Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
2 3 2023
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Are you stuck in a Cocoon?
Where do you plan on contributing to God’s community this year? What will you be participating in to grow your faith,.. partner with others, and prayerfully bring others to Christ? Is this part of God’s Plan for you? Is this part of God’s purpose for you this year? It should be. Then make a promise to you. That no matter what, with God’s grace, I will show up, be prepared, and become that! And fulfill his calling for me in this community.
Keeping our word to ourselves and to God is truly a matter of honor and our integrity will allow us to move through our time with joy. When we are giving… We grow together with others. Every day is a great day to grow.
I’ve discovered that purpose is not a destination but a flowering. It’s a process, not an arrival point. Meaning, as we go through life, we will have moments we grow more so than others. We mature, we grow from the dark, open up to a different style, and awareness, and open up our faith and beliefs to be more like Christ. These can be transformative moments. But they can also happen more subtly.
Psalm 57:2 says, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” This is key in understanding God’s purpose for your life. God has numbered your days and will fulfill every purpose He has for you. However, our choices and actions also really matter.
I think our lives are often like a flower, blooming. We have seasons of full bloom but also have fall and winter times in our walk with God. Many times one can get stuck in the gateway to the next level of your life…To your next level of faith and purpose. When we walk alone it’s easy to get stuck and frustrated, not understanding that it is a gateway. It’s like a butterfly coming out of the cocoon it will take some added effort, persistence, and prayer to come through that doorway. We get so narrowly focused on what has been and we lose the connection that life and faith are expanding. The last couple of years has been a sensation of constriction, shutdown, withdrawal, and a protection mode. But our life can still be flowering in front of us, albeit more slowly, but let’s press in and make sure we’re flowering,
Chip Ingram said, “Ask any butterfly if God has changed its life, and the answer will be a resounding YES! But according to the respected Gallup and Barna research organizations, you wouldn’t get the same response from the average American who believes in Christ.
Sadly, recent research from both Gallup and Barna indicates that the decision to follow Christ makes surprisingly little difference in how the average American believer lives. It doesn’t change where they spend their time or how they arrange their priorities. It doesn’t affect their integrity at work, their sexual expression, their commitment to marriage, or their principles of parenting.
Why? Most likely it’s because these believers got a little bit of the Easter story, but never fully understood the foundational truths of what was accomplished by Christ’s death and resurrection. And that’s the core, the basis for the metamorphosis of the believer. And without that, there’s no real change.”
Perhaps you’ve faced a similar struggle. Perhaps you went to a man camp or a church service and prayed to receive Christ. Then you tried hard to be good for three or four days, or weeks, or years. But you’ve realized that you’re still sinning a lot. You’re still struggling with the same stuff. It sure is hard. You want to change, but you feel as if you’re still stuck in the cocoon.
But real change is rooted in God’s truth. Not man’s or ours. Your new life was made possible completely by His death and resurrection. He broke the power of sin. God wants you to change. He wants you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. But He’s not asking you to try harder or do better.
Christianity isn’t about a code of ethics.
Christianity is about a relationship with Christ, and part of being in that relationship is receiving from Him the power to change.
Life Change Is a Gift
You can’t change on your own. Sure, you can discipline your life. You can make some progress. But only God can change your life from the inside out. Only God can make you into the mom or dad that your kids never dreamed they could have. Only God can make you love your spouse unconditionally, even if you get nothing in return. That’s supernatural power. That’s radical change.
That’s the gift of God!
Life Change Never Happens in Isolation
I don’t know why, but God uses the spiritual gifts He gives us to work the gift of supernatural change in others. That’s why He chooses to have us live in community together, love each other, and operate out of our giftedness in a way that transformation occurs. The gifts God gives us to supply what others need to change into the likeness of Christ.
So if you’ve already experienced a life change, I encourage you today to actively use your spiritual gifts to help others experience the same transformation. That may be God’s call for you for this season. Be obedient. And if you’re still stuck in the cocoon, I hope you understand that Christ’s death and resurrection defeated sin, death, and Satan. Act by faith today. Repent from your old way of thinking, be transformed by the power of God, and discover life outside of the cocoon!
Call a brother or sister and tell them what you have decided and start walking in community somewhere.
Building 429 I will fear no more
Listen to the worship song
Excerpts taken from Chip Ingram article He is President of Walk Thru the Bible in Atlanta, GA,
