Living our Faith Out-Loud – De-Compartmentalized

When I blogged about compartmentalizing" our lives yesterday, I didn't mean it for our faith. Our faith is an exception. You know -- that "keeping it to ourselves" compartment. We've all heard the saying: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” The idea is that when people go to Las Vegas, they get a license to do things they would never normally do. So what if you cheat on your wife? This is Vegas! So what if you are irresponsible with your money? This is Vegas! So what if you…?

Here’s what I mean. When it comes to our faith, many Christians compartmentalize it like that “Vegas” saying: “What happens at church, stays at church,” or “What happens away from church, stays away from church.” Many live their faith out only on Sundays at church and, outside the church, their lives are faith-less and lacking the fruit of the Spirit. They blend in so much with unbelievers that it's hard to tell a difference in them. Their light is dimmed by the way they speak and act when faced with a challenge or a follow employee who gets on their nerves. They remain silent when someone brings up the subject of pro life, chastity, faithfulness in marriage and going to church.

We are called to be Christians (devoted followers of Christ) not just some of the time, but all of the time. As Jesus’ followers, we’re called to continually grow in our relationship with God, and to help others do the same. We see our daily interactions as opportunities to live our faith out in word and deed. Keeping God front and center in all that we are and do, and being open and authentic about our faith with those around us . Living our faith out loud is an important part of the process of helping others become disciples who make disciples.

St.Paul gave us a glimpse into how to live out our faith in front of others -- de-compartmentalized: "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

We can be recognized by the fruit we produce in our lives. What kind of fruit are we producing? More than that, what kind of fruit are others noticing we are producing when they see us on a daily basis? Are we producing the fruit of the Spirit that are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Our faith and commitment to Christ is a 24/7 proposition -- not just when everyone is looking at us, but also when no one is looking. Time to de-compartmentalize our faith – and live audaciously as fully, all-in-followers of Christ!

Little Bands of Women are EVERYWHERE!

Payton, my 16-year-old grandson, is going on a missions trip to Guatemala in June, so in efforts to raise the monies to go, he posted in a neighborhood community app that he would do odd jobs for people. So when a lady called and asked him to get some things down from her attic, as well as to put together some boxes for her upcoming move, he earned some nice cash to put towards his trip. When she mentioned that she was going to have an estate sale, he told her about his Nana who once had an estate sale business. She wanted to meet me so Payton called and asked me to come over. I did. We had several things in common. She was moving to the same community where I'll be moving to in a few weeks, she has a Buick Enclave – just like me….and she loves the Lord – just like me. She invited me to her home for her Life Group for single women that meets every Saturday night. Once again, I sensed God smiling at me and throwing me a kiss!

I attended that Life Group last night where 18 women came together for a great pot luck (blessing) meal and then we sat in a big circle and each of us had the opportunity to share a praise report or request prayer for something or someone, or both. There was much laughter, tears of gratitude and tears of heartfelt desire for God to intervene in areas of their lives, and sweet support on so many levels. When it came around to me, I told the ladies that I’m looking up to heaven and saying “Thanks God, because I know it was You that brought me here tonight! He showed me that He has little bands of women everywhere, just like when Jesus walked this earth, He always had a band of women that loved and served Him. God must be smiling big and sending lots of kisses to this group!” Like my home in Tulsa where the precious sisters in my Life Group met, this home, last night, was a safe place and you could tell all of these women were fully devoted followers of Christ who live believing there are NO LIMITS to what God can do in and through us.

In so many places in this world, women are so marginalized and ostracized – simply because they are women. If only our world used the example of Jesus and how He loved and respected us. He really "upset the apple cart" in His culture in the way He related to women. In Luke 8 we see there was a band of women followers who traveled with Jesus and His 12 motley crew of men disciples as He ministered all around Galilee. Those women came from all walks of life, they were single, married, and some had questionable backgrounds, but here’s the common thread – each of them experienced healing through their encounter with Christ. He loved them, taught them and could have cared less about what the pious religious folk thought.

The little bands of women that Jesus touched and loved is a mighty indicator of His love for us. The women at the foot of the cross and at the tomb held a tiny flame of faith that He would rise as He promised. That flame of faith may have burned high, and it may have burned low, but the flame never went out, and their faith was rewarded. Like the women of the Bible, our flame of faith may burn high and it may burn low, but our flame never goes out and because we have faith in His Word that “nothing is impossible with Him”, He rewards us.
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God didn’t waste any time showing me that He is leading me every step of the way on my journey of faith. I’ve said it before, “If you want to have friends, show yourself friendly.” It took getting out of my comfort zone to go to that Life Group last night. I didn’t know those ladies – even the gal that invited me except for a simple conversation a couple of weeks ago. If we want friends, it means we just might have to be willing to get out of our comfort zone. We may find it by joining a community group or small group at our church. We may want to volunteer to facilitate a Bible Study or join a Sunday School Class or a Choir or another group where they're living a life of purpose and destiny. As we trust God with every area of our lives, He will open doors of blessing to us. Perhaps there's a little band of women OR, if you're a man or a couple, a band of believers who are just waiting for you to show up and be a blessing to you, and you, to them.