that the Gospel message, and the Gospel message alone, has the power to change lives (Rom 3; Eph 2)? Do we believe that it is God alone, through the Gospel alone, that births faith in the lives of people (Rom 10)? Do we rest in that promise?"
Believing these truths will result in acting on these truths, for "Faith without works is dead" (James 2). But believing they say is only half the battle, because to actually walk out the teachings of Jesus in our busy city requires us slowing down long enough to do so. I know, it sounds contradictory, but God seems to be showing us that if our heart is to move out... we have to slow down. Relationships take time, and without creating margins in our lives to build them we will inevitably run right on by the very people around us who have yet to hear the "good news" of Jesus.