Weird Wednesday

We had 9 at Shift this past Wednesday as we began a new discussion topic WEIRD. That's being Weird in a God way!

In what ways would you call yourself weird? Talking about being weird for God, we discovered it's hard and that His way is not the common path taken by most people. Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

We discussed what is normal as defined by today's world, and how normal can't really work out for us. Exploring the causes of thinking normal, we uncovered that it is much to do with the environment we put ourselves in, and brought forth those areas where we need to stop thinking the normal way, and start thinking the weird way; for God! Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

What you think determines what you become. We have become so many things other than what we are called by Christ as a result of our thinking. 1 Peter 2:11-12 says, "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

We must commit to God that we will strive to pursue Christ in every area of life so that we focus solely on Him. Such a hard thing to do! How do we break this habit of thinking the normal way? If you think about this, it really shouldn't be that hard to be weird for God. Think of all the times in our days when we conform to the standards of the world! This is frequent and often for me. When I look back on even just the past couple days, I realize all the opportunities I passed up to be weird for Christ!

Pray for us to break the mold of normal thinking this week. Ask Him to reveal how you can be weird for Him, and to have the courage to be it! Great Shift as always! Hope to see you all out there next week as we continue to explore being WEIRD for God!

Sam