I’m reading through the book of Deuteronomy right now…and it is absolutely rocking my world…
The other morning I stopped on Deuteronomy 1:3 and had to ask myself two questions…
#1 - Am I doing this as a pastor? Seriously…am I stepping up every single week and saying ALL that God is telling me to say?
Saying 95% of what God tells me to say it being 100% disobedient!
Many times I have held back because of fear of what people might say or think…and then there is also that fear that people may not respond the way I want them to (despite the promise of God in Isaiah 55:8-13!)
Personally, at this point in my life, I am trying to view every sermon I preach and say, “this COULD be the LAST time I ever preach HIS Word…and so I don’t need to hold back but rather GO FOR IT, speaking in confidence and completely trusting Him with all that needs to happen.”
#2 - Am I doing this as a person? When I have a conversation with someone…and I know that there may be an issue in their life that needs to be addressed…do I hold back because I don’t want them to be mad at me…or do I address them in a loving and respectful manner and trust that God will take my words and deal with their heart in His time?
I think one of the reasons the body of Christ is SO dysfunctional is because we are VERY willing to try to clean up the problems in the world…when many of them would actually disappear if we simply focused on cleaning up the problems we have among ourselves.
Just some thoughts I am dealing with that I thought I would share.