Worldly Christians

1 Cor 3:1-3
"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"

Ouch! Most of us read this and our natural reaction is to think that Paul is talking to someone else. One of those people who refuse to grow up spiritually. The fact of the matter is that we need to look at all Scripture as applicable to us, to me.  Have I really disciplined myself enough to read His Word every day and spend time in prayer and meditation?  Do I spend enough time shutting out the world and listening to His whispers? To take it a step further, have I been obedient to all His whispers? Have I responded to the holy discontent He planted inside of me and made a difference in this world? Or to put it in the most simple terms possible, have I impacted the ones closest to me with the Gospel of Hope?
As far as I have come, I still spend an inordinate amount of time in the pursuit of the pleasure of self. I have a nice house, a nice car, a big screen TV on which to watch football and a very nice collection of my favorite music CD's.
I am trying more and more each day to grow in Christ, but am I really sold out for Him 100%. Does serving His kingdom consume me, occupy my every waking thought and keep me up at night? Sadly, I have to say no. I am not there yet. 58 years old and I am not there yet. Now keep in mind that my job is to minister to the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless and I lead a life group for our church. I just know that if Paul and I were to sit down and have a conversation he would challenge me even further because I am still worldly in so many ways.
We, I need to look at this passage and realize that God is talking to us/me instead of thinking it is for someone else. It is only then that we/I will truly start to grow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Theology of the Holy Spirit

Image
  I haven’t written in my blog for a while now. However, seeing as the point of this stream is to talk about Spirit-led Living, I feel that there is something that I must address. Growing up I would read the New Testament and I formed a theology based on what I read on its’ pages. I believed that it was true, and I also believed that those things were not only for then, but also for today. Through the years as I was involved with several denominations, Wesleyan, Free Methodist, Assemblies of God, and Grace Brethren among others; I never felt that I could sign on the dotted line to become a member as agreeing with all their doctrinal positions. While I agreed with a large portion of what they believed, they all had doctrinal points that I felt were not Biblical. It wasn’t until I came upon the Vineyard that I felt that I found my tribe. From the Evangelicals I took a deep reverence for the Gospel and the Word as the inspired, inerrant word of God and the litmus test for all that we ...
Read more

Transparency

So, at her goodbye party, Michelle challenged us to be more transparent. Here goes my first attempt. I don’t usually write about my personal life on Facebook, both because I am a private person and second because I’m always concerned about what people will think. One of my shortcomings is that I have always been a people pleaser. As such, I tend to stay away from personal or controversial topics. No more. The time has come to take a bold personal stand for the sake of Christ. I am passionately in love with Jesus. However, I don’t always live that way. I have my struggles and if I want Him to stand up for me on Judgment Day; I need to stand for Him now. While I have a wonderful wife who is my best friend, I don’t have any close male friends and I struggle with loneliness. I have tried to reach out to guys but unless I initiate interactions, those relationships tend to go nowhere. I finally realized that if I want a friend, I am going to have to open up to someone and t...
Read more

Transparency - Part 2

First, I want to thank those of you who have given me feedback and told me to keep going. It really has been encouraging. As Pastor Karl continues his series on “Beating the Devil With his Own Stick”, he challenged us to look at the lies the enemy has spoken to us. Some of us have bought into these lies, but if you are like me, they are just there below the surface. We don’t think about them consciously all that much, but they are like those nasty noseeums that buzz around your head when you’re mowing the lawn. I’ve got a couple of favorite ones that tend to hang on in the back of my mind. “Your father was a failure and so are you.” My father started a number of businesses all which folded within a couple of years. He also planted over 10 churches in his lifetime. Most never grew beyond 50-60 people. I have no idea if any of them still exist today. Counting JesusChurch, this is my 5 th church plant that I have been a part of and none of the previous 4 still exists today. ...
Read more