Living to Prove Something

May 21

Written By Sheryle Cruse

Every human being is living proof.

Yes proof.

We are proving out, not what we say, but how we live. Many people say one thing about who they are, and what they believe.

Then they live another way, usually, the polar opposite of what they confess and profess, especially in a church environment.

Like we have something to prove.

Yes, you do have something to prove.

You are currently proving out your life by the way you live.

You say you are married, but you live in adultery.

You say that you are an honest person, yet you cheat on your taxes or skim off the top at work.

We say that we are happy and good people, yet our orphan spirit hurts and is in pain.

It is like becoming comfortable saying,

“I’m good and all is well with my life, yet I die every day in my soul through depression and suicidal thoughts.”

We say one thing and live another.

Paul said in Romans 12:1-2,

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present (prove) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, and do not be conformed (persuaded, or drawn) to this world, but be transformed (changed) by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

You and I are going to prove out what we live, no matter what we say or confess.

It is called fruit bearing. Reaping what we plant.

Can’t stop God’s eternal law of sowing and reaping.

If you plant corn, expect corn. You do not plant potatoes, expecting something else.

It has to do with the seed and the soil.

What is your seed that has sprouted into a full-blown addiction?

Was it abuse that was planted in you and through you by someone who said they loved you?

Are you an alcoholic who is abusive or mean?

You say, “I can quit anytime I want to.”

So, by not quitting, you are proving that you like to hit your family in their faces?”

We are going to prove out, and prove who we really are, no matter what we say, and no matter what others expect from us.

I proved I was an addict and a violent person at age 15-20.

I proved I could not stop.

I proved that I could fight the law, and the law wins every time.

I proved that my words meant nothing.

I was a liar and a thief, and I reaped a harvest of pain, prison time, and insanity.

Why?

Because I was living proof of being a liar. No person around me, back then, could trust me regarding what I said or promised to do.

Thieves steal. I stole.

Addicts shoot Dope. I shot Dope.

Insane people direct traffic late at night in Austin, Texas, high on Meth, and several other drugs, without a badge and a gun.

I was proving that my sin was real, and I could not stop on my own.

So, to every so-called Christian, I ask this.

If you have been transformed by the renewing of your mind, then why are you still depressed?

**Who are you going to blame that one on?**

The devil has nothing to do with your Christianity and the choices you make.

If the devil does, then you are not truly saved.

We are living to prove something.

If you are a Christian, then why can’t you control your anger?

Are you comfortable raising your voice and screaming at your family?

Do you continue in this manner, asking for forgiveness from your spouse and children after the big blow up?

Then, after all the tears of so-called repentance on your part, the next day, or next week, you blow up, like a raging volcano?

I don’t think Paul was incorrect in his statement to the church.

“You must present or prove your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”

It is not acceptable to be a Christian and be filled with rage.

It is not acceptable and your reasonable service to lack self-control with your mouth.

Focusing on your past instead of believing for your future.

Yes, if you and I are a Christian, we are not perfect.

Never will be, but we can’t prove who we really are unless we prove to ourselves first that we are transformed.

If we say we love Jesus Christ and then do all the things that are contrary to His Word, then we are liars, and the Truth is not in us.

Christians should not be depressed, but some are.

Christians should not fight, but we do.

Christians should be faithful in all things, but some flounder and are half-baked in our dedications to Christ and our families.

This is the worst form of being a hypocrite.

Saying one thing and doing another.

This grieves the Holy Spirit, and the worst thing we can do is get comfortable in our rebellion.

Like it does not matter.

Just move on, go to church, and sing with the worship team.

Parrot the words of the hymn or song.

Never intending to live out what we profess.

We will prove out and live out what we really are.

I tell the men in prison when I preach…

“IF you are going to be a convict, then be the best manipulator you can be. If you are going to run things on your cell block, then get all you can and prove you are the best. If you are going to engage in molesting a weaker inmate, then realize that your act in abusing him is not just hurting him. In the very act, you have become a homosexual by default.”

They do not like this truth, but it is the truth.

“So, be the best at your craft. Put as much ink on your flesh as you can. Just make sure you understand that those tattoos of teardrops near your cheek bone, will sag eventually as you get older, and look like acne instead of a symbol of how many men you have killed.”

We are all living to prove something.

There are so many places in scripture instructing the church to behave a Godly way; I do not have room to put them here.

Paul made it clear.

Be transformed.

If you were a maniac before you met Jesus, and then met Jesus and have been born again, you are no longer a maniac.

Prove it by being nice, rather than nasty.

If you were an addict before Christ, stop putting a dirty needle in your veins.

If you were addicted to prescription drugs, stop seeing the doctor and giving excuses for why you continue to need the drugs.

Otherwise, the Jesus, you say you met, has no power to overcome IN you His deliverance and His mercy and His power to transform you.

In essence, you are saying, “He is just not enough for me.”

It is a sad situation for anyone to proclaim Christ as Savior and Lord, and not be recognized by their family, peers, co-workers, and even strangers; and not have any of them say…

“Yes, they have changed. They no longer get drunk. They stopped stealing and cheating. I have seen the PROOF of their transformed lives.”

They are living to prove something.

They once were THIS, and now they are THAT.

Evidence of change.

Proof of transformation and healing.

The fact we say we are Christ followers is not enough.

We need His power to stop saying words that kill our dreams.

We need His power to defeat fears.

We need His Presence in our walk daily, to overcome the temptations and lust of this world.

If our Christianity is only based on going to church on Sundays, then going on Wednesday does not transform you. It only proves you are diligent to play your role around people who look up to you perhaps.

Who are we kidding, and who are we pleasing every day?

Our neighbor? Our spouse? Our employer?

No, we will be Christlike to them, if we put our effort in pleasing the God of our Salvation FIRST and foremost and quit playing the Christian Russian Roulette game.

Put in our tithe this week and spin the wheel of fortune.

Say a little prayer here and there and continue to be an abuser of people.

Wouldn’t it be nice in church if we just fell on our knees at an altar?

Do this regularly and on any given Sunday, or any day we open the doors to the public, and just weep before a Holy God?

This happens in some places.

What would happen if the mainstream church, or the denominational ones, or even the home groups, would put aside their Bible studies, and testimonies and food afterwards, and just pray?

What would happen if we got out of our comfort zones, and got uncomfortable in our sacrifice?

Or in our service to the Lord?

Pray without ceasing means, do not stop until the Lord releases you to stop.

Not the fact your crockpot with the roast that is overdone, takes priority over His presence.

Who decided church had to end at a certain time anyway?

Go figure.

I can imagine Jesus saying…

“I wanted to heal them, and I wanted to fall on all of them and manifest my Presence in their lives, but they were in too big a hurry to go home, or shopping, or eat at Luby’s Cafeteria before the rush of church people show up and eat all the good stuff. They say I am their Lord, but they won’t let me be Lord to them.”

There is nothing wrong or misplaced in serving on a Sunday morning.

Do not misinterpret what this is about.

There is fruit that remains in the children's ministry you are a part of.

There is Salvation in our stories of redemption.

There is hope for the downtrodden when we preach or pray and lay hands on them on Sunday, or Wednesday, or whenever.

I am simply declaring a change in routine.

Every person who is a Christian, and means it, is valuable to the Kingdom of God, in any service we do in the church.

Remain faithful and keep doing what you do, and the Lord will reward you.

It is about living, to prove something.

Look at your life as a Christian and ask yourself several questions.

Am I happy?

Am I free from my past?

Am I filled with His Spirit, and the joy of the Lord is my strength?

Am I faithful to act like, and be like a Christ follower?

If the answer is yes, then you should be able to see the proof of your living.

If you bounce back and forth in sadness, then joy, then you are a doubting man, being tossed to and fro, like a wave of the sea. (James 1: 6-7).

That man, or woman, or child is a doubting person, and God’s Word declares that they will not receive anything from Him because they are double-minded, and unstable in all their ways.

This is not the fullness of His Salvation from the Cross.

If you are like this, then you can be set free.

If you are a mean Christian, then God can set you free from the anger that was deep rooted in your childhood.

You do not need a dose of medication.

You should not just go to church to feel good.

You do not need a dose of temporary peace.

A full dose, and immersion in His Presence, will kill off complacency.

It will destroy the work of the devil.

It will replace your lack of purpose with destiny.

If you and I are going to live to prove something, then let us examine our hearts, and let the Holy Ghost clean out the doubts, fears, anxieties and frustrations of this life.

If you are not saved, then you can be by simply accepting Christ, repenting of your sins, and believing in Him and His finished work on The Cross.