It's a Decision
Where would you be without making the initial choice? Who would you be?
I was looking through my Bible notes section on my notes app and I began to wonder, who would want to hear about taking a chance with God? Isn't that kind of odd. Why am I thinking that when I know personally that he's the reason I can say I know myself?
The creator knows his creation, just as the author knows his message and purpose. So, why would I leave the most crucial part of my personal development aside? In all honesty, I'm being transparent, writing myself through the process going on in my mind at the moment. I want you to understand that not every message will be understood or quickly shared without evaluating the audience. You know what? I think I'll share what's on my mind about choice and how it relates to becoming all that you're meant to be.
For starters choice = change. Whether it's changing courses or shifting perspectives, a choice requires change. It could be a change in an attitude, character, or even opinion.
Choice = action. Even doing nothing is a choice. What are you doing to find yourself?
this is a question better left to you. there are numerous ways to take action whether it's goal setting, reading, finding faith, or even working out. It's the simple life-enriching things that make a huge difference in how we see ourselves and the things around us. It's hard being different but it's a choice. anyone stepping outside of their comfort zone and social circle is actively differentiating themselves. It's not easy to be yourself when the world tries to define you by the trend. So we're going to be a little different with this blog series. I'm going to share the very things I was second-guessing because I want this blog series to be different.
This study can go a number of ways, 1. Being status, 2. Being character, and 3 being who are we in God's eyes? Today we want to focus on status. So, who are we as Christians, status-wise?
First things first what are we? Human, this is a characteristic that doesn’t change no matter how close we get to God or how deep we are in the ministry, or where we rank on a social level. We will always be human. Status in today's language is “how important am I to everyone else?” What do people think of me? Am I top-notch?
Status to us is a social standard that dictates someone’s importance…wild right?
Status is where we think we DESERVE to be based on our opinion of ourselves. We want to put ourselves on pedestals because of where we stand amongst people. We can become the greatest and immediately get full of ourselves, forgetting that as Christians the Bible expresses that we are ultimately to be servants, especially those who are of greater standing. Matthew 23:11-12 tells us that “but he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased (belittled/diminish), and he that humbles himself shall be exalted (lifted up).
As Christians or people finding their way in that direction, we are the children of God, chosen to enforce the cause of salvation. We are open and available to God.
This is a short study but as Christians from a status standpoint
We are the servant
We are the peacemakers
We are the children of God
We are humble
We are respectable leaders
(none of this is made up, you can find it in the Bible.) We are outcasts in a dark world. We shouldn’t blend too well with the crowd.
Being different is a choice also. Are you afraid to stand out for the right reasons? being different is something we pride ourselves on but we sadly associate acceptance with difference. we want to fit in. But we like to label the fact of our acceptance as standing out when ultimately we choose to be like everyone else. There's a song I used to listen to that asked the question, "why ya'll scared to be different?"
keep reading below
Who are we…(2)
Change is the preeminent factor in all of our future and current success. It is an inevitable facet of our growth. Who are we without change? This is the fundamental core of our relationship with God, constant changing and growth. He wants us to mature and develop his character within ourselves. Who are we supposed to be?
Some people think we just have to be overly kind to people. We think we have to be pushovers, we think that we are at the mercy of everyone we encounter. We have a premonition that being nice is enough to consider us worthy of God's undeniable presence. No, no, no there is much more to this. Our character is defined by whom we have on the inside. We are charged to constantly combat the fleshly version of ourselves as we submit to the inner presence of God.
We are not to be hypocrites, we are not better than anyone, and we are not at the top of the spiritual food chain because if we were; would the Bible tell us to edify one another? Would it tell us to go find the lost and bring them to God? If God saw us as people who didn’t need help why would he bother dwelling with us? We are not too perfect and holy to humble our loud selves down and ask for help. We aren’t too good to reach out to a friend or stranger to share the good news. We aren’t too high in the spirit to encourage each other. WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE? The only one worthy is God himself. Because who amongst us has never sinned? None of us. We can’t be forgetting that we’re human. We have human characteristics, but we want to adopt God's as best we can. We want to adopt love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, meekness, faith, temperance, and gentleness. Galatians 5:22-23.
Peaceable people, we are to be. We can’t forget where we came from because that is our reminder that it was not our power but that of the almighty God who demonstrated his love for us in the grandest form. Death. Could we do such a thing? Probably not, so as Christians before we try nailing someone else up to a cross, give them a chance. A lot of Christians are like “no second chances” or “you can have a thousand chances”
Change is a choice, we have to give God room first and foremost. We have to get saved first and foremost. We have to submit. We have to surrender everything. What do we profit if we gain the whole world and lose our soul? We must remain meek in spirit. Only God can change us. As Christians, we need to open up.
Patience
Love
Kindness
Humility
Joy
Peaceful
Long-suffering/resilient
Gentle
Good
Faithful
Temperate
Compassionate
Unprejudiced
We want to help and serve those who haven’t yet been offered the same opportunity we have. Their soul matters just as much as ours. We cannot be selfish. God chose us to hunt, not cower behind man-made rules of stagnation. The most important attribute we need to have is being proactive. We need to move forward and stop dwelling in the past. It’s the only way we’ll make a difference. We are to be the light in this ever-darkening world.
to know how this applies deeply to my story (Read Freedom)
It Relies on You
in order to become who you're meant to be you have to make a decision to step out. you have to look in the mirror and tell yourself who you want to be and most importantly why. the biggest decision you will ever have to make is who do you take a chance on?
I want you to answer this question in the comments: If it comes down to it...will you take a chance on yourself? will you take a chance on your dream? will you pursue your God-given purpose?
the hardest thing I had to learn is that I can't hide myself for the sake of anyone else. I can't hold myself back because it'd please someone else. I can't give up what I care about because someone wants me to fit their mold. For me personally, God is the one thing I will not sacrifice to be accepted by someone. Commitment is a choice.
if you're starting a business or building a platform, it takes time. I want you to know that it is worth the wait but you must be willing to do the work. That in itself is a decision. Persistence is a choice. Resilience is a choice. Belief is a choice. Consistency is a choice. You have the power to make decisions.
stay tuned for part 2 of "It's a decision." coming 7/8/22 5:00pm
