Enjoy

Spent last week in Daytona Beach, Florida!

so many Bigstuf thoughts.

That time away is always so, so good. So refreshing. A change of scenery, early morning sunrise watching on the beach, intentional spiritual conversations with friends. And teenagers. Lots and lots of teenagers.

and, if possible, Phil Wickham is more amazing in person than he is on CD.

cannons.is.so.good.

God is always, always challenging me and convicting me on taking thoughts captive, setting my mind on things above. How to center my mind on all things holy, how to balance good thinking with bad thinking, and how to honor Christ and worship Him with my thoughts.

He always whispers to me think less, measure words and thoughts, filter, give Me your thoughts, live passionately, live freely in ME. who do I say that you are!?

So my thinking as of late has centered on this quote from speaker Judah Smith - "don't turn God into a list of do's and don'ts or into a formula for living. He's a God who's meant to be loved and adored and enjoyed.

Christianity is about enjoying Jesus."

enjoying Jesus? what's it mean to enjoy Jesus?

It's something I've thought about before that quote, during that quote, and after. I think I've subconsciously made holiness and pursuing Christ about actions. What I do or don't do. What I abstain from, what I restrict myself from. it's so silly. and scary how it becomes embedded.

Is that enjoyable? Is that freedom in Christ?

Then I was pointed to Romans 12:9-21.

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

If that's not freedom, I don't know what is.

Love Jesus. Love others.

Enjoying Jesus is living passionately. Loving God fiercely. It's recognizing gifts, passions, joys, and pursuing Christ in the midst of those. Tim Keller says, "In order then to be free, I have to give up my freedom. Real freedom is not doing what we most want to do. Real freedom is knowing which of the things we most want to do is siding with what we were designed for."

what we were designed for.

Romans 12 is what we were designed for.

Our standard of holiness is actions. Perfection.

God's standard of perfection.. we could never attain it.

But Christ.

That's it.

Nothing else.

We move towards Christ, we pursue him daily, we enjoy breath by breath what He's given. We imitate Him.

I can't help but think that this is all tied together. The 1000 gifts spring season of learning the joy in every moment, in learning gratitude in all breaths, in every thing - isn't that enjoying Jesus? Isn't that living in freedom that Christ gave on the cross? The freedom of moving forward and living forgiven?

watching sunrises. conversations with friends. reading good books. learning. coffee and sunshine and the Word of God. words and laughs and walks and baseball. sharing stories. writing. joy. freedom. passions. loving others. choosing Christ. renewing mind. transforming thoughts. worship.

Living out love for Jesus.

Living a Romans 12 kind of life.

{work in progress}