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2007 Christian Goals

2007 Christian Goals

Do you have any Christian minded Goals that you will like fulfilled in 2007?

Goals Christian

I pray that Christians will follow Christ more closley
I am reminded of a clip from the movie "The Jerk" in which Steve Martin after acquiring great wealth decides he is going to leave it all behind. As he is leaving he says "I"m out of here and I don't need anything" but as he turns to leave he sees an ashtray and says "except for this." He then picks up the ashtray and heads out the door. This time Steve Martin doesn't even make it three feet out the door before he sees a paddle ball, then it's a lamp and next a chair. Before we know it he is bogged down with a bunch of useless stuff. It's a very funny scene. But on the flipside that's how God sees us. God says to give up everything and follow him. We start by saying yes, but then we say I need this or I need that.

Let's look at

I know some of you are thinking whew thats not me. That's all of us. We are all rich in something. We grow so attached to the things of this world, family, money, relationships. But God says much treasure is stored for you in heaven all you have to do is throw away the junk. I know some of you will walk away sad tonight because it's too hard to let go. The other night I was having a conversation with a friend about the verses in Matthew 5:38 in which it says that if a man strikes you on one cheek you offer him the other cheek too. And if he takes your tunic you give him your coat. So my friend stopped me and said "if a dude takes my TV then I should give him my Playstation 3, that's crazy." And I thought about that for a long time that day. I came to the conclusion that it is us that's crazy I mean what is a TV? Plastic, glass some wires, its not going with you.

Of course Christ's ways look crazy, he who is first is last, if a man forces you to walk one mile with him then walk two, and blessed are the persecuted. To us that's crazy, but we are the ones who got it backwards. We live in a man made, dog eat dog, everyman for himself kind of world. Where does love your neighbor fit in, in all that. It doesn't. That's why we are to be in this world but not of it. Even when we go against the worlds standards we fall into the self serving trap. We start standing in the streets shouting thank God I"m not like these sinners. Backwards. We need to be face down in the mud saying God forgive me, I am wretched.

We try to fit God into our backward lives. You"ve heard the saying "you"ve got a God shaped hole that needs to be filled" well I am sorry to say it's much more then a hole. God is not a patch to cover up some spot. We have a God shaped existence. Without Christ we are dead. I don't know about you but dead is much bigger then a hole. God is not the copilot, he is either the pilot or he's not on the plane. Our heart tells us we are missing something in our lives or that so long as God is next to us we"ll be fine. It's our hearts that must change. When Jesus said to sell all the wealth and give to the poor he was showing that rich mans heart. The rich young ruler was hopping Jesus would say well you"ve done a good job just remember me and have a nice day.

Turn to Luke 19:2 .

His heart, Zacchaeus's heart was one that was truly ready for Christ. He knew money meant nothing anymore. All he cared about was being with Jesus. But it's not just about giving stuff away look at John 12:3-8 Mary Magdalene uses expensive oil to wash Jesus" feet. Judas asked why not sell the oil and give to the poor. Of coarse Judas was planning on stealing the money. Jesus tells him to leave her alone, he sees her heart. A heart of love and humbleness. Where as Judas's heart was full of unloving selfishness. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that we can do so much but without love it's worthless. You see once again we come back to love. Its one thing to feed the poor, its another to love them. If I give a homeless guy a dollar and say 'there you lazy bum" I have not understood what Christ has called me to do. We are called to love the unlovable; our heart must be in serving Christ. Zacchaeus had the heart to say "God is greater then me yet he stepped down into my filthy wretched life and loved me so who am I to withhold love from another."

You may be thinking, what about my needs? When you say "yeah but I need"¦" you"re saying I need to serve myself. I"ll tell you right now you are powerless to save yourself. Your truck doesn't have the gas mileage or the horse power to drive you to heaven. Your house is petty compared to the mansions in heaven and your gold is nothing but pavement. Things here are temporary your stuff and your life. The things of this earth are not good enough to save you. We need to understand that God is the most important thing in our life and second is our neighbor; the list doesn't go me, my stuff, God then maybe others. When we get to heaven I guarantee that your worldly possessions will be the last thing on your mind.

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