HAVE FAITH, LIVE FREE & LIVE FEARLESSLY



Colossians 1:16
James Chapter 1

Way back in January of this year the Lord was bringing me out of a very stagnant time in my life. Especially my Christian life. I had become so stagnant and stale that my lack of faith was probably beginning to stink like the Nike Athletic sleaves I wear when I work out and haven't washed in a week. Gross.

Recently I was re-reading my journal and stumbled across the journal entry where the basics of what has become my vision statement or battle cry developed. "Have faith, live free and live fearlessly". Those are the words I live by. They stem from a few weeks of early morning Quiet Times in the word. One morning on cold January day I woke up and the sense I had just wasn't good. I felt "off".
I was feeling kind of depressed, tired, grumpy, frustrated, annoyed and literally could feel my "flesh" tugging at me. My inner voice was nagging at me. Trying to get me to give up on everything and put off everything for absolutely no reason. HE was there though. The Lord was good and directed me to Pauls letter to the Colossians.

¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

It was a strange but brief moment when I read that.I was sort of "stunned". Kind of like when a deer gets caught in the bright lights of a passing car. They just stand there. I was hit with the fact that God literally created "all" things by him and for him. Not only on earth but in heaven as well. The visible and the invisible. Thrones, kings, rulers, dominions and authorities. All of it, for his Glory. I realized at the moment that God was BIGGER than me. Bigger than my issues, bigger than that damn inner voice that had been nagging me and trying to get me to give up and become disengaged. It became crystal clear that everything was under his hand. My next question (and kind of obvious question) was this:

How then should I live? What now? What do I do with this?

So I chewed on that for awhile (about 24 hours in the same way maybe a cow chews it's cud. Over and over and over). The obvious laws I make for myself came up to the surface. Things like more Q.T's or make sure I go to church every Sunday, get involved in something at the church or find a bible study, etc, etc, etc....You know what I'm talking about. The usual suspects. So the next day the Lord brought me to the first chapter of James were he is very, very clear that we are to be "doers" not just "hearers". Our faith is meant to be an active faith.

The devotional I was working through mentioned Rahab from the Old Testament. She "intentionally" helped the messengers of the Israelites and literally risked her life to do so. Why? Because she believed and as a result she trusted and then acted. She was "engaged" in her life and faith. Abraham; we know his story and the sacrifices he made. He lived a risky life, he trusted God (not perfectly but God found him Righteous). He "Believed" and therefore acted.  There was no sitting around. There was no binge watching the Walking Dead or Daredevil on Netflix. There was no sitting on the sidelines and letting someone else run the ball. These people were engaged.

Life is not lived in a disengaged or reclusive monkish kind of faith. Life is "lived" in faith and taking action. To have Faith meant that I have believed in the Gospel. I have been set free from sin AND death. I am a brother to the King of the universe and a son of he living God. There is absolutely nothing to fear. Abraham, Rahab, Moses, Paul, Peter, etc...They all had faith and lived as free men and women to walk the talk. It didn't matter what other people thought, they stopped letting others define who they were and understood their identity. They lived fearless lives. It occurred to me and I realized that I had wasted so much time, wasted so much of my energy on stupid shit ( I cussed but it's the truth). Jobs with promise that ended up going nowhere, mistake after mistake, anger towards my enemies that was breeding like a cancer. Disengaging in everything yet looking like I was engaged.

We can engage in life and "do" the work of GOD because while we are broken sinners we are not so broken that we can not be used by God. We've been redeemed. We are not in the drawer where we put our stuff of no use" anymore. We do not have to give into our shame and guilt. We can stop believing that God could never use us or that this boring and disengaged life we've been living is all there is.

We need to stop being "okay" with living in the pit.

In the fifth chapter of first Peter verse 10 Peter says that God has promised to Restore, Confirm, Strengthen and Establish us. We've been made better than we were through Christs redeeming work and has established us as Sons. We can live free and live fearlessly.

Coming out of this stale time in my faith I realized I had been doubting the Gospel. I was begining t believe that God hated me. When we doubt the Gospel it's due to a lack of faith and a daily act of taking God at his word. When the squall came up by surprise and terrified 12 lowly fisherman on the Sea of Galilee they found their Master asleep. The freaked out! They stopped believing that Jesus was going to keep them safe. They lacked faith and Jesus called them out on it. When we doubt the external forces of the world start making camp in our hearts, souls, mind and our strength. They become the driving force in our lives. Work, Kids, Relationships, Stress, Anxiety, Worry and Fear. These things start to drive our decision making and we start allowing them to define us. With no trust in God we lack wisdom, no goals, no over-arching vision in our life and no faith. All of this came crashing in on me at once and it was heavy but lite at the same time. That's when God gave me my vision statement.

"Have Faith, Live Free and Live Fearlessly"

 

• Faith - I can take God at his word
• Live Free - I can ask for wisdom and have a vision for my life. A strategy even. Burdens will not rule my life. I Do Not allow other things or people to "dictate" my life for me. JESUS does that.
• Live Fearlessly - I can stay in the fight and fight the good fight. I can walk in the light.

Remember this though. This is how the Lord got my attention. He may be trying to get your attention in a different way. In a way that is specific to you. This little statement is not some magic pill I take every day. It's a reminder to me to live my faith, get into to the fight. To show up and keep showing up over and over again by his strength, mercy and grace. It's the way I preach the gospel to myself.

What is God saying to you right now? You did not stick with this blog post all the way through for some unknown reason. How's your heart? How's your soul? Seriously take a long, deep look at it. Ask God right now to soft you up and bring you into this abundant life.

God Bless,
Gordon
Have Faith, Live Free and Live Fearlessly