Proceed with Caution!

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives…”
Galatians 5:16a

Is there such a thing as being too spiritual? In the church today we have come up with words like “super spiritual” or “Christian-ese”. What are these words actually saying?

These words imply that if we talk too much about the things of God it is bad or by believing that our whole lives reflect a spiritual life is wrong or ineffective. God is challenging me today to think about my life. I am a spiritual being, I have accepted Jesus and His Holy Spirit dwells in me. At some point I have started thinking that my life cannot be too spiritual. I have begun believing that I must be more natural so that I can attract people and people won’t feel put off my how “Christian-y” I am.

By trying to attract people to my natural Christianity I have failed them. I have attracted people to me, not to the power of Christ within me. I cannot effectively attract people to Jesus by acting natural. It is the SPIRIT of Jesus Christ within me that attracts people to the spiritual Kingdom of God! I can act as natural as possible and people will like me, I will fit in, I probably won’t even offend anybody, but no one’s life will be changed. No one will find in me the answer to the questions they are asking.

My eyes have been opened to an unconscious choice I have made to be less spiritual. Because of this choice my prayers have had less faith, my leadership has had less impact and my life has become dry. Why in our culture to we try to find balance?

Why do we try to fit in? Jesus was not balanced. He was the most unbalance person in the history of the world. He was always in the Spirit, always preaching, always loving, always teaching the word of God. His life is a model for ours. We cannot shy away from the spirit. I have to say there is a real devil and he is really wreaking havoc in our world, in our families in our churches. The only way to combat a real spiritual attack is in the power of the spirit.

The Holy Spirit has given us all authority and all power in Heaven and on earth to battle the attack of the Devil. He is our footstool! Why have we as Christians been allowing him to have is way with us? I believe it is because we have worked so hard to fit in, so that we don’t offend anyone. The message of Christ is cut and dry. It is black and white, it is intrusive and offensive and powerful and effective!!

This message requires Christians to take a stand against unrighteousness. This DOES NOT mean casting judgment and hatred at the world. Jesus came to bring this world LOVE! He came and loved us so much in our mess, in our sin and in our weakness and died for us. Even at our worse He loves us the same.

I am challenged today to pray. I am challenged to be more spiritual. I am challenged to stop compromising righteousness to fit in.

The end of the verse I began this with says this, “then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” (Gal 5:16b) When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives we will not be locked into our sin! The Holy Spirit with lead us to Christ and away from the destructive habits and sinful lifestyles that we feel trapped in.

This in not my usual type of blog but I feel an urgency to encourage us to be spiritual people!  I hope that we can choose today to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives!