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God wants Inside!

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." James 1:5-6

You know when you hear the same thing over and over again it seems to stick?  My dad used to tell my sisters and me "Don't do anything you can't take back."  Really I think he was mostly telling us to not steal, and to not jump out of an airplane, because in this life everything you do cannot be taken back.  That is why the Bible talks so much about the tongue and the wicked things that can happen from the inside.  Recently I can tell that God is telling me to focus on the internal.  At the end of the day, that is where it all begins.  What others see on the outside is direct result of what you have internally going on.  That's a pretty easy conclusion right?  Think of someone that is near and dear to you:  Isn't it easy to see when they have something bothering them just by looking at them and their body language?  The verse above from James gives me a very clear description of the true faith that we need to have in Christ that is internal and not moved by the external occurrences. 

Anyone that has ever been out in the ocean, or has experienced hurricanes know that water is incredibly damaging and destructive compared to the wind.  What I love so much about the analogy of water to the Holy Spirit (John 4:14) is that water will find every crevice searching to fill the lowest spot before getting to the top.  Water seeks the most internal spot available, and the Living Waters of Jesus Christ seeks the same in you.  There is not partiality with water---scientists will back me on that, and there is no partiality  when it comes to the love and desire of Jesus Christ for you.

What in your life are you focusing on that would be considered the wind?  What external factors are keeping you from being in a true relationship with God?  For most non-Christians that I meet, they have this set idea of what it means to be a Christian.  Often times you'll hear the worst stories or actions come from those that proclaim to be a Christian.  You know-the go to church Sunday to get clean from what you did Saturday type of church goer.  Often times the external winds that hurt us are our actual sins.  When I sin I'll think about the actual sin and then if I experience the consequence of that sin, I'll still point back to the deed.  That is no doubt a trick of the enemy.  The sin that you committed was long before made up in your mind before you committed it.  The sin you are focusing on has roots that predate the actual deed.  The big sin that you can't let go, started with the small sin that you thought was insignificant.   What James is saying here is that it is so much more than the external!  It all stems from inside of you!

We need to change our perspective:  We shouldn't be in Jesus, Jesus needs to be in us!  Having Jesus on the outside is simply just the wind on the waves.  It might add some movement, but it is simply surface level.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior then we have made the decision to be made new with Jesus INSIDE of us that creates EXTERNAL responses.  You've heard me say it, we are a sponge....what we fill ourselves with is important!  When we are squeezed, what comes out?  Is it the love of Jesus or is it the love of self? 

How then do we break free from the external and get inside?  We have to look at what we take in.  What are the sources of information that you consume?  What are you consuming that has stronger power than the Word of God?.....Hint:  Nothing.  No beauty magazine, no instagram influencer, and no self help book will change you from the inside like the Word of God will change you.  Don't take an advil to fix your brokenness when there is only one cure to internal peace and fulfillment:  Jesus.

My prayer for you this week is that you really look into yourself and see where you are broken and that you look into the root of that brokenness and not just the external factors.  Let Jesus fill up your cup, not from the top down, but from the bottom up.  He wants to fill you up from your lowest of lows to get you to your highest of highs.  I pray that you're not scared to ask fellow believers for help!  Where two or more meet, He is there!

Have a great week!

Cameron

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