Authentic Christianity

Authentic Christianity

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Bethany Haley, and the Scripture is in the excerpt.

There is a world out there of false faces where we say what we say because we are supposed to say it, and we do what we do because we are supposed to do it. We are who we are because we are supposed to be it, but it is not real. We are afraid to be our authentic selves for fear of the judgments, whispers, and opinions of others, and we try so hard to be who others think we should be that we never know who we are.

In that land of fakeness, we waste so many glances looking around to either compare our selves, families, or marriages with others.....to either seek approval or to one up someone....that we forget to look up, becoming distracted from the only One who we truly need the approval of.

In that land of supposed tos Satan hides, and we never know he is there. It is the Land of Masks, and he has the largest one. If he is able to convince us to become distracted into what we think we are supposed to be, he knows we will never find out who we are in the eyes of the Father.  He knows if we become so caught up in achieving, accomplishing, comparing ourselves with others, then we will fail to see His purpose for our lives: to love God, to be loved by God, and to love others through His example of love....and act accordingly.

The Land of Reality is when we become free to live in the real world which is overflowing in mistakes and ever-abundant with grace with giant hands that pick us up when we fall.  It is in such a World that Christ was born: to minister to the sick - not the well. A world where grace is not a license to sin, but a fuel to feed a longing to please Him -The One we love.

Matthew 6:25, 33 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Father, Free us to live lives in search of being more like you - in pleasing you and you alone. 

Champions, have a great summer!-David Vining