If The Shoe Fits...

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"

II Timothy 3:16

Have you ever found yourself sitting in a church service wondering what does this message have to do with me? Well, I have. I've had those moments where I was totally lost on how to apply the message. Then I have had other moments during a sermon when I had to say to myself if the shoe fits then wear it. 

Eight years ago, after sitting through a gut wrenching shoe fits message, I had an epiphany. I decided that I would attend church services on purpose. Prior to that epiphany, I attended service to feel better, to fellowship, to hear the singing, or to hear whoever was speaking. There were times that I went seeking something from God specifically, but I wouldn't say those times were on purpose. I would say those times were mission focused. I was on a mission to fix whatever was wrong on that day.

But then I had an epiphany. I decided that every single time I attended service the message was going to be just for me. I told my sister and a few friends that if I didn't hear from God every time, there would be no point of going. For many this was a radical thought. I was met with "but what if bishop is not speaking?" And "it might not go right if the praise team is out of town." 

I laughed because they were voicing thoughts that I had at one point entertained myself. However, after my epiphany everything changed. II Timothy 3:16 says that "all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness". This scripture helped me to realize that if I attended a church where the word of God was being preached, every message was going to fit me. Every message was going to have a lesson to teach me. Every message was going to provide an avenue for immediate or future rebuke. And every message was going to train me in the righteous ways of God.

Can you imagine how that changed my experience? It was no longer about lining up God's word to fit my life. It was about seeking to line my life up to fit the word of God. At times the correction has been painful and Lord knows I don't crave being rebuked, but the shoe fits so I have to wear it. 

Adayinthelife :-)