In the Shadow of Divine Perfection

I need to be devoted. Not to show some sort of awesome piety that exceeds everyone else. Not a self focused, self righteous thing. No, I need devotion in my life like Jesus had it. I need to be love-focused, I need to be peace-focused, I need to be God-focused. Far too often I find myself becoming focused on everything except for God. Ministry, sermons, Facebook, blogs, whatever it is, it's not God. That's idolatry. That's scary.

I wrote this devotional for my young adults group at SHBC last week, and I don't know, I felt like I was writing to myself.

Devoted. Joshua 6:21 "They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys." Don't be fooled, devotion isn't for the faint of heart, especially when it comes to being devoted to Jesus. It may just kill you, in a good way. It's more than just adhering to a discipline (I've gotta get my 10 minutes of prayer in), because God isn't impressed with us and our discipline. If we try to work ourselves to Him, we do exactly the opposite of what needs to be done because Jesus already did all the work.

Instead, we should be devoted like Jesus was devoted. He was interested in spending time with the Father, not out of regimented religion but out of true understanding that knowing the Father was the most important thing. Through relationship with God will devotion come forth, like a plant sprouting because of the water and sun and soil. Our devotion should look like us dying to know God.

Pursue Christ, brothers and sisters. Devote yourself to Him.

You see, sometimes we get lost thinking that the paths we use (bible study, sermons, ministry, etc) are God. Maybe not cognitively, but it sometimes happens. The truth is that all of those things are shadows of God. Michelangelo said, "The truest work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection." Don't be confused, sermons, bible studies, ministry and the like are all great and good, but we must remember that they are shadows of our GREAT GOD. We must pursue HIM. Christ did not get flogged, beaten, stripped naked, and hung on a cross so we could have bible study. He did that so we could have a change of heart, mind and relationship toward God, so we can approach God and be in His presence.

Don't misunderstand me, I believe wholeheartedly in using sermons, ministry, bible study and the like to pursue God, but if they don't push you closer to Him, if you focus on the shadows, you are going to miss a lot. Jesus is everything guys. In the words of Lecrae,

To live is Christ yeah that's Paul I recall
To die is gain so for Christ we give it all
He's the treasure you'll find in the mall
Your money your singleness marriage talent and time
They were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
That's why it's Christ in my rhymes
That's why it's Christ all the time
My whole world is built around him He's the life in my lines
I refused to waste my life
He's too true ta chase
That ice
Heres my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ
If he's truly raised to life
Then this news should change your life
And by his grace you can put your faith in place that rules your days and nights.

Oxford

So I am now about four days removed from the single most amazing trip I have ever been on. As many (that is three) of you who read my blog, I went to Oxford, England last week for spring break to bring the Euangelion (Good News) of Christ to those studying and wandering through Oxford. God did amazing, amazing stuff there. I just wanted to share a little story from this trip with all of you that really made an impact on me.


It was at the end of our sharing time on Thursday and Sarah and I just had an amazing conversation with a girl named Amile (I think that's how it's spelled). She and Sarah made a great connection and she was very close to praying with us, but she wanted to think about all we discussed more, so Sarah and I got her info (to stay in contact) and went on our way. Sarah and I were totally pumped by the amazing conversation we just had, and were a tad hesitant to have another conversation, just in case the next one we had was horrible (we didn't want to spoil the amazing conversation we just had). We decided that we should still look for people to talk to (it what Jesus wants us to do, right?) so we began hitting up some more of the coffee shops.
We were having a hard time finding people to talk to. You see, the whole day we were never hesitant to talk to people. God always pointed someone out to us and we just went for it, but now we were being hesitant. We went to a coffee shop on the third flour of a book store on the intersection of Magdalen (pronounced 'Mawdlin,' just so they know who the tourists are.) Street and Cornmarket Street. We climbed up the stairs and sat down in the coffee shop. No one stuck out to us. Everyone was busy. So sat there for a while and got up to leave, then Sarah turned around like someone was talking to her and immediately approached a girl.
The girl we started to talk to was a Christian from the US. She looked tired and like something was on her mind, like something was weighing her down. We just tried to encourage her and asked if we could pray for her about anything. It turned out that she has some sort of condition that agitates her feet, knees and neck giving her intense headaches. So, both Sarah and I went over to her (Sarah sat down next to her and I knelt down on my knees) and we placed out hands on her and prayed for God to do something amazing. We finished the prayer and she was crying a bit and told us how this was just what she needed and how someone had told her that God had a surprise for her in Oxford. Sarah perked up and said that her parents had told her that she may be a part of a healing. The girl asked us to pray for her again because her feet and knees were hot. We didn't hesitate, we both laid our hands on her (mine on her knees) and we both prayed for healing of her body and spirit. The girl was crying a bit (not sobbing or anything) and after the prayer she was just like, "wow. that was amazing. Thank you so much. I really, really needed this." And then she said something that I will always remember: "God really does love me, doesn't He?" Wow.
To think that God has me go to Oxford for that. I thought I was going to be a debater, someone battling it out with some of the most intelligent people in the world, holding up the banner of Theism against the flags of Atheism. To think that God would use me in this way, it just wasn't in my plans. Just amazing.
Sarah and I walked away from that just speechless before our God. I didn't know what just happened, and I kept thinking, "What an amazing God I serve. Do I even realize his awesomeness? So I even realize what kind of movement I am apart of?" This movement of God that doesn't just battle the intelligent but heals the sick and restores the soul. A movement that stretches to all walks of life, all people, everywhere. A movement with a God so loving, He sent His Son, not just to save us from Hell, but to give us ZOE (vibrant life as opposed to "bios", mechanical life). Our God is amazing.