Some things you should know.

God does not want you to wear long jean skirts.
God does not think sex is bad.
God does not have a Classical music station on the radio 24/7. He switches back and forth between that and Michael W. Smith.
God thought the Pilgrims’ clothes could have used a few pops of color.
God is not waiting to say “I told you so” when your life falls apart.
Thunder IS God bowling.
God does not want to take away all of your fun and make your life boring.

I was listening to a National Community Church podcast yesterday at work (we had to come in super early to unwrap everything from the monthly preventative bug spray. Even though the pest control people didn’t show.). Pastor Schmidgall was talking about how when we share the truth of Jesus and his salvation, we aren’t doing so to make people more like us. That would be silly. God made everyone different on purpose. When he enters the life of an individual, he is seeking to make them the BEST VERSION of THEMSELVES. He wants to take your passion for hip-hop or folk music and use it for Him. He wants to take your degree in social work and combine it with prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. He wants to use your background and the things that move you to bring you joy and to bring life to others.

God is like a little salt on a great dish in the lives of his people..he brings out the best of what they already are.

The only thing God wants to take from you are the things that are harmful, twisted, and serve no purpose. He doesn’t ask you to be a clone or to not laugh or dance or have great relationships. He just wants GREAT THINGS for your life and to do GREAT THINGS in the lives of the people around you THROUGH you.

Is it boring to..
Be a good friend?
Love orphans?
Help change lives?
See and experience God in nature and in the world teeming with life?
Have great food and conversation?
Have an eighties dance party?
Sky dive?
Travel the world and make new friends?
Laugh until your sides hurt?
Do what you love and make a difference at the same time?
Have peace when you lie down and joy when you wake up?
Be able to give your problems to God and see Him answer prayer?
Have hope even when things look bad?
Be forgiven whenever you mess up?
Have a Father who is always there?
Have friends who want the best for you and don’t bad mouth you?
Be known for your good character and not what you’ve done wrong?

All this and more can be yours with GOD™.

Side effects may include: loss of “friends”, sleeping well,  crazy adventure, rearranged priorities, joy, purpose, fulfillment, growing pains, moving out of a bed that doesn’t belong to your spouse, throwing away your Lil’ Wayne c.d., buying LeCrae instead, and spontaneous hand raising during worship.

What if everyone we met was in right relationship with God, full of purpose and joy, trying to do right by others and not wrong? They are still them, they’ve just dumped the baggage and are pursuing goals and relationships in a completely different way. The world would be so different. One person at a time, this is what Jesus does in the lives of those who say, “I’ve had enough of the way this world operates. I see all the brokenness and pain and meanness, and I don’t want to be a part of the destruction anymore. Make me new so that I can be a light in this darkness. Let others see this light and be made into their best selves, too. Only by your power, God.”

This is God’s story whether we get in on it or not. Why wouldn’t we be on His team? Is “just one more” drunken night or one-night stand worth missing out on the life that could be? No, friend. God is everything and everything worth having will be yours when you allow Him to be your God. Get ready for an amazing life beyond what you can ever imagine. You be next.