Christians have too low a view of Jesus. He is the Creator of everything and became a man. He is ever-present and all powerful. Yet few of us believe that Jesus can lead a church service all by Himself. If the risen Jesus isn’t the play caller, Christianity can feel like a game or a show.

I see Jesus knocking on the doors of churches and individuals pleading, “Let Me come in and take over.” I can’t be silent about it. Most churches and individual Christians claim that we let Jesus in, but we do it on our terms instead of His terms of unconditional surrender. Church often seems like fire prevention — keeping spiritual sparks to a minimum and never letting them interfere with a pastor’s control.

If a king could live inside all of his subjects, he’d have no need for an organizational chart. One king does that — Jesus Christ. Free and open-hearted expressions of love for Jesus will revitalize a church service and make it come alive.

The physical distance between you and God is zero. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” The distance between your heart and His, that’s another story.

When you’re being fed something that’s feeding and stirring your soul, you don’t watch the time. History shows that somebody needs to walk on the water with Jesus, so Christians don’t stay stuck in the boat of tradition. Step out in your congregation. If the pastor’s unwilling to make spiritual waves in church, somebody in the congregation (with humility, tenderness, and persistence) needs to stir up the gifts of God.

Numbers don’t count when Christians meet to experience the presence of Jesus. Church should be about encountering Jesus, not about counting the attendees.

Religion is convenient like a thermos. It can hold the warmth of God when we want it and keep it out when we don’t. Christians, “Let us approach God’s throne of grace,” not just hear a sermon about it. Come on, y’all, dare to do it. Hebrews 4:16.

Right or Left, our ideas and anger aren’t working. We need the living God to show us the way to well-being. Now is the time to stir up God’s inner fire with spiritual desire and make some Spirit-led waves.

If you follow Jesus
You’ll learn to avoid
Being annoyed
Or paranoid.

By letting one man explain
How to maintain
The status quo
Church tends to train
People to contain
Their love for Jesus.

Fast-faith,
Every moment
Scheduled,
Quickly in
And quickly out.
Duty done,
Then we can be about 
What we really want to do.

There's got to be more
To attending church
Than religious status,
Status quo,
And a sweet show.

We can sit in the boat,
Do church by rote,
And gently float
With religious tradition,
Or daily follow Jesus
Out on the water
And make some
Spirit-led waves.

Let Jesus clearly show
In and through your life.
Let His presence in you grow
So that everyone will know
(Including your foe)
That you're carrying Him
And He's leading you
From within.

Don't just sit
On these hot thoughs
And let them burn
In your head.
Share them!
Do them!