It's a {heart} Thing.

It's a {heart} Thing.

... not about rules.

What does it really mean to be a follower of Jesus?

What does it mean to "surrender your life" and "live for Him"?

What happens after you pray that little prayer?

One of the things that truly broke my heart while I was in Panama was seeing that the Kuna people we were with knew about Jesus, but didn't really know what it meant to live for Him. They had combined the truth of the Gospel with the lies that they had heard their whole lives. Thus, living in fear and confusion. The saddest part is that the people on this particular island do not have a solid leader in their church who will teach them these things. They may decide to pray the "prayer of salvation," but then what next? Is that all there is to being a Christian?

I realized that my own life was not too far from that. I grew up completely immersed in the church from singing on the worship team to planning youth events to serving on various committees (The Church of God movement is very fond of committees...). It turns out that all of those things to fill my time and add to my resume didn't quite cut it. That's because it's a heart thing. Being a Christian is not about rules.

When I left home after high school I quickly came to the realization that even after all of those things I put my time and energy into at the church, I still did not believe or live by basic, foundational truths of God's love for me. I'm so grateful that the Lord brought this to my attention so I could begin to "be transformed by the renewing of [my] mind" (Romans 12:2b). It was a long process of learning to live by relationship rather than rules. Because it's a heart thing.

My Panamanian friends and I are probably not the only ones who have struggled with this. I don't know that my Panamanian friends even know that they struggle with this issue... maybe you don't know it either. Maybe you know it, but aren't sure what to do about it or where to even start. If so, I guarantee you are not alone!

I'm going to start a series of blog posts related to this question of "what does it mean to truly follow Jesus and live a surrendered life?"

We'll discuss things like:
          - Biblical Standards
          - Reading the Bible
          - Prayer
          - Church
          - Accountability
          - Evangelism/Missions Lifestyle
          - Generosity
          - Grace
          - Purity

Not that I have all the answers, by any means... but I do believe that the Bible has a lot to say about all of these things. So that's where we'll start. :)

Being a follower of Jesus is not about DOING all of those things (reading the Bible, going to church, going on mission trips to foreign countries, etc) - remember, it's a heart thing - but doing those things out of a sincere desire to love God and love people.