Boxed Christianity

"But if the salt loses its flavor...it is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." ~Jesus, Matthew 5:13

Today is the day that Christians need to wake up and get out of their glass boxes! We are living in somewhat of a glass green house. We are protecting ourselves, watching what's going on outside, and growing in our box. But we aren't reaching the outside world at all.

They are watching us too. They see us spew hatred, speak negative of them, and fight with them over political issues.

IT'S TIME TO GET OUT OF THE BOX!!!!

Several months ago, we had a guest speaker at my church named Sean Smith. He has been in ministry over 20 years. His main focus is college campus', but thankfully, he came to Albany, GA to speak at Providence Church.

I have been practicing praying and listening after I pray since he visited. He has a gift that I want. I wasn't able to buy his book when he was there, but both of my best friends did. One of my best friends just loaned me her book this past Sunday. It's called "Prophetic Evangelism: Empowering a generation to seize their day".

I have to share some of this chapter with you, because it's so true. 

"We live in an "anything can happen and probably will" world. The unthinkable has become the acceptable; recycled opinions are passed as original thinking; and people settle for what is, rather than fighting for what could be. There are current cultural shifts, which means that our ministry must shift as well. To be effective in soul winning, one must be open to change."

"It is known that you will never change your belief system until you acknowledge that it is the reason for your present situations. In order to change, one has to abandon all confining safety zones."

He's saying, "GET OUT OF YOUR BOX!"

There are still people in your town who do not know about Jesus. Yes, I'm serious.

Then again, you have folks who have heard about Him, but do not know how much He loves them, or that He wants to have a relationship with them. A lot of people think God is a big bully who wants to hurt them. Some people in my own town think that God keeps sending storms and tornadoes to make them repent.God doesn't work like that.

Smith said, "The chief goal of this hour must be to produce Christians who are not living for the next thrill, but are looking to take the next piece of enemy territory!"

Our enemy wants to keep us in our glass box. Smith also wrote, "He (the enemy) is satisfied to keep you confined; to keep you where you are at, and to prevent you from going where God wants to take you."

This is good too, "Many believers allow themselves to stay in comfort zones, but the anointing comes to people who are willing to step out of their comfort zone. The fruit comes when the boundaries are crossed because that's where the anointing for growth lives."

Smith has 5 ways to get out of the box:

1. Collaborate with the Creator - The first step to getting out of the box is to fellowship with the God of the breakthrough.
2. Let go of defensiveness- We have to yield to the newness that God releases in our spirits. We can't fight this divine process with comfort zone rationalizations. (I believe this goes for fighting with people on the internet about issues too.)
3. Tackle the monster (traditions of man) - There are many human traditions that are not based on eternal principles. We must break the pattern that ties us to man-made mechanisms that get in the way of God's spontaneous illumination.
4. Seize the day - Realize that transitions can test our resolve. The will to change must be strong. Our will is like a muscle that strengthens with use. God will place resiliency and grace in our hearts.
5. Forever be a student - Never marry a form or method again. The ability to keep a learning posture will be key to the prophetic evangelist. We must keep Jesus' yoke of discipleship upon us for life. A major mistake is to conclude that everything one knows at the moment is all that there is to know about a particular subject.

We should not be content sitting in our glass boxes watching the world go by and not telling them about Jesus and His love for them.

I'm ready to get out of my box, are you?

God bless you today and always!