Next Steps

“What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of the darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in Jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 1 Cor 4:5-7

What an amazing thing that God choose us to be his message bearers, not in spite of the fact that we are broken, fragile people, but because of it – so that he will get the glory and not us. Sometimes our brokenness can block us, prevent us from moving forward, other times it is the pathway that God uses to release us into the lives he has intended for us to live. We need God to enter into the areas of our brokenness, and safe community to support us.

God always chooses people who are “not good enough” to do amazing things for Him and for his Kingdom. Dallas Willard once said in reference to King David, “David certainly was not perfect, but he trusted God.” “And God can always do more through a person who trusts him than through a person who is perfect – and if you have ever met a perfect person, you know why.”

None of us is perfect, and not being perfect is the job description for disciple of Jesus, the onramp to a life of surrender. So, a couple of questions to ponder:

How are you broken?
- Are you stuck in that brokenness or moving forward?
- If you are stuck, who can help you get unstuck?
- Where do you see Jesus in your brokenness?
Can you think of a time where you felt called to something (where you acted or didn’t) that if God were not real it would be crazy?
What is God calling you to today – big or small – that would be crazy if He did not exist (that demonstrates His upside down economy where we look to lose our lives and thereby save them in Him)

Every day God provides ways for us to step into his upside down economy and demonstrate Him (at work, at school, in our family, while driving . . .) Keep your eyes open and try to spot the opportunities God made for you. When you see them, step into one: share what happened with at least one other person this week.

Shalom
Doug