Unleashing God's Power in Our Lives

So last weekend I was at Harvest Winter Camp with my high school group (if you want to read my thoughts on the weekend check out the previous post).  And the biggest issue almost all of my students were/are struggling with is the idea that:

 "I love Jesus and understand I need him as my saviour, but I don't feel close to God and because of that I am doubting if I am even saved." 

 I bet almost all of us have resonated with these feelings before and often times there are sin issues and stuff we need to deal with in our own lives that when left un-dealt with cause these doubts.  But what I want to focus on today is the question: "How do I unleash God's power in my life?"  

When you read the New Testament, especially the book of Acts, you see over and over again God taking normal, sinful, broken people and do incredible things through them, but it never happened on accident!  God's power is not unleashed in our lives while we sit passively on the sidelines.  And as I pray, study, and mature, I am becoming more and more convinced that we will not experience God's power in our lives until we make the commitment to give ourselves completely to him.

Here's what I mean... When you think of someone who God unleashed his power on, the Apostle Paul leads the list, and what I can't get out of my mind is the phrase he wrote to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 2:2

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

What is so amazing about this passage is Paul's unwavering motivation and desire to be about nothing other than Jesus.  And that, I believe is the key to living a life that is powered by God!  

So here is the life changing question(s)

What if we made Jesus our number 1 passion?

What if our desire to see people saved was greater than our fear of man?

What if we loved one another enough to get after sin and have difficult and helpful conversations?

What if we prayed like we actually believed Jesus was alive and was listening?

What if Jesus was more than our savior but also our king?

I believe lives would be saved, families restored, hearts would be on fire, communities would be transformed, and I believe that we would have the power to change the world!

You Are Loved!

Cal