One of the things God has showed me recently is that He wants our relationships to be intentional.
My time overseas made me realize that all people in a sense are the same, most relationships are made and based on the premise of what "you can do for me" or "what I can do for you." I myself have been found guilty of treating people this way, especially in my quest for employment. My relationships with others have been more about connections I made and whether or not I thought they could find me a job than the condition of their soul.
In some places in the world it might be shown through arranged marriages, that when two families join together there is some sort of profit for both parties involved. Whether it's wealth, status or possessions this kind of living leaves an emptiness that can only be filled by having an intentional relationship with Jesus Christ. By recognizing are need as sinners for a savoir and believing that He became the ultimate sacrifice and died the death we should have died, so we can have everlasting life with Him. As followers we are to be in constant intentional relationship with Him so our relationships and lives can be guided by His Spirit. As followers we are to be intentional about Christ and to be responsible with His death.
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation." Galatians 6:14-15
John Piper's book titled Don't Waste Your Life helped me see how deep and prominent the call of Christ should be in our everyday living. Intentional living is when our joy is found fully in the cross of Christ that when He becomes our all satisfying Joy we start boasting in the cross and valuing relationships above return. When we are intentional about living we glorify the Father in that our joy points others to Him.
As Christians when we live intentionally we no longer live for ourselves but for Him. The world has been crucified to us and we have been crucified to the world, meaning our old ways are now dead we must begin to live a new life because we have been given a new life worth boasting about.
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2
Living Intentionally is all about boasting in the cross to point others to Jesus.When we fully understand that He is enough then everything we once held onto holds no meaning because once we understand and recognize that the things we were holding onto hold no eternal value then our dependance or attachment to those things is made void.
"Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:3-4
My goal is to live intentionally, to act and tell others about Him and to point them to the cross that they might find everlasting all satisfying Joy in Christ Jesus. That In my relationships with others whether at work, home or in my community that I boast only of the One who is satisfies all.
My time overseas made me realize that all people in a sense are the same, most relationships are made and based on the premise of what "you can do for me" or "what I can do for you." I myself have been found guilty of treating people this way, especially in my quest for employment. My relationships with others have been more about connections I made and whether or not I thought they could find me a job than the condition of their soul.
In some places in the world it might be shown through arranged marriages, that when two families join together there is some sort of profit for both parties involved. Whether it's wealth, status or possessions this kind of living leaves an emptiness that can only be filled by having an intentional relationship with Jesus Christ. By recognizing are need as sinners for a savoir and believing that He became the ultimate sacrifice and died the death we should have died, so we can have everlasting life with Him. As followers we are to be in constant intentional relationship with Him so our relationships and lives can be guided by His Spirit. As followers we are to be intentional about Christ and to be responsible with His death.
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation." Galatians 6:14-15
John Piper's book titled Don't Waste Your Life helped me see how deep and prominent the call of Christ should be in our everyday living. Intentional living is when our joy is found fully in the cross of Christ that when He becomes our all satisfying Joy we start boasting in the cross and valuing relationships above return. When we are intentional about living we glorify the Father in that our joy points others to Him.
As Christians when we live intentionally we no longer live for ourselves but for Him. The world has been crucified to us and we have been crucified to the world, meaning our old ways are now dead we must begin to live a new life because we have been given a new life worth boasting about.
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2
Living Intentionally is all about boasting in the cross to point others to Jesus.When we fully understand that He is enough then everything we once held onto holds no meaning because once we understand and recognize that the things we were holding onto hold no eternal value then our dependance or attachment to those things is made void.
"Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:3-4
My goal is to live intentionally, to act and tell others about Him and to point them to the cross that they might find everlasting all satisfying Joy in Christ Jesus. That In my relationships with others whether at work, home or in my community that I boast only of the One who is satisfies all.
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