Fence Riders

It's been a while since I've blogged, but here comes another.

Today, as I was washing mine and my wife's cars (taking advantage of the weather), I had my Ipod on shuffle, as usual, and one of my favorite songs came on. "Fence Riders" by Jimmy Needham. As I was listening, the chorus of this song absolutely grabbed my thoughts and my heart like never before the 100 times I've heard it. Read this:

Can I sing about my maker

And have you not roll your eyes

Can I weep about my Savior

And the way He died

I know it don't make sense

To those who ride the fence

But I'm sold out to Christ

So, when this grabbed me the way it did, I began to think and process scripture and things, and obviously began to ignore any other song for about 30-45 minutes. And here's what stuck out to me.

Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive your the reward of the inheritance." (NASB)

I was immediately convicted of judging peoples personal God decisions in their lives. I began to think about all the decisions that I, and SO many others have made, that people didn't like or understand, and even the ones that others made that I didn't like or understand. I mean, the fact of following God and trusting HIM only in their lives was never questioned, I just didn't like the decision, because it didn't make sense, so I automatically wrote it off as "wrong" or "senseless". And I know others have done that to decisions I've made, throughout my entire life, and others.

As I look back on some of those decisions, maybe some of them were weird, strange, or uncalled for, but on each one of my decisions I believed I had heard from the Lord and I trusted and followed that, with ALL my heart.

I recently saw a video online of a man jumping from a helicopter and wrestling a Blue Marlin in the ocean. My first thought was "WOW", and then I wondered "What the heck is wrong with that joker?" He willingly allowed that to be posted online, knowing that people wouldn't like or understand his course of action or his decision to put his life in danger. But to him it made TOTAL sense!

The reason so much judgment is made on decisions for people to do what God is leading them to do, regardless of the "sense" it makes is because: What people do not UNDERSTAND, people often will not WITHSTAND.

Doesn't Christ call us to "Carry our cross", and to "not be conformed to the ways of the world, but TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our minds"? Doesn't that pretty much mean to do what Christ says and don't ask questions? My mom used to always tell me, as an answer to my unending questions of "why?" - "Because I said so." That was enough for me. My MOM told me to! My MOM said that I should do this, she's never deliberately led me astray. I need to listen to her, she TOLD ME TO!

But so often, when we feel God leading us in a certain direction, we weigh it in these measurements: What will people say? Will this "push me forward"? Is this a smart professional decision? Will people get mad at me? Will they really understand? And maybe the whole time we're weighing our options based on man, God is saying, "Because I said so."

Check this out: 1 Corinthians 2:14 "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." (NASB)

God may lead us to do some things that don't make sense to man, but are PRICELESS to Him!

SO, how can we not be the "natural man" stated in this verse? Simple: accepting the Holy Spirit in our lives, and let HIM lead us. THEN, we won't worry about what WE think of others decisions, and we won't worry about what others say about our decisions, "because they are spiritually appraised."

You see, when you accept the Holy Spirit of God in your life, and begin to let HIM lead and guide and direct you in new ways,allow HIM to help you grow and understand the KINGDOM of GOD in your life, then you accepting the MIND of GOD!!! (1 Corinthians 2:11)

So, here's my thing: I refuse to judge or pass judgment, conciously, of other people's personal decisions of following God in radical or different ways anymore. I refuse to allow people or circumstances dwarf or question my decisions that I feel God is leading me to make anymore. Because, if they AND I have the mind of God in our lives, who are they, or who am I for that matter, to question someone that clearly follows God in their lives, and is making a decision based on that. By telling someone that the decision they are making by following God is "stupid" or "dumb" or "nonsense".... guess what... I'm saying that I'm closer to God than them, and I have a stronger hold on the "mind of God" than they do. They should listen to ME, instead of the voice of God they've been following all along. NOT COOL!

So all those people that are questioning the decisions that fellow FOLLOWERS of God are making. All of you that have a problem with decisions that your FAMILY, and BODY are making in their own lives, all of you out there that dislike someone making a personal decision that helps them follow God and get closer to Him... stop riding the fence. You can't have the mind of God AND know it all! Because the mind of MAN knows nothing in comparison to the mind of God!

So, again: Can I sing about my Maker and have you not roll your eyes? Can I weep about my Savior and the way He died? I know it don't make sense to those who ride the fence...but I'm sold out to Christ! (Fence Riders, Jimmy Needham)

Any decision you make in your life, whether it's singing about your Savior in a crowd, or if it's weeping about how incredible your God is. Or maybe it's saying "no" to a few things in order to say "yes" to Him even more. Whatever your decisions in life may be.... Don't do it for the glory of man, do it for the glory of God. And your God Family, your BODY, that accepts the same Mind of God that you accept, will understand. The rest- pray they will stop riding the fence! Just make sure you're hearing from God!

(I promise this is not in response to anything in my personal life, or any career changes recently. It's simply something that the Lord laid on my heart, and connected scriptures with. It's a mini sermon that I believe a lot of people need to hear/read in order for encouragement in their spiritual walk. Pass it on/comment with thoughts.)