my kick in the pants

i've been reading "kisses from katie" and it's messed me up. i know, i know... i'm the girl whose life is changed by every other book she reads. but it's true. i feel that God is telling me the same thing He's been telling me, each time going deeper, probing at what it means to live like Him. to live to share Him with others.

i want to know how to live it out. practically. and not the "practically" that says, "well i live in america and there's nothing i can do about being blessed so i'll share a little and give a little and go on about my merry way." i mean really live it out. have it cost me something.

who am i called to care for? to witness to? to share Christ with and sacrifice for? i've been looking to God's Word because i want to live this life He's given me the best i can...by His strength and with His guidance.

i'm a practical gal. so i'm looking into the who and where. -not to check off a box, but to live as Jesus lived.

acts 1:8
"you shall be my witnesses both in jerusalem, in all judea and samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

and then you read all throughout the Bible about who we are to care for...a few are:
orphans
widows
your neighbor
aliens/strangers
"one another" --the church body
the poor
the imprisoned

i think it could be easy to segregate the two...
the witness vs. the care
the evangelism vs. the meeting of tangible needs

but they go together.

i will be His witness by living out the Good News while cooking a meal for a widow, while loving an orphan, while visiting an alien, while serving the poor, imprisoned, the least of these.

the truth is we ARE witnesses. we live out what we believe. that's kinda scary, isn't it? i know i struggle with living it out consistently, in the daily grind. sometimes (a lot of the time, most of the time) my sinful self creeps out for all the world to see and i think to myself, "that wasn't a very good witness." it overflows from inside me. i am thankful to God that He is doesn't give up on me in my weakness.
so what kind of witness will i be? will i be one that lives out a faith of radical obedience to the gracious God who rescued and redeemed my soul? i want to be about my Father's business. i want to care for those He cares for. i want to serve with my whole life. i want to do without so that we might give of what we have in a way that changes a person's life. and can i do that alone? absolutely not. me giving stuff up is nice and all but it's pointless if it doesn't point to Christ. if it's not because of Him, it's just moral and kind. if it's for His glory, it carries eternal weight. the kind of weight that can change lives, souls.

i pray that God will show me who to witness to in my jerusalem (where i live), judea (area surrounding us), samaria (area that represents a different culture/attitude than my own, maybe even antagonistic toward Christians), and the ends of the earth.
may we remember we are His. may we be used in a mighty way for His purposes and be about our Father's business.