12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.[b] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
___________________________
I love what I do, and sometimes can go over the top. I have never been one to just take the basic way out of doing things. If its not crazy Family Fun Nights, its re-inventing the wheel at work. As time progresses I am starting to realize the places and activties that we spend the most time at in our lives begin to form who are are as individuals. These life events begin to change our personalitiies, our views of life, our morals and our manorisims. As much as you try to mend the two lifes together it is quite the feat to try to be the same person you are at Church that you are at work, school or wherever life may be taking you. The individuals we surround ourselves begin to slowly over time change how was act, wether fo the postive or the negative. Not only that but older we get the more that we put on our plates, we get families, bills, aspirations and dreams and our time slowly begins to deplete. And as I get older I am growing into ME...Robert Thomas Brenden (Conformation name haha) Bobalik. I am a: 24, 6'1, brown hairs, causcian male, Starbucks Shift Supervisor, Children's Ministry Leader, and now Game Stop Game Advisor, Cousin, Brother, Son, Montor, Boyfriend, Best Friend, Stranger. I am broken, falling, defeated, sinful, unworthy, hurt, crushed, depresssed, hopeless wreck. And you might be thinking...well that took a huge left turn...and most would respond "No, No Robert you are a great guy, dont beat yourself up." and many would have the courage to actually agree with my. But I wont life, I am not sure I would have the courage to agree with you either. But there is a bright side...that is who I once was, it is a old life that was laid down at the ground of cross four short years ago. I once was broken but now I am made new. I once was falling but am now being help in the palm of the almighty God. I was once defeated but I am made new in Christ Jesus who is the ultimate victor. All the things I once dead and I am born a new and SHOULD have a new identity in Christ. And that is where the issue of identity comes into play...
Ministry and work are not evil, they are not un-godly, and they are not sinful yet at times without even realize it become our spirutal demise. Often times be get so wrapped up in life that we begin to minimize our time more and more to a few minutes at the begining or the end of the day. For myself over the last year I can honestly confess that my time with work and ministry has taken away from God. I have began to place these activities on a alter in my life. They without realization have become idols in my own life. I have stopped running after God and starting running toward a promotion and toward new and fresh ideas to get the kids to fall in love with a Savior that I myself struggle with spending time with. I belong to a Children's Ministry forum online and a Brother in Christ posted that nobody showed up to youth group the other night and then went on to post a joke but serious from a popular movie about forcing him to have alone time with God. It took nobody showing up to pat him on the back and say "Now its time for YOU to spend some time with me". This post really hit home, it was a big wake up call....what is God going to have to do for my to realize he's saying: "Robert, I love you....why do you spend so much time with these idols when I long to spend time with you." And that is when have stopped to look at life and realized that I have let the fire grow weak, and that I have stopped pursuing the Almighty God that took this broken individual and made him alive and new!
In Luke we see Jesus doing ministry in one of the towns. We get an amazing image of a broken and sick individual who threw himself at the feet of the Savior and asked if willing if he would heal him. How amazing that his response is: " I am willing." HE IS WILLING!! This is a side tangent to the point I wanted to discuss in this passage but Jesus tells us that he is willing to heal us and that this mans faith in the Christ saved him and made his life new! In this passage we see Jesus doing ministry and his popularity and ministry begins to grow and yet one simple sentence is hugely important that often times get looked over: "But Jesus often withdrew to a lonely place and prayed,". He didn't join a Bible Study, he didn't pray with his accountability partner, and he didn't pray where he could be interrupted...he went to a lonely place and prayed. Often times an action I over look and pass up. Jesus shows us that even in the busy of life wether it be the ups in life or the downs we need to step away from the creations and meet back up with the Creator. But understood that for him to be able to do ministry properly even though he was the Son of God that he needed to connect with the Father and spend time in pray away form the busy of life. A few years ago I preached on prayer but then forgot to apply what God spoke to me to my own life. If Jesus...the Son of God...spent time in Prayer then how much more do we need to follow his example.
I decided that I wanted to start writing about identity and that this is where I was going to start. I began talking about how our identities were formed from the people and places we surround ourselves. Since I was spending less and less time outside of God's presence I was become less Christ like and more Robert life. My identity was no longer: disciple, chosen, redeemed it was Shift Supervisor and Kids Klub leader. It is time to regain my identity as the Child of the One true King! My prayer is that The Lord would start a fire in my soul. I have the assurance that even when I fall I have a great great God to help me get back up and carry my through the storm! My challenge for you is to look at your life and the time you spend with God, have you placed idols in your life? And where is your identity? Is your identity in Christ or "Insert Name Here". Pray for me...its going to be a rough journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment