Well, Paul was an amazing example of a guy who . . . youd look at him and say, Hes a little bit crazy. I mean, he was shipwrecked. He was beaten. He was imprisoned. He was stoned in Lystra, and then he was dragged out of the city, and he was brought back in the city. And he said, No matter whats going to happen to me, Im going to preach the gospel. How can Paul be so surrendered, so recklessly abandoned, saying, God, I dont care. Im going to serve You no matter what. Im going to be obedient? Well, in Acts 20:24 he says, Nor do I count my life dear to myself, that I may finish this race with joy and the ministry that was set before me to testify of the gospel of the grace of God. What stuck out to me was that part where he said, I consider my life worth nothing. He wasnt saying, Im worthless. . . . Hes saying, My lifes not my own. Ive been crucified with Christ. I no longer live but its Christ who lives in me. And what did Jesus say? You want to save your life? You have to lose it. Deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow Me. We live in a very me society, very narcissistic. Hey, this is what Im doing. Go follow your dreams. God bless me in what I want to do. But its actually, What do You want from me? I want to follow what You have because theres so much more joy and peace in the midst of that. For Paul, the consequences werent always good. But why did he have so much joy and so much peace? Because he realized his life wasnt his own. It was Christs. And that, to me, is being reckless, saying, Okay, no matter what, not my will but Your will be done, despite what happens. - Jeremy Camp https://youtube/watch?v=Ougqs75-r7Y
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 06:25:25 +0000
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