"Something Clever and Eye-Catching"

Yep, that's right. That's my title. Get over it. :)

This past week I was fortunate enough and blessed enough to spend some time in Sublette, KS at Sublette Christian Church leading worship at their spring revival. Good times. Good times. I went into this particular event quite unsure of what to expect. I mean, it's southwest Kansas....can God even exist in southwest Kansas? My answer to that incredibly ridiculous question? Most definitely!

Kurt Mortensen from Cherokee Hills Christian Church in OK City, OK was the speaker and wow did he ever speak! That man took what most of us know as everyday Christian life and spun it on its head. He challenged all of us to get out and live dangerous lives. The lives of Jesus and his disciples were anything but safe and mundane! If you look through the book of Acts alone, you will see how over and over again God was challenging people to think outside the box and step outside of what they had always done and thought to do to step out and speak the gospel on his behalf.

I was reading through part of Acts last night and was struck at the prayers of these disciples. Acts 4:24-30 is a prayer that the followers prayed right after Peter and John were released from custody and reprimanded for speaking in the name of Jesus. These men & women knew that they were being threatened and knew that death might be a very strong possibility for them if they continued in their current plan. However, they did not pray for a hedge of protection. They did not pray for the people who were plotting against them to have a change of heart. Instead they prayed these words. "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness."

Dude. That is stinkin' awesome! Seriously! I mean just think about it. Put yourself in their time and their lives and their moment. "Lord...enable us to speak with great boldness!" That is just amazing! I try to read the Bible as though it were really happening to me, and I just have a hard time imagining that I wouldn't have been praying for protection and open doors (away from the Jews that were plotting to KILL me!) and hedges of protection! But these guys were legit!

So what does it mean to truly be a follower of Jesus? What does that really look like? Man, I am not even sure I know anymore! The more I read through the gospels and the book of Acts, I am reminded and convicted that I need to be bold. I need to be willing to die. I need to be willing to get up and walk across the boardwalk at my apartment and meet the family next door. I need to be willing to step out and LOVE the people that I come in contact with. What does it mean to you?