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There are so many things that I appreciate about the culture and community that I have been living in on the World Race. Discussion and study are some of my favorites! It’s things like this that I hope to take back to the States to use in my small group.
God is doing so many things in the world and in the United States, but we struggle to have the conversation because the topic of Christ is somewhat taboo. We do this song and dance to figure out if the other person is a Christian and then to figure out what level of an active Christian or at least is the person someone who is willing to talk about God.
If you would excuse my forward-ness for this side note… America has a huge problem with ‘fear of man’.
In the Message version it reads…
“Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?”
??Matthew? ?10:32-33? ?MSG
http://bible.com/97/mat.10.32-33.msg
And in the English Standard Version it reads…
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
??Matthew? ?10:32-33? ?ESV??
http://bible.com/59/mat.10.32-33.esv
With this stigma, we have closed off our experiences and kept our spiritual lives to ourselves and in a box. We rarely even speak to other Christians about all that God is doing in our lives!
The stigma has carried over in some ways on the Race. It makes things like Boldness, Street Evangelism, and Other Awkward Things that should not be awkward a learning experience and a push out of our comfort zone. The beauty of the Race and this community is that we come into it with a hunger to bust the box off of God and come out of our comfort zone to experience Him in new ways.
One of the ways we foster openness is by taking time to discuss our daily, weekly, and monthly “Joy, Junk, & Jesus” moments.
Joy – what were the good things that happened to you today?
Junk – what were the not so good things that happened to you today?
Jesus – where did you see Jesus show up or hear the Holy Spirit talk with you today?
It’s a great way to reflect and to discuss what God is doing in your life. It a great way to acknowledge and share what God is doing in our lives. It’s a great way refute our fear of man and to boldly speak of our awe-inspiring God.
God is amazing! He is doing amazing things around the world. He is doing amazing things in your life and lives of others. Your testimony is not a one time event. Your testimony starts with how you got close with God, but it continues, as a love story does with chapters, as you continue to build a relationship with Him. Don’t miss out on those chapters. Don’t miss out of seeing and being grateful for those blessings. Don’t miss out on lessons in those hard times.
Pay attention.
Reflect.
And share those times with other people in your community.
It is how God designed community. It allows us to encourage and be encouraged by Him and then to turn around and encourage and be encouraged by the community He has given us.
At training camp, I took a note that says…
“Vulnerability is giving your audience the knife to stab you and instead you find that they embrace you.”
That is what I do in this blog, but how much better would it be in your community of friends or small group where you can love each other in living color. If nothing else, journal your reflections, but I challenge you to find at least one person that you let into your life on this level. It is a risk that is worth it.
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
??Proverbs? ?27:17? ?ESV??
http://bible.com/59/pro.27.17.esv
