A Selfish Post

Let me first say thank you to myself for writing this blog.

Not quite your customary opening statement, I know -- but it needed to be said. I love to write, as few people know. It is a gift I know that's inside me, but it hasn't quite matured or has gone public for my realm influence just yet. I fear too often people write blogs, post facebook statuses, and obsessively count their twitter followers because we're longing to be noticed, liked, entertaining, and other things I haven't thought of. I myself have fallen into those traps from time to time, but I'm a firm believer that if you have a gift, you should give it your best no matter what.

For example, I preached a message last week that I felt was a word that could have been saved for a special service we are going to do in October. I prayed about it and debated it (we often debate in our heads more than we just give it to God) and knew it was a word for right now. So I preached it, and God did what only he could do and we saw some huge breakthrough that night! I was challenged to take that which was special and apply it to the norm, so that which is special becomes normal. You may have to read my last statement over to really get it. Think about it: when we put amazing effort into something and something special happens, we shouldn't go back to what was normal before. We should make the results of excellence, growth, or breakthrough the norm so when something special happens again, it's a whole other level. You wouldn't call a yearly deliverance service a success if students were going back to their old lives after the "special" was over, only to get it broken off again a year later. That would make the service useless if they always go back to normal.

So while I hope you are blessed by this blog, I have decided to write for me. As selfish as it sounds, I find it rather self-less. I'm not writing so that I can have all kinds of readers, I need to write so that I can understand just what is in me. I need to write so that I can use what God has given me to glorify Him. There is a lot in me, and I find that things make more sense when I write things out. Perhaps you should think about being more "selfish", too -- how often do you act in such a way that isn't aimed at impressing someone? Do something because you love it. Your gift will make a way for you and it will bless and impact people, and you'll be thankful for it -- but you wont be obsessed over it. And that is a healthy thing.

So...here are my freethoughts.

--Chris