INSIDE-OUT FAITH - When religious activities become the driving force of our faith, our relationship with Jesus gets pushed to the back burner - we close our ears and our hearts to the strength, guidance, and encouragement of Jesus - we end up taking on too much under our own power - Is your faith inside-out? If it is, you may not even be aware of it. “Inside-out faith” happens when the doing of our faith eclipses the being connected to Jesus. It’s religion over relationship. It’s faith the way the world would do it. Packed full with stuff – works, activities, committees, and to-do lists. The New Testament sisters Martha and Mary are perfect examples of inside-out and right-side-out faith. When Jesus came to the sisters’ home for a visit, Mary sat at His feet soaking up His teaching. But Martha, who frantically ran around hostessing, complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping. I can just imagine the kindness in Jesus’ response. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” Martha was “distracted”. She was “too busy, over-occupied, drawn away.” Martha wasn’t doing anything “bad.” She had simply allowed too many good things to crowd out the best. She missed sitting in the presence of God Himself. Sadly, many of us fall victim to inside-out faith. We fill our lives with too many good things, leaving no room, for the better thing, the best thing.

 

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Inside-Out Faith

3 Consequences of Inside-Out Faith

When religious activities become the driving force of our faith, our relationship with Jesus gets pushed to the back burner - we close our ears and our hearts to the strength, guidance, and encouragement of Jesus - we end up taking on too much under our own power

by Kathy Howard

 

Is your faith inside-out?

If it is, you may not even be aware of it.

“Inside-out faith” happens when the doing of our faith eclipses the being connected to Jesus.

It’s religion over relationship.

It’s faith the way the world would do it. Packed full with stuff – works, activities, committees, and to-do lists.

The New Testament sisters Martha and Mary are perfect examples of inside-out and right-side-out faith (Luke 10:38-42).

When Jesus came to the sisters’ home for a visit, Mary sat at His feet soaking up His teaching.

But Martha, who frantically ran around hostessing, complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping.

I can just imagine the kindness in Jesus’ response. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).

Martha was “distracted” (Luke 10:40).

She was “too busy, over-occupied, drawn away.”

Martha wasn’t doing anything “bad.”

She had simply allowed too many good things to crowd out the best. She missed sitting in the presence of God Himself.

Sadly, many of us fall victim to inside-out faith. We fill our lives with too many good things, leaving no room, for the better thing, the best thing.

We put the religious motions of our faith over the relationship with the Object of our faith. And the consequences can be profound.

3 Consequences of Inside-Out Faith

1.  Legalism – When the activities and work of faith overshadow the point of our faith, we lose our joy! And when “serving” drives our behavior and attitude we also become critical of others. That’s exactly what happened to Martha.

2.  Busyness – Our culture perpetuates the false idea that a full calendar somehow defines our value, who we are. But when our calendars rule our lives, our families, our health, and all our relationships pay the price. The worst result is that often we are too busy for God’s purposes and plans for us.

3.  Burn out – A serious commitment to church can hinder your faith! When religious activities become the driving force of our faith, our relationship with Jesus gets pushed to the back burner. We close our ears and our hearts to the strength, guidance, and encouragement of Jesus. We end up taking on too much under our own power.

None of us purposefully choose this kind of faith.

Sometimes it’s all we’ve known. Sometimes, we slowly slip into it.

However it happened, it doesn’t have to be this way!

Kathy has been teaching the Bible since she fell in love with God’s Word almost 30 years ago. She speaks regularly at women’s retreats and events across the United States and internationally. The author of eight books, including five Bible studies, Kathy writes to have something to do while she eats chocolate and drinks coffee. She has a Masters in Christian Education and a certificate in women’s ministry from the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary.In recent years, God has been teaching Kathy more about His abundant grace. Through her own relationships and life experiences, she is learning to extend the grace God has so lavishly poured out on her own life.On a personal level, Kathy calls herself a “confused southerner.” Raised in Louisiana, she has moved with her engineer husband around the U.S. and Canada. She says “pop” instead of “Coke” and “you guys” as often as “ya’ll.” But she’s still a southern girl at heart!Kathy and her husband now live in north Texas. They have three children, two sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, four precious grandsons, and one tiny diva granddaughter. When the family gets together there are also five dogs in the mix.(Download Kathy’s One-Sheet for more information.)

https://www.kathyhoward.org/3-consequences-of-inside-out-faith/

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BURN OUT - Long periods of overexertion and stress can cause constant fatigue, headaches, sleeplessness, gastrointestinal problems, tenseness, a feeling of being tied in knots, and an inability to relax. Some other signals of “burnout” are crying, being easily angered, negativity, irritability, depression, cynicism (scornful, mocking of the virtues of others), and bitterness toward others’ blessings and even their good health. “Burnout” can cause us to not exercise self-control, and when this happens, we will no longer produce good fruit in our daily lives. “Burnout” steals our joy, making peace impossible to find. When our bodies are not at peace, everything seems to be in turmoil. God established the law of resting on the Sabbath to prevent “burnout” in our lives. The law of the Sabbath simply says we can work six days, and rest one day. We need to rest and worship and play.

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You Don’t Have to Burn Out

Joyce Meyer

“I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” — Psalm 91:2

Are you excessively tired all the time, and even after sleeping, do you wake up feeling tired all over again?

You may be experiencing some of the symptoms of exhaustion, or what is commonly called “burnout.”

Long periods of overexertion and stress can cause constant fatigue, headaches, sleeplessness, gastrointestinal problems, tenseness, a feeling of being tied in knots, and an inability to relax.

Some other signals of “burnout” are crying, being easily angered, negativity, irritability, depression, cynicism (scornful, mocking of the virtues of others), and bitterness toward others’ blessings and even their good health.

“Burnout” can cause us to not exercise self-control, and when this happens, we will no longer produce good fruit in our daily lives.

“Burnout” steals our joy, making peace impossible to find. When our bodies are not at peace, everything seems to be in turmoil.

God established the law of resting on the Sabbath to prevent “burnout” in our lives.

The law of the Sabbath simply says we can work six days, and rest one day. We need to rest and worship and play.

Even God rested after six days of work. He, of course, never gets tired, but gave us this example so we would follow the pattern.

In Exodus 23:10–12, we find that even the land had to rest after six years, and the Israelites were not to plant in it the seventh year.

During this rest, everything recovered and prepared for future production.

Today in America, almost every business is open seven days a week. Some of them are even open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

When we make ourselves available at all times, we are in danger of “burnout.”

People today are quick to argue that they cannot afford to take a day off, but I say they cannot afford not to.

Some people feel guilty anytime they try to rest, but that guilty feeling is not from God.

God wants us to live balanced lives, and if we don’t, we open a door for Satan to bring some kind of destruction (see 1 Peter 5:8).

Trust God that your resting time is just as valuable as your working time.

Prayer Starter: Lord, thank You for the examples You have given us in Your Word about rest.

I ask for Your help to live a truly balanced life and do whatever it takes to have the proper time to relax and recharge.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Dave and Joyce Meyer, who’ve been in ministry for more than 40 years, founded Joyce Meyer Ministries in 1987 as a Christian, non-profit organization that is financially supported by the contributions of its friends and partners.
They have been married for 50 years, have four grown children that all play vital roles in various areas of the ministry and reside in the St. Louis area. As a family, and as a ministry, they are committed to the simple yet powerful message of sharing Christ and loving people.

https://dailydevotionalng.com/2018/12/27/joyce-meyer-devotional-27-december-2018-you-dont-have-to-burn-out/