Am I "Normal"?
Henry and Richard Blackaby, in their book Fresh Encounter, describe the characteristics of a normal Christian life this way:
1. Intimate fellowship with God
2. Joy in God's presence
3. A sense of peace
4. A holy life
5. A Spirit-filled life
6. Recognizing God's voice
7. Filled with the fruit of the Spirit
8. Experiencing God's power
This is only page three and I'm already convicted!
Last night I was taking a couple of candidates through the church membership class and caught myself saying, "But we're only human" as though that excuses us from reaching for the goal for which Christ had destined us as believers. There are numerous passages that remind us that being "only human" doesn't cut it but this one from Ephesians 4:23, 24 (NIV) is particularly pointed: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Many of the items on Blackaby's list require a serious culling of the activities and habits of our lives today. At the pace with which most of us live life, there will never be time for intimate fellowship with God, joy in His presence, a sense of peace, hearing His voice, or even stopping long enough so that He can show His power through the weakness most of us work very hard at covering up. We can never hope "to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" unless we do some extreme pruning.
The drought in our souls, the lack of spiritual blessing in our lives, the joylessness in the journey, should tell us something about where we are spiritually and how far we are from being "normal" as God describes that state.
The essence of the word revival is "to live again" and many of us could use some of that resurrection power once more in our lives.
1. Intimate fellowship with God
2. Joy in God's presence
3. A sense of peace
4. A holy life
5. A Spirit-filled life
6. Recognizing God's voice
8. Experiencing God's power
This is only page three and I'm already convicted!
Last night I was taking a couple of candidates through the church membership class and caught myself saying, "But we're only human" as though that excuses us from reaching for the goal for which Christ had destined us as believers. There are numerous passages that remind us that being "only human" doesn't cut it but this one from Ephesians 4:23, 24 (NIV) is particularly pointed: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Many of the items on Blackaby's list require a serious culling of the activities and habits of our lives today. At the pace with which most of us live life, there will never be time for intimate fellowship with God, joy in His presence, a sense of peace, hearing His voice, or even stopping long enough so that He can show His power through the weakness most of us work very hard at covering up. We can never hope "to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" unless we do some extreme pruning.
The drought in our souls, the lack of spiritual blessing in our lives, the joylessness in the journey, should tell us something about where we are spiritually and how far we are from being "normal" as God describes that state.
The essence of the word revival is "to live again" and many of us could use some of that resurrection power once more in our lives.
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