Set Apart to Stand Out

A few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Passion Conference at the Toyota Center in Houston. I had heard of Passion in college but wasn’t ever sure if I would be comfortable with it or even get anything out of it. For some reason though, this year I felt like God was making it clear that He wanted me to be there. So, on a whim, I signed up and dove head first into a weekend of worship, Bible study, and exhaustion. It also might have seemed like a good way to meet people in the Sunday School class I had been going to for a few weeks and stop feeling like the new kid every Sunday….

God, being the loving and all-knowing God that He is, answered prayers that weekend that I hadn’t even had the courage to pray. But considering who He is, is that really so hard to believe? That God, who loves me enough to desire to have a relationship with me - was able to strengthen my faith in Him by answering unspoken prayers about finding community in Houston - as I went out of my comfort zone to learn more about Him? On a small level, that is where the thoughts I want to share begin. Amazing teachers of the Word revitalized my desire to pursue our Lord, equipped me with a personalized battle strategy against the enemy, and reminded me of the importance of never taking the cross for granted that weekend. But a concept that has been on my mind since Passion didn’t come from a pastor – instead from a new friend.

One night when walking to our next Bible study, we got on the subject of dealing with past hurts and heartaches and how quite frankly, living the Christian life can be really hard. It can seem like standing out as a Christian keeps us from the things that we think we really want. It is hard to see people who choose not to actively walk with God getting the deepest desires of our hearts. During this discussion, my  friend said something to the extent of this.

“When we are set apart, we are easily found”

A simple, yet profound and all together confusing statement. It got me thinking – What does it mean to be set apart as a Christian? How do we really stand out to others through our faith in Jesus Christ ?

               

I believe that the Bible tells us that we have to know that we were set apart in order to stand out. The writer of Hebrews says, “We have been set apart as holy because Jesus Christ did what God wanted Him to do by sacrificing His body once and for all” (Hebrews 10:10) What does this mean?

1. We are set apart through the love of God

2. That love came with a very real price – Jesus’ life

3. We stand out when God’s love is in our hearts and overflows into our lives

We don’t get to choose our life circumstances. Jesus, however, chose to endure the ultimate suffering on the cross for our sins. When we think about the struggles that we are going through, it is so humbling to think about the suffering Jesus went through willingly because of His love for us. When we are placed in a hard situation, we do get to choose how we are going to react and who we are going to turn to. Every joy and every trial gives us the opportunity to stand out.

James 1:2-4 is one of my favorite passages of scripture, reminding me that tests from God and temptations from the enemy are opportunities to grow in faith and gain wisdom. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Notice how the verse says WHEN you face trials. It doesn’t say if. When we choose to stand out by living for Christ, we are guaranteed to deal with some pain.  In Ben Stuart’s book “This Changes Everything,” he says that we can rejoice in trials NOT because we know the reason behind them – but because we know Jesus. We know the end of the story, and we know that it is good. We are on the winning team!

               

You might be thinking at this point that standing out sounds like a lot of pressure. I know this thought has crossed my mind a few hundred times. What happens when I stumble? When I break under the weight of a situation and Satan lures me into thinking I’m not good enough to stand out for Christ? That is exactly what he wants. The enemy wants us to be so weighed down in our failures that we think there is no way we can be a light in this world, so there is no point in even trying. Romans 3:23 says this, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God knows we are going to mess up. This isn’t news to Him. If we were perfect, there wouldn’t be a need for Jesus to begin with! You are going to stumble. I do probably more on a daily basis than I would like to even try to quantify.

So back to my friend and I’s conversation – yeah, life is hard. The Christian life is promised to be full of trials.  But no matter what circumstances come our way, when we know we have been set apart through Christ’s love, we know that His love is going to carry us through. When His love is evident in our lives to others, we might just encourage them to join in on the adventure. So when you fall down, turn to Jesus. Stand back up. And keep standing out.

Love Worth Sharing

I want to caveat this blog by saying this – I am not a writer and I never thought a blog would be something I would even consider doing. I am a self-proclaimed math nerd and I love my job as a tax accountant at a Big 4 firm. I am much more creative with a canvas and a paintbrush than with words and a pencil. But this blog is not about my job, my hobbies, or the things that I like to think I am good at. This blog is about something much more important – my relationship with Jesus Christ. In recent weeks and months, I have felt a stronger desire than ever to share this relationship with those around me.

I decided to start a blog shortly after deciding to take a break from social media. When our enemy wants to get a hold of my heart, sometimes all he has to do is point my eyes in the direction of someone else’s life. I've been bitter, anxious, and upset with God over my circumstances; all the while failing to appreciate the tremendous blessings that He was so faithful to provide. Comparison doesn't have to have a catalyst, but I had noticed in the past year that there was a direct correlation to the time I spent on social media and the level of contentment I had with life. The grass always seemed greener on someone else’s news-feed, if you know what I mean. I had toyed around with the idea of getting off social media, but just like anything else I had plenty of excuses not to. I prayed and prayed for God to “give me contentment,” but I wanted it on my own terms and on my timing.

An opportunity and a challenge to give up social media came when I joined a Sunday school class at my new church in Houston. My class was going to go through the book, “A Call to Die” by David Nasser. This book is a 40 day prayer and devotional journey to grow closer to God while putting to death the selfish desires that we so often let consume our lives.  Part of the study including fasting from something that you felt was keeping you from making the most out of your relationship with God. Some of my friends gave up sweets or watching TV shows, but after some time spent in prayer, I felt convicted that I needed to spend time with God instead of my 800 Facebook friends. On about day 5 of the book, I had the following thought –

“Why do I spend so much time sharing the most insignificant details of my life on social media, but I hardly spend any time at all sharing the most important aspect of my life – my relationship with God?”

God provided me with a lot of opportunities to understand the answer to this question. Whether I was at church, at Passion, in Bible study, or doing my own quiet time, there was a common thread in what I was learning. Humans like to be selfish. I like to be selfish.  I was using social media to build up my own little kingdom, and then getting upset when it didn't look as pretty as someone else’s. I was seeking to glorify MYSELF. The problem with that is this – God created each of us with a very clear purpose – to glorify HIM.

Psalms 145:18 says this, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who will call upon Him in truth.” As I have purposely sought out God, I have seen this verse come to life more than I ever had before. The Lord has been so faithful to answer the smallest prayers, building my trust in Him and demonstrating His love for me.  I have been able to look back on circumstances that were painful and hard, and appreciate that God has brought me through them. That contentment I mentioned earlier? God taught me that it was never a matter of Him giving it to me, but instead a matter of me choosing to accept that He is my contentment in every situation. Matt Chandler once said that “when you realize life isn't about you, you feel a lot more free.” I couldn't agree more.

It is my prayer that through this blog, other people are exposed to the love that Jesus Christ has for all of us through the different things He is teaching me. The same God that loved us enough to send His only son to die on the cross for our sins loves us enough to let our lives play a part in His greater story.

To me- that is love worth sharing.