Forced out the comfort zone

Whether we are conscious of this or not, most of us have a "comfort zone." Once we are settled in this place, it is hard to get us to budge anywhere. When we look at the early disciples, they were not afforded the luxury of staying in their 'comfort zone' for long, as they were forced to move beyond the borders of Jerusalem. One shudders to think how the gospel would have spread to the 'ends of the earth' if these believers were not 'forced' to leave.

Acts 8:4 -“Forced to leave home base, the followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus.” (Message)

Reflection: God is able to take a potentially painful experience and turn it into something that honours his Kingdom and brings hope to others. Though we may not enjoy the discomfort, God is gracious enough to keep his eye on us at all times and to use all circumstances for our benefit (Romans 8).
 
Living in Grace
D3LM3

Going deeper

Listening to John van de Laar's testimony at our breakfast this morning I was reminded of God's call to take us deeper.

Deeper into our relationship with Jesus.
Deeper into the exploration of our call.
Deeper into community with others.

Deeper. Deeper. Deeper.

Yet, even the invitation to go deeper challenges me to move out of my comfort zone. It unnerves me, because it asks that I let go of "my" need for control.

Ezekiel 47:5 - "He measured off another thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross."

Why not take a step of faith and go deeper with God today?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Comfort Zone

In 'God is closer than you think' John Ortberg shares about a principal called 'Habituation'. It sounds awfully confusing, but it is actually very simple to understand.

Habituation refers to how something that is new and exciting eventually becomes ordinary and loses it's 'new appeal.' This happens in relationships, it can happen with new cell-phones or gadgets, it also happens with work. The initial 'wow' factor vanishes and we move into a kind of comfort zone.

The real danger comes into play when our faith develops 'habituation.' This results in a sense of 'spiritual comfort.' We lose the passion we once had for the Good News and the things of God.

Revelation 2:4 - "You have lost your first love."

Has this happened to you?

If it has, then ask God to make your faith 'fresh' again. Ask the Spirit to breathe newness into your soul.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3