ALL IN

 Today when I was at church, we sang two worship songs, then the lead singer told us to sit down as they sang their last song. So everyone took a seat, and they began to sing “Run to the Father”. About two minutes into the song, in the very front row, with everyone still sitting down in their seat, an old man stood up with both of his hands in the air. Honestly, it was probably one of the most clarifying moments that God has ever shown me in my life. 

    That old man stood up while everyone else was sitting down. He boldly gave praise to the Father without a care in the world about what anyone else was doing, or what they thought about Him. And as I watched Him stretch both arms out to heaven I thought about how many people in the crowd wanted to do the same thing but were too scared, and were too worried about what other people had to say. I think about how many of us have a calling put on our lives by God, but are too scared to live it out because of what other people are going to say.

    To be all in for something means that you are completely committed to whatever it is that you are all in for, and when I saw that old man stand up in a room full of people that were sitting it was evident that he was, all in. 

I think that being all in for Jesus is something that a lot of people in this world want, but do not actually do. I think that our society is full of more people that post about Jesus on their Instagram than actually having real-life, face-to-face conversations about Jesus. And don’t get me wrong, posting about Jesus is awesome, but when you post a verse on your Instagram story about loving your neighbor but then find yourself gossiping about the people around you, then that’s not so awesome... So I have to ask myself the question, why are we so scared to be all in for Jesus, what's holding us back? And honestly, I think most of the time it is because we are too worried about what people are going to think, and in this blog, I want to uncover some of the lies that as humans we might be telling ourselves about being all in, and let us be informed of what the bible has to say about it… 

In 1 Thessalonians 2:4 it reads “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” What this basically says is this: “We should be speaking and living with the confidence that God has given us the responsibility in this life to share the gospel. Who cares what other people think?! Our purpose in life is to please God, not the people living in it.” 

So even after having knowledge of this, why do we still find ourselves scared to tell others about Jesus, and so concerned with being accepted by the people around us? Because just as it says in Thessalonians that we should be speaking as people approved by God, it also says in Matthew 7 that many people will choose the road that everyone travels on in this life, but only a few will choose the narrow path. The bible predicted a long time ago that there would be a majority in this world that are just going to go through the motions, just doing what the person next to them is because they want to blend in and not be different… But God calls us to be the minority. He calls us to travel on the road less traveled on. And he calls us to be ALL IN. He says to us in Hebrews 12, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith.”

A lie that I feel is so evident in the minds of this generation is that it is not cool to be a light for Jesus… The lie that if we decide to put away our bad habits, or stand up for what is right that we are going to lose the acceptance of the people around us… and I’m here to tell you… WHO STINKIN CARES!! So what if you lose some friends when you stop drinking? So what cool kids at schools stop talking to you when you decide to stop gossiping about other people with them?... your purpose in life was never to please people. It is to please God and lead people to Him. I promise you that the rewards that you will receive from God when you put aside your sinfulness and fix your sight on Him, are more fulfilling than any high off a drug, or fun time while drunk at a party, or feeling of acceptance from a group at school… Stop listening to the lie that life after ridding yourself of worldly things is bad because it's not true. Life is abundantly more rewarding when you rid yourself of the things of this world and start to allow yourself to be consumed by the spirit. 

And just as I want to encourage the person reading this, I also want to be straight up and honest with you… There are two verses that God put on my heart to share in this blog, and both have the purpose of encouragement, but I also hope will make you realize the importance of being All in for Jesus. 

Revelation 3:15 

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

I know this verse sounds harsh, and no God is not going to drop from His grace in the next five minutes if you have been lukewarm for a while, but He says this because He wants us to know the importance and significance of what it means to Him when we are all in for Him. Our WHOLE purpose for being here is to lead people to Christ. It's not just something that we should occasionally be doing, but it's meant to be our WHOLE purpose. We are not called to be lukewarm, but instead on fire for Jesus. 

The second verse that I wanted to share to finish this post is Proverbs 14:16. This passage reads “ 

“for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,

    but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”

As followers of Jesus, we are righteous with Him, and we are promised a hand to help us up when we fall. But if you aren't actively seeking the Father and living your life “all in” for Him, don't be surprised when life knocks you down and you feel like you can't get back up. Because His word is all-knowing and if it says that “the wicked stumble when calamity strikes” then that’s what will happen. 

So be all in. Put aside all the excuses that you have made for yourself and set your eyes on Jesus. Run the race that he has set before you without hesitation. 

In Isaiah God asks, “Who will represent me to the world?” and Isaiah without hesitation said, “ME! Send me Lord!”. 

You have ONE life here on earth. How are you going to live? Like the majority? or like a person ALL IN for Jesus?


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