SO WHAT IN THE WORLD IS LIVING DEAD?
Here's what the bible says about it:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have DIED WITH CHRIST, we believe that we will also LIVE WITH HIM. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE TO GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.-Romans 6:5-11
I have been crucified with Christ. It is NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, but CHRIST WHO LIVES IN ME. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
-Galatians 2:20
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
John 12:24
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
-Luke 9:23
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
-1 Peter 4:1-2
...and LOTS more.
Here's what the journal says about it:
We committed to taking the church where it does not exist; to making Christ known to people groups who don’t have an opportunity to know him. Live dead is more than a strategy it is a bridge to practically make a difference in the statistic that 40% of the world lives without access to Christ. We believe that we can make a difference; we believe that we must make a difference.Live Dead is a re-dedication to pioneering whatever the cost.
Live Dead realizes that the places today where the Church does not exist are harsh, fierce, lonely and demanding; yet we still must go there.
Live Dead is a commitment to evangelism and church planting among unreached peoples in community through teams.
Live Dead acknowledges that if unreached peoples are going to embrace Jesus as Lord, we must die to our selfish passions and small dreams and live joyfully surrendered to the will, plan and means of our Missionary God.
Living dead is a call to joy, a call to life, a call of hope.
Living Dead means listening to the Spirit calling us to “take up our cross” for the sake of those who don’t know what the cross is or what it stands for.
Living Dead means listening to the example of those who have gone before us, men and women like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, “When God calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
Living Dead means listening to the cry of those in spiritual death. They call to us: “We will live, if you will die.”
Here's what I say about it:
This world puts CONSTANT pressure on us to look inward to be satisfied. "You can do it!" "Go you!" "Be yourself and you'll get ahead in life"....etc. And, even beyond that I think it's our natural tendency to look to ourselves and to other people to somehow bring us joy. In my life, I feel as if I get stuck in this. It's like the feeling I get when I'm claustrophobic in an elevator. I hate how stuck I feel but the way out seems so hard to find. I can't breathe. I feel trapped. This world is dark, God is light. I have Christ in me. I am a light. However, often in my faith I feel like my back is turned on God and for some reason I wonder why all I see is darkness. I wonder why I don't feel God's presence...why He would leave me. This hurts God. Sometimes I picture myself walking away from God, and occasionally peaking over my shoulder to get a glimpse of Him. Such as, during worship, prayer, reading my bible, hearing a great sermon.... I look over my shoulder and see how amazing He is and I am completely in awe, but next thing I know I'm back to looking to anything else to satisfy me. To live dead, for me, means to turn around, face God, and walk in His love consistently. It means dying to my selfish desires, turning my back on that life and RUNNING towards Him. When we run toward God, we don't see what's in our own selfish sinful hearts, but what is on His heart. We WANT to spend time with Him, tell others about Him, and have His heart for the world. When we accepted Christ, we died to ourselves, and Christ began to live in us. My prayer, is that we live as if this is true. 40% of the world is unreached. THAT is on God's heart. That should be our heart. We need to PRAY for these people. We need to GO to these people. Amen?Yes, this is what I think about at work. We have one life to shed as much light as we can. Let's shed it.
I love this quote that I found in the journal.
