It was “Motto Sunday” yesterday (06/Jan/2013) at the church I attend, Brixworth Christian Fellowship (BCF.) Our pastor Phil W began to unpack the new moto for this year, which is:
Joshua 18:3 (ANIV), ‘So Joshua said to the Israelites: "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?”’
As I drove to church yesterday, I was thinking & praying about the previous year’s motto & wondered what motto the Lord would like me to have for Bible Cartoons... instantly some song lyrics came to me, which I believe fit very nicely both with where my wife & I personally want to “be” this year & also where I believe God wants Bible Cartoons to “be” too. The song lyrics that came clearly to me were: “More love, more power, More of You [Jesus/God] in my life.” [1]
I’ve been thinking about my Christian life all over Christmas & New Year, & very much felt that I want to go deeper into my relationship with Jesus. I have quite a lot of frustration within myself as a result of not seeing or experiencing the power of God (miracles, signs & wonders, healing, etc) either in my life or in the life of the church I attend. I listen to sermons from pastors & church leaders who are clearly moving in spiritual matters & with the power of God in ways that I do not, which is a bit frustrating to me!
Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty to be grateful for at BCF: there is good, clear, sound Biblical preaching & teaching; good fellowship; good leadership; a strong outward, evangelistic, community-helping focus, a desire to grow in Jesus & Christianity, genuine love for each other, etc. I would say that most of the elements of a great village-sized church are all in place. I’m definitely not trying to “church-bash” here! However, I have long been frustrated by both a personal lack of experience of God’s power & a church-based lack of the same. At least, that’s how I perceive it. I would concede that maybe God is moving too subtly for me to see His power at work?! It is quite possible that I am wrong... that happens quite a lot!
Anyway, “More love, more power, More of You in my life”, is precisely what I/we want to have seen & experienced when we look back on 2013 from next New Year’s eve!
To ‘unpack’ that a little more: I am talking about experiencing more of God’s love & compassion expressed through us, towards other people; More of God’s power in evidence, expressed towards other people, & the underlying focus for us to be More of You (Jesus/God) in our lives. This last part is very, very important, as a strong focus on Jesus, coupled with a desire to serve other people, is what Christianity is all about... it’s not about me, it’s about other people.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when our pastor revealed the church’s motto, & he spoke of deepening our relationships with Jesus, both as individuals & as a church congregation. When I spoke to him afterwards we touched on God’s power & I realised that he & I were thinking along the same lines: that we need to focus on deepening our personal & corporate relationship with Jesus. As a result of doing that; & with a clear, constant underlying desire to love Jesus, God’s power can flow through us, & out into our community.
One of the ‘problems’ of seeking God’s power appears to be the ‘danger’ of becoming power-hungry for its own sake. We might seek God for Himself initially, but when He gives us his power to perform miracles, healings, etc, there is a ‘danger’ to ourselves that we can subtly change our focus, away from the source of the power (Jesus), & that we will focus too much on the power, for its own sake. That then becomes the sin of pride, (which Satan suffered from), which, if unchecked, can ruin our relationship with God & make us rather power-hungry & ego-centric! There are plenty of sad examples of this happening, where good men & women of God have ‘gone off the rails’ once they have ‘tasted’ the power of the Lord. As the old saying goes: power corrupts! The antidote to this ‘going off the rails’ would seem to be a constant re-evaluation of our selves, in the light of the Bible & Jesus’ teachings, so that we do not fool ourselves (or allow Satan to blind us) into becoming power-hungry for its own sake.
The power of God appears to be not for us, but to aid us in our service towards other people, both in church & in the wider community. Certainly that is how I read the book of Acts, where Jesus’ disciples used the power He provided to perform miracles, to serve the people they encountered in their communities.
It seems that we need a strong, continuing, growing, deepening focus on the person of Jesus Himself, & as a result of that, we would be able to cope & manage the gifts of the spirit; the power of God, in a safe, community-serving way, rather than in a self-serving way.
I like the sound of all of this... Bring it on Lord!
[1] Here are the full song lyrics:
More love, more power
More of You in my life
More love, more power
More of You in my life.
I will worship You with all of my heart
And I will worship You with all of my mind
And I will worship You with all of my strength
For you are my Lord
You are my Lord.
More faith, more passion
More of You in my life
More faith, more passion
More of You in my life
I will worship You with all of my heart
And I will worship You with all of my mind
And I will worship You with all of my strength
For you are my Lord
You are my Lord.
More love, more power
More of You in my life
More love, more power
More of You in my life.
I will worship You with all of my heart
And I will worship You with all of my mind
And I will worship You with all of my strength
For you are my Lord
You are my Lord.
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