I'm sure many of you have heard of an Organization called "I Am Second". It's quite an incredible organization where they have different people such as Lecrae, Jason Castro, Michael W. Smith, Brian Welch, Bethany Hamilton, and others, all telling the stories of their conversions and tribulations they have faced along the Christian path. In addition to being a great site to hear testimonies, the premise of their site is amazingly simple.
I. Am. Second.
These 3 words constitute a huge change from all of our original personalities which say:
I. Am. First.
As all Christians, and even many atheists, know, Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins. Unfortunately many people fail to change after accepting this fact. Many simply are a "fan" of Jesus Christ, but not a follower. I just finished reading a great book called "Not a Fan" by Kyle Idleman. I want to post about this book in more detail later, but there are a couple of great quotes I wanted to pull out and share with you.
"Fans have a tendency to confuse their knowledge for intimacy. They don't recognize the difference between knowing about Jesus and truly knowing Jesus… …We have established systems of learning that result in knowledge, but not necessarily intimacy… …You may have gone to Vacation Bible School. Maybe you even competed in Bible competitions, all of which are won or lost on how much biblical knowledge you've accumulated... ...Fans eventually get burned out from trying to live the Christian life out of their own efforts. If you are depending on your own strength to follow Christ you will soon find yourself drained and defeated. [But] Jesus promised His followers that the Spirit would come with power."
Sadly many people, including myself sometimes, say, "I read my bible every day, I can define grace, lead you down the Roman's Road… My walk with God must be great!" But there is more then just knowledge involved in our faith; we need to pour ourselves out before Him, confessing our sins, thanking Him for His saving grace, and investing in our relationship with Christ. Often we need a reminder of how blessed we are with our faith in Christ. For me it is when I walk about this city, seing the depravity of the Kenyans on the streets. The long roundabout point I've been driving at is that I Am Second has this great program called the 22 day challenge. Each day they send you a video from their archive and a challenge for each day such as, "Brian's life was changed by a bible verse his real-estate agent shared with him. Share a verse with a friend today." or "Buy coffee for the janitor, call your mom, have a conversation with the homeless guy. Love someone extra today." All great reminders to reach outside of our comfort zones because when we do so, the Lord normally produces some pretty great results whether we know it then or not.
Here is the link,
www.iamsecond.com/challenge
I encourage you all to reach outside of your comfort zones! It's never easy, but always a great experience.
In Christ,
Nick, the Towheaded Rambler
These 3 words constitute a huge change from all of our original personalities which say:
I. Am. First.
As all Christians, and even many atheists, know, Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins. Unfortunately many people fail to change after accepting this fact. Many simply are a "fan" of Jesus Christ, but not a follower. I just finished reading a great book called "Not a Fan" by Kyle Idleman. I want to post about this book in more detail later, but there are a couple of great quotes I wanted to pull out and share with you.
"Fans have a tendency to confuse their knowledge for intimacy. They don't recognize the difference between knowing about Jesus and truly knowing Jesus… …We have established systems of learning that result in knowledge, but not necessarily intimacy… …You may have gone to Vacation Bible School. Maybe you even competed in Bible competitions, all of which are won or lost on how much biblical knowledge you've accumulated... ...Fans eventually get burned out from trying to live the Christian life out of their own efforts. If you are depending on your own strength to follow Christ you will soon find yourself drained and defeated. [But] Jesus promised His followers that the Spirit would come with power."
Sadly many people, including myself sometimes, say, "I read my bible every day, I can define grace, lead you down the Roman's Road… My walk with God must be great!" But there is more then just knowledge involved in our faith; we need to pour ourselves out before Him, confessing our sins, thanking Him for His saving grace, and investing in our relationship with Christ. Often we need a reminder of how blessed we are with our faith in Christ. For me it is when I walk about this city, seing the depravity of the Kenyans on the streets. The long roundabout point I've been driving at is that I Am Second has this great program called the 22 day challenge. Each day they send you a video from their archive and a challenge for each day such as, "Brian's life was changed by a bible verse his real-estate agent shared with him. Share a verse with a friend today." or "Buy coffee for the janitor, call your mom, have a conversation with the homeless guy. Love someone extra today." All great reminders to reach outside of our comfort zones because when we do so, the Lord normally produces some pretty great results whether we know it then or not.
Here is the link,
www.iamsecond.com/challenge
I encourage you all to reach outside of your comfort zones! It's never easy, but always a great experience.
In Christ,
Nick, the Towheaded Rambler
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