Crossroads Magic

Building a testimony requires getting beyond your comfort zone.  Whenever you and I (or we) live inside that zone, doing only those things that we can easily do on our own, the "magic," or, better put, the work of God that seems like magic... When we live inside that comfort zone we will not see God at work.  Perhaps there are exceptions to his rule, but this seems like it is the case most of the time.

The first disciples definitely lived outside their comfort zone.  They left everything to follow Jesus (Luke 18:28).  The pegged all their hope on him.  So, then, when Jesus rose from the dead, they were able to give a most powerful testimony, a witness to the extraordinary power of God.

At Crossroads we are doing some things that will help us, bit by bit, to build stronger testimonies in our midst.  One thing we are doing as a church, and that we encourage all our partners to do, is to give away ten percent of our income.  Another thing is that we are intentionally building "Crossroads" into our life together.  Our "members" (also known as "partners") sign a membership agreement for one year and will need to pray each year about what God's call is for them and their families for the year to come.  Finally, we pray about everything before we act.  We trust God to lead.  We are not in control.

These things mean we need to depend on God for our church finances and for our membership.  Instead of first seeing how much we need, first we give a minimum of ten percent beyond ourselves.  Instead of making sure we maintain our membership, we set everyone free to follow Jesus in all of life, even if it means, for a time, worshiping elsewhere according to God's call.  And instead of making our plans, we trust God to lead us as we pray.

Are these things risky?  Absolutely!  Are we always comfortable in this?  I don't think so.  Here we are in a leased building with a new concept of church and "membership" where one of the most important things we do is to pray to a God we cannot see.  Wow!  Some would say we're crazy.  But that's okay.

As we let go of control, we see God at work.  That's when the "magic" of God happens.  Missionaries are supported, people are set free to follow Jesus in all of life, and prayers are answered.  And people testify to the miraculous power of God.

How will you depend on God today, instead of depending on yourself?  You cannot imagine what wonders God will do when we trust in Him.  If you don't have a church, come and be part of ours.  I truly believe you'll be glad you did.

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