1Peter 4: 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you(U) to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice(V) inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ,(W) so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed (NIV)
As we look back over the
lives of those who made the biggest difference in the early Kingdom days, they
were anything but normal. A bag of mixed nuts is more like it - quirky men and
broken women from all walks of life who were radical in their devotion to God -
to the point of placing their lives on the line every day for the cause of
Christ. They were normal in that they celebrated their "sameness"
with the pagans who were shunned by religious zealots but stubbornly loved by
the Father. Yet, they were profoundly abnormal in the love they showed and the
depth of their commitment to God and to His cause.
When an ordinary woman
meets an extraordinary God, normal life takes on a whole new meaning. Knowing
God changes everything. We cannot encounter the living God and be the same. A
personal relationship with Him produces a holy discontent with the status quo
and compels us to live in such a way that miracles are a daily occurrence.
Miracles come in all
shapes and sizes. A woman chooses not to have an abortion. An alcoholic makes it through one more day
without a drink. An underground church meets to worship God. A husband who has
been unemployed for over a year gets a job. Bibles are smuggled into
Afghanistan and distributed to remote mountains. A couple seeks counseling
instead of a divorce. Cancer goes into remission. The sun rises and sets. We
have food to eat and water to drink. A life is changed in response to what God
has done in ours.
People are desperately
looking for ordinary women like you and me whose lives have been changed by an
extraordinary God - the One who is calling us to be "God with skin
on" to those who don't even believe He exists. I want to love every excuse
and doubt right out of their minds. I want them to see a power in me that they
cannot explain in human terms and a message that shouts of God's mercy and
forgiveness. I want to be hungry and thirsty for God as never before. I want my
normal life to be abnormally extraordinary because God is alive and well and at
work in and around me.
How about you? Are you ready to step out in faith? Are you willing to live a normal life filled with people and circumstances that can only be explained by the extraordinary power and presence of God? Let's do it!
How about you? Are you ready to step out in faith? Are you willing to live a normal life filled with people and circumstances that can only be explained by the extraordinary power and presence of God? Let's do it!
Still Hungry? 2 Timothy 2
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