lately i've been feeling

as if i'm just existing. i was reading that the bible is not a theological book, it's a missional book. it was never meant to be studied, it was meant to be lived out. that is why the story of the first century church is called "ACTS" not "TRUTHS". i always thought i was a pretty mature Christian due to all of the wonderful knowledge i had about the bible. i mean i can spout it off. but i was just convicted this week that i'm not really a doer of the word. oh, i love the people at my church, and i'm a joyful person at my job, but here i am angry about the plight of the poor, but i'm not leaving my safe suburban place to do anything about it. i've always considered myself a leader, but leaders affect change. i've been sitting about letting change affect me.

in the book of Zechariah, God says, "When I called, they did not listen; so when they called I did not listen. I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers."

McManus says it like this.
"if we are unwilling to move with the wind of God, we will be moved by the whirlwind of God. One type of movement is a journey into God's future; another uproots us from all the securities we refuse to relinquish."

so basically when God moves you, all you have left is Him. it almost makes me wish the hurricane had made a direct hit on my house. houses and possessions aren't important to God, people are.

"God is continurally inviting us to believe that His future is better than any past we have experienced with Him. Can you believe that the glory of this present moment can be greater than the glory of your best memory? For too long the church has longed for the 'good ol days', has hoped that the future would simply be a detour to the past. This has never been God's promise, and it is not God's desire for us. He wants to shake heaven and earth, and shake us loose from all that holds us back from entering His future. This future cannnot be experienced without embracing and experiencing change." Erwin McManus.

i'm pretty much on this erwin kick right now this book is consuming me, as a read, my question becomes how do i apply this. the things in my heart, the longing to be a trailblazer. the longing to do something fresh and different. the catch phrase for hurricane rita was "hunker down". the catch phrase for everyone returning was "business as usual". i think we should neither "hunker down" nor return to "business as usual." God desires to shake us up to see what He is doing. sometimes it takes a hurricane to remove the stuff that hinders us. maybe the real people who got a blessing were the ones who lost everything.

have a great weekend
chuck