Are You Dying?

I believe dying is a lost art within the church. Seriously, much of who God wants us to become requires us to die. From my perspective, too many of us Christians are too alive within ourselves. We've simply tried to modify our behaviors to please God instead of allowing ourselves to die within. We'd rather shape God into a form that fits our lives rather than killing off the things from our lives that don't match up with who He's called us to be.

Here's what I'm trying to say... Jesus didn't die a horrible, nasty, brutal death on the cross for us to simply become nice people who make morally good decisions and go to a worship service on Sunday, yet this is what we see within the church...

-97% of "Christians" in America will never lead anyone to Christ.
-Over 50% of churches in America won't baptize a single adult this year.

Stats like this mean we're missing something. Jesus died so that we could die to the cravings of our flesh, find victory over sin, and pursue His calling for our lives. However, because the church has lost its focus in so many ways, we're simply creating "fans of Jesus" instead of true Christ-followers.

When was the last time God broke your heart over something? Maybe a sin in your life or someone you know who doesn't know Jesus? I only ask you this because God asked me this same question a couple weeks ago, and it's radically changing my outlook on what it means to follow Him. You see, we have to value our relationship with Christ above everything else. Actually, our response to Him and what He's trying to do in our personal lives is not even really a "priority" because it should be the reason for our existence!

Maybe God will speak to you like He's been speaking to me. Well, He's always been speaking; I just hadn't been listening. If we say Jesus is our Lord, then what are we killing off from our character, flesh, and nature to better follow Him? If we say we love people, what are the names of unchurched or lost people that we are trying to reach? If we could only break the ice as to what it means to die to ourselves so that Christ may live (Galatians 2:19-20), God would spark a movement that would literally trample the gates of hell!