Did you hang around Jesus today?

"...live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." 1 Peter 1:17

So I've started reading a new book "Culture Shift" and today's scripture fits perfect with something that God is chipping away at in my own life. But first today's reading. Twice in chapter 1 God's elect, His children, those of Kingdom culture are called "strangers" Strangers don't fit in, they stick out and that's exactly how Christ is calling us to live.

God has been dealing with me on how I have conformed to a culture of busyness, performance driven and anxiousness. It's easy to take on what is around you, but God is calling me to a whole different way of life. God is not calling me to conform to the culture around me but to change the culture around me. "God's kingdom, set's the agenda for my whole life" and I will never know that agenda if I miss my time with Him. I think this is why so many Christians and churches struggle. We are present in the world but the culture of Christ is absent. Why? Because we haven't been culturized by Christ. The team and I were part of an incredible weekend where I believe we received a spiritual u-turn on how we were living life and doing ministry. So last night I sent out a text saying : For the next 21 days we need to keep each other accountable with journaling, we can't make lame excuses anymore. It's not about a performance thing as much as it is a position thing "positioning yourself to hear Jesus daily" When you are culturized by Christ daily you will be a leader, an influencer, and will affect the culture around you. On Monday the team attended a leadership meeting with New Hope, there was so much info that it was difficult to process everything but the question that I asked is "where do we start" We realized where we have been missing things, what needed to be done, but where do we start. The answer was all the same it's starts with yourself. So the question that will be asked for the next 21 days is a question of accountability, of challenge, of expectation, it will be sent in e-mails, text, twitter, verbally, anyway we can get it across and keep each other accountable. "Did you hang around Jesus today?" (this includes, prayer and worship) We are on a hunt, on a mandate, on a mission, to position our lives to hear from God daily, so we can be positioned for a huge dream. To change the culture at church, our jobs, school, anywhere we walk. Let's see what happens in 21 days, what does our life look like, families look like, what does our job, our relationships, what does our ministry, our church look like if we just focus on the agenda of God and kingdom culture. What does my life look like if I just have genuine, whole hearted, authentic pursuit for a relationship with Christ the way I was created to have the way it's supposed to be? Did you hang around Jesus today?

Lord I pray for a radical shift in my life, my family, my team, my ministry, in all of my life prepare me to change the culture around me but start with me first... Amen