Repurposing your Christian Life

The Repurpose Christian Life I’m known by my co workers as the repurpose guy. I take used things that have no value or is going to be thrown away and repurpose them to something usable. Lights with outdated sockets and bulbs . I rebuilt them so they are usable again. I take wood that is weathered and may be rotting trim off the rotten part and then run it through a planer to clean it up again. Does your Christian life feel like it’s weathered or useless maybe even rotten, like a piece off wood rotting and weathered basically useless in its current state . So the question is what do you do to repurpose , rebuild and renew your Christian life ? Like a piece of wood you need to remove the rotten parts and plain off the weathered part and it will be useful again. First you need to figure out what are the causes of the feelings of being useless or being out of step with who you are in Christ. There can be many Causes , sickness , finances ,lack of Christian influences , lack of study of Gods word, lack of prayer and probably the biggest thing unrepented known sin. The list can go on and on. So what do you do to retore , rebuild , renew and repurpose your Christian life? Eph 4:17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Now this is also translated “therefore” So what is the therefore, it’s the verses prior to this verse. Ephesians 4:9-16 speaks of the unity and maturity in Christ. Not being moved by the false doctrines by human cunning, rather speaking in truth and Love that is in Christ the head of the church. Working with other parts of the body that makes the body grow and it builds its self-up in love. That’s the therefore. Are you living in your own understanding ,something happened that you just don’t understand, and are confused as to why this is happening. Has your heart hardened ? Some say you can’t question God and his motives. I say yes you can yet you need to be willing to except his answer even if it’s not what you want. As Pastor Matt said in a video “Journey into truth” he said basically don’t ask why but ask what are you doing ? Are the things in your life that have hardened your heart because you are tying to deal with it on your own understanding instead of relying on God. Have you asked God the what? Do you search Gods Word to find comfort? Prayed for peace in the circumstances. I’m going to say NO you haven’t. You haven’t truly give over to Gods guidance and are dealing with situations on your own. Here are verse’s that many Christians know but is it practiced. Act 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, Matt 6: 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. If you have sin you need to repent of that sin and turn from it True repentance not just saying the words , to make you feel good but with true desire to serve the Lord in righteousness.. In true repentance your sins are blotted out . The biblical use of blotted out: to obliterate, erase, wipe out, blot out Psa 51:9-10 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Isa 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Act 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, So I think one of the first steps to a repurposed Christian life is to seek true forgiveness .and receive a renewed spirit with in you . Acts 3:20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, Forgiven sin brings refreshing from the Lord, a clean heart ,and a repurposed spirit. True repentance cuts off the rotten wood. I think the mind, your way of thinking needs to change. Jesus told Peter in Matt 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance ( a stumbling block) to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” When our thinking is on the things of man or the world then we are a stumbling block for the work of the Gospel. You may say you’re a Christian but your thinking is not that of God but of man. People see that and may think “ they are no different than me “ so why should I be a Christian. Romans 8:6-7 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. If we don’t repurpose our thinking then we will have spiritual death and are hostile to God. A repurposed mind is life and peace. So we need to repurpose our thinking. Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[fn] {fn}Or what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God In our thinking should always be Gods will not our own. 1Co 2:16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. How do we have the mind of Christ ? Because he calls us friends and has made known to us the things the Father has made known to him. Jhn 15:15 No longer do I call you servants for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Col 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self[ old man ,[ old nature] with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. We need to live in the mindset of Christ . Knowing we have been and are being informed of what the Father( God) has told him (Christ),and that we are being renewed into his image. That we have a new Christ like nature. Repurposing your mind is a constant daily practice. Heb 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Meaning of sanctified: to separate from profane things and dedicate to God consecrate things to God, dedicate people to God, to purify, to cleanse externally, : free from the guilt of sin, to purify internally by renewing of the soul. James 1:2-6 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. To bring this to completion to repurpose your Christian life, cut off the rotten wood ,plain the weathered portions and know that God believes you have value. Trust in the Lord with all your heart soul and mind. He will guide you. He will repurpose your life.