The Secret Society of Believers
I live in San Francisco...not exactly known for being a haven for believers of Jesus Christ, but I have noticed something interesting over the past few years since I rejected legalistic religion and accepted Christ.
There is a secret society of believers in this city
I work in a gym and you encounter a lot of different types of people. At my old gym, I was constantly connecting with other believers. What was even more interesting was that I discovered that many of us attended the same local body of believers!
I remember on New Year's Eve I was sitting in the service and the man in front of me said, "Hey! 24 Hour Fitness!!"
Prior to this a sister from my fellowship was sharing her testimony during the video announcements. She said that she met the Bishop at 24 Hour Fitness in the steam room. I thought she looked familiar and it turns out I saw her every single morning at the gym. I had no idea.
It just kept on happening. Every time I turned around, I would discover another believer and we would just share and talk about what God was doing in our lives. We would always encourage one another to keep going.
Tonight, I realized that one of my clients who I liked from jump is also a believer. She's originally from another continent, but we just clicked right off the bat like we were related (BECAUSE WE ARE!)
We both shared that we don't really talk about our faith too much in public, because of the climate of this city. Really who can blame people for not wanting to hear about faith when all they've heard is condemnation, hate-filled speech, and rude remarks.
Heck...I was done with religion after being subjected to mean and hateful religious people for so many years so I get it.
Yet this is no excuse for us to clam up. We as believers have a duty.
So many people in this world are hurting, purposeless, drifting, and are unloved. They need some encouragement and love in their lives. People are being led astray to believe that the secret to peace and joy is money, power, sex, and titles. None of that stuff lasts. Some of it only lasts 2 minutes. (Well)
I agreed with the Pope's remarks last week that it is high time to stop focusing on the hot button issues of homosexuality and abortion. The reality is that those issues are exploited by politicians to get money from voters and distract from real problems such as corporate welfare. I also think those issues are pushed by churches to rile people up and make sure they keep coming.
Anyway, the point is that those of us who really do have a heart of compassion for people and have been changed by the love of Christ have been cowered into silence.
What if some of us began to minister and pray for these hurting and lost souls? The reason people don't want to hear it is because they've usually heard you're going to Hell before they've heard "God loves you. Let me pray for you."
One of the reasons I started this blog was to share my faith to encourage other people. I know I have been so encouraged by reading other people's testimonies of faith and how God brought them over.
It is called the Good News for a reason! People love to spread bad news, but good news is much more exciting to share!
Let's not be a secret society of believers anymore, but stand up and share the good news of Jesus Christ and the freedom it offers.
There is a secret society of believers in this city
I work in a gym and you encounter a lot of different types of people. At my old gym, I was constantly connecting with other believers. What was even more interesting was that I discovered that many of us attended the same local body of believers!
I remember on New Year's Eve I was sitting in the service and the man in front of me said, "Hey! 24 Hour Fitness!!"
Prior to this a sister from my fellowship was sharing her testimony during the video announcements. She said that she met the Bishop at 24 Hour Fitness in the steam room. I thought she looked familiar and it turns out I saw her every single morning at the gym. I had no idea.
It just kept on happening. Every time I turned around, I would discover another believer and we would just share and talk about what God was doing in our lives. We would always encourage one another to keep going.
Tonight, I realized that one of my clients who I liked from jump is also a believer. She's originally from another continent, but we just clicked right off the bat like we were related (BECAUSE WE ARE!)
We both shared that we don't really talk about our faith too much in public, because of the climate of this city. Really who can blame people for not wanting to hear about faith when all they've heard is condemnation, hate-filled speech, and rude remarks.
Heck...I was done with religion after being subjected to mean and hateful religious people for so many years so I get it.
Yet this is no excuse for us to clam up. We as believers have a duty.
So many people in this world are hurting, purposeless, drifting, and are unloved. They need some encouragement and love in their lives. People are being led astray to believe that the secret to peace and joy is money, power, sex, and titles. None of that stuff lasts. Some of it only lasts 2 minutes. (Well)
I agreed with the Pope's remarks last week that it is high time to stop focusing on the hot button issues of homosexuality and abortion. The reality is that those issues are exploited by politicians to get money from voters and distract from real problems such as corporate welfare. I also think those issues are pushed by churches to rile people up and make sure they keep coming.
Anyway, the point is that those of us who really do have a heart of compassion for people and have been changed by the love of Christ have been cowered into silence.
What if some of us began to minister and pray for these hurting and lost souls? The reason people don't want to hear it is because they've usually heard you're going to Hell before they've heard "God loves you. Let me pray for you."
One of the reasons I started this blog was to share my faith to encourage other people. I know I have been so encouraged by reading other people's testimonies of faith and how God brought them over.
It is called the Good News for a reason! People love to spread bad news, but good news is much more exciting to share!
Let's not be a secret society of believers anymore, but stand up and share the good news of Jesus Christ and the freedom it offers.
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