Belonging To Christ

A Few Minutes with God

Do you feel like you belong? How important is your faith? Today’s podcast focuses on belonging to Christ and discusses the importance of knowing where and to whom you belong.

Belonging To Christ ~ Episode 316

There was a popular bumper sticker with a picture of a fish and the words, “Swim against the stream.” The Ithucus (the Jesus fish) was a secret symbol of early Christians trying to avoid persecution. This symbol, even today, reminds us not to follow the crowd but to stand as individuals for Christ. As my mother always reminded me, “Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it is good.”

How does this square up with the idea of belonging to Christ? We, as Christians, are part of a larger group of people who have made some important decisions. We’ve decided to follow Christ, read the Bible, attend Bible study or prayer groups, listen to wonderful testimonies of what God has done in other people’s lives, and yet think, “What about me?”

What questions do you ask of God?

1. God, do you see me?
2. Am I doing your will?
3. How can I best serve you?

Belonging To Christ In Perspective:

If you have a solid understanding of your faith and are a strong Christian, you know better than most that the struggle is real. No one has all the answers all the time. We doubt we pray, hear silence, and get overextended with work and home responsibilities. How can we follow someone we don’t know? We must spend time with God, in His Word, and think about the importance of our role in this life. But it becomes more difficult if our faith is in its infancy.

Perhaps the decision to follow a Christian faith was made for you, and you’ve just followed along. That is what happened to me. Yet, at some point, I had to make the decision as an adult during a time of struggling that I was all in for God. I gave over my life several distinct times in my teens and early twenties. God always showed up, yet I didn’t see it at the time.

You are not alone if you feel like you are floating down a stream without direction. Some days, we are so busy that we can barely make all the meetings we’ve scheduled or complete the list at work or at home in a timely fashion. Perhaps you struggle with feeling the love and presence of God in your life.

So, how can you have a sense of belonging if you feel so unsettled? What I find helpful is searching the scriptures and keeping a prayer journal. This is old news for those who have listened to this podcast, yet it is worth repeating. You and I are part of a bigger picture, and it bears thinking about, examining, and praying that God does indeed see our hearts and our motivations that are all in for Him!

Some of my go-to scriptures:

1. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (Read on air.)
2. Ephesians 2:10—(Read on air.)
3. Philippians 3:20 (Read on air.)
4. Romans 8:1 – (Read on air.)

This is a short yet powerful list, and what is helpful is not only reading these verses but praying these verses. Having a bad day? Philippians 3:20 (read on air). This is not all there is, there is more, and I am so thankful for that! I am so thankful for my faith, which is a gift from God. It is one of those gifts that God answers, “Lord, give me more faith,” “Lord, help me to put you first,” and “Here I am, Lord!”

For the times we feel that we are failing at home or at work, we have Ephesians 2:10 (read on air.) God doesn’t make junk, we are created in Christ, the good works we do are not ours to brag about but truly a gift from loving and following Christ. In each of us, there is a desire to love and be loved, and often we do things hoping someone will notice and realize how great we are; these are tendencies that, as humans, we may possess — but God, and only God, knows our hearts and our motivations.

This then brings us to Romans 8:1 (Read on air.) There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus — but let’s read verses 2-5 (Read on air.)

Some say that they accept the Lord as Savior and can live any life they wish, even if it is sinful because they are saved. But here we read that while our flesh may be weak, and Jesus died for us, we must set our minds on Christ and live according to the Holy Spirit. When Jesus died and rose again, He told his apostles He had to leave so that the Holy Spirit could be sent to empower, embolden, and lead them as God intended. This is the Holy Spirit that, if we allow Him to be part of our lives, will empower us with the gifts of the Spirit.

These gifts are powerful, and the enemy doesn’t want you to be emboldened or empowered. Read Ephesians 12.

This faith, this Christian faith, is extremely powerful. I recently learned that many Christians do not vote. Can you imagine if the Christians, as a voting block, those who truly love the Lord Jesus and follow Him, those who belong to God, stood up for what is right? They would stand against the culture of death, against the crimes against humanity, against the powers that be out there—whatever and whoever they are. If Christians stood up and truly led by example, this world would be an amazing place.

I heard recently from Father Rippinger that our lives are what we make them; it can be heaven on earth or hell on earth. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have struggles, but what it does mean is that our struggles are not of this world; our struggles are roadblocks. Praise God in all things. Read Ephesians 3. Then, read Acts 16. One thing that is notable is that in Acts 16, Paul drives out a demon from a girl, which allows her to predict the future. Her masters were upset because they couldn’t make money with her any longer, so they had Paul and Silas thrown in jail on false charges. They were beaten, but at midnight, they began singing praises to God. Acts 16:25 reads, “About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs of thanks to God.”

How could they praise God? Because they knew to whom they belonged—to Christ. How would we have reacted if we were Paul and Silas? Tactics are used to scare us and send us hiding in our homes, but Holy Boldness comes when we focus on what is most important, and that is life in Christ.

Today, focus on Jesus as Savior and continue to ask Him into your heart in a deeper way. Ask for Holy Boldness and praise God in all things.

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