A few weeks ago I introduced a thought that God has introduced into my heart. It geared around a process that one takes to experience a culture where life change happens, while understanding that being flawed is o.k. as long as there is a pursuit to bettering yourself.
The thought was this...
The process starts off with an individual understanding that how they see and treat others will much of the time have a direct effect on how others see and treat that person's God.
I try to live with a "what you see is what you get" mentality. I do not enjoy much the world of hidden agendas. Because of this I long to live an authentic life which reflects the love of my Savior.
Here are a few thoughts on being Authentic...
Being Authentic…
Begins with losing my need to pretend
There is no need to pretend to be something you are not.
Acting as if you have it all together is a façade that will never hold up.
We all have doubts… we tend to think that doubt is the arch nemesis of Faith in God. If we have a doubt then we must not love God. You should check out the stories of Thomas, Paul, John the Baptist, Abraham, Peter as just a few people that doubted at times.
Doubt is not the enemy here.
If you choose to live authentically and lose your need to pretend you will not hold yourself to an unrealistic standard and in return will stop holding others to it as well.
Begins with me before it can begin with we
Before any church can develop the reputation of having a ‘come as you are’ culture, the process has to begin with the people of that body of Christ.
You have to develop a mentality that other people matter to God.
That other people are looking for answers to their hearts questions.
And we are called to link them with God who has those answers.
Publicly leads to influence privately
Being Authentic with your life will open the doors for you to help people for God. When people see you understanding that you are not perfect and that you are inviting to those that are not perfect, opportunities to have influence will present themselves.
"Influence can do what command can never do; it can win the hearts of people. You can pay people to do a job, but you can’t pay them to change their minds or, more accurately, to change their hearts. External power has the limitation of bringing external change. Influence is the material of internal power. Again, influence is not about position or delegated authority or endless forms of power… Real influence goes deep. It changes how a person feels about something. It has direct impact not only on how a person acts, but also on what he believes and what he is committed to."
---Seizing your Divine Moment
---- Erwin McMannus p. 119-120
And that is what we are looking for as we experience people in our world.
We want to earn the right to speak truth into their hearts and the only way for that to happen is to show them a DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTIAN.
Heart and Soul
BAG
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