It goes on.. and on.. and on.. and on..

I feel a bit like a broken record, but God is using milestones in my life to teach me the same lesson over and over. That lesson is that he commands me to be my best for him.

We all have different seasons in life, and God teaches us on an individual basis sometimes. Sometimes I wonder why God can't be teaching me and a good friend a same lesson at the same time so that I know someone who understands what I am going through, but he has shown me that the isolation in that makes me fully dependent on Him.

Do you ever feel like you had a divine revelation, and God really teaches you something that you have never understood before? What does that make you want to do? It makes me want to stand in front of everyone I know and say "Look, this is what God wants, this is what he says, let's stop what we are doing and obey."

While this tactic might work for some folks, many would be disillusioned by my forward words and they would only desire to do the opposite of what I told them. God has revealed to me as of late that He teaches us all in different ways. My relationship with Christ is different from everyone else's. The things that he teaches me in my walk with him are, indeed, universal, but also very personal. Because he teaches me these things, this overflows in my life as love for others. However, sometimes my human zeal is too much and I want to shake everyone into submission to the lesson that God is teaching ME. Please don't misunderstand me, God appoints people to speak on his behalf and he wants believers to teach each other and hold each other accountable, and we are all called to be ambassadors for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:20 "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." (NIV)

So where in the world do we find balance in being ambassadors for Christ and loving people into relationships with Christ?

1 Peter 3:15 says "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (NIV)

To be honest, I'm not sure. Your balance may be different than mine, as we are different people called to function as different parts of the body. We are each unique, but we can be sure that this salvation is a process. Arliss Dickerson told me once that we all experience different seasons in life.

This is evident in 1 Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babes, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." (NIV)

So, how do you know that the Lord is good. What has he taught you? How is this evident in your life?

This week I had the opportunity to talk to a non-Christian who is disillusioned by "church people." He told a story about his friend who yells at him, tells him that he is a sinner and he needs to repent. While all of this is true, and this tactic may work in some contexts, this obviously is not an effective method for winning this particular young man to Christ.

This conversation got me to thinking about all the different "methods" we use to bring people to Christ. We tell them the ABC, the 123, The Way of The Master, the scare tactics with promises of damnation without repentance, promises that life will be great, hope of heaven.. the list goes on.

I am so glad that as Christians we have sought out effective ways to share our faith. I'm so glad that people spend time and money on teaching these methods and putting the to practice. The truth needs to be heard.

The encounter I had with this non-Christian this past week brought me back to the passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 where Paul was telling the Corinthians that he came to them without eloquence, but only proclaimed to them the testimony about God. Verse 2 says "For I resolved to know nothing when I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

This might be a controversial thing to say, and I'm not sure exactly what words to use to express how I feel... Nonetheless, I think sometimes, even in our good intentions with sharing the gospel, we still somehow manage to make it about us. We think "whatever I say is going to change this person's perception of me," or "Will I have the right words to say?" We concentrate on our training in this method of faith sharing, and we don't trust the power of the holy spirit at work in people's lives. The truth is, if the Holy Spirit is not with us, if this isn't a divine appointment set forth by God, then yelling someone into Heaven is never going to work. This is where making disciples comes into play. Conversion is not our calling, making disciples is.

Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (NIV)

I still feel at a loss for the right words, but I hope you can understand what I'm saying.

What is it going to take for us to start living our lives as if Jesus died for us? As if someone made the ultimate sacrifice for us? What is it going to take to make me stop thinking about myself alllll the time?