Missional Thoughtfulness

Jesus calls us to ABIDE. Abide in His story, abide in His words, abide in His promises, abide in His empowerment, abide in His example, abide in His principles and abide in His mission. These things are so essential to Jesus, they become the faithful things we ABIDE in. When we think about abiding in the mission of Christ, we tend to think of Christianizing the world. It’s easy for us to think the mission of Christ is to rid the earth of addiction, racism, abortion, sexual compromise, greed, poverty, and [along the way] save the planet. Those are cool and good agendas, but there is so much more to ABIDE. There is so much more to MISSION. The mission of Christ is not the establishing of a world religion, it may have parts of that, but Jesus summarized it this way: “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Luke 10:27. His mission very much involves where I am directing my heart, my action, and mind! And as we conclude our series, we'll focus on that last area, the mind. Scripture speaks of being ‘mindful’ in a holy mindful way: David said: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.Isaiah said: “Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace— in peace because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3.Paul said: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” Philippians 2:5 “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”Romans 8:6 “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4–7.Peter said: “Prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13.It’s time to take our minds back to the mission of God, to being mindful of the Mission of Christ in all things and that involves ‘mindfulness’. It’s not just knocking on doors or handing out tracks, but it could involve that. It’s not just serving at the soup kitchen and then heading back to the suburbs with a good feeling, but it could involve that. It’s not just traveling to other regions of the world for a week and building houses… but it could involve that. It begins with the remapping of our minds with His mission. It's involves thinking differently about power. Thinking differently about possessions. Thinking differently about purity. Thinking differently about people. Thinking differently about persecution.It involves us having a mind that sees mission in every experience, not just with our kindness (acting missionally – responding in the moment), but beyond that, with us being thoughtful (thinking missionally – creating future moments and spaces for kindness to happen.)You see, being missionally minded is not just the ‘answer in the moment’, it is the mindfulness and thoughtfulness to create future moments of encounters with God. It's in a conversation at the coffee shop. It's right there as we tuck our little one in with a prayer at night. It's choosing to end a conversation that has turned septic. It's giving more to the needs of someone who just lost their job. It's spending less time celebrating yourself and more time celebrating others. It's seeking righteousness and purity with God in the hidden spaces. It's what Jesus said the world needs, and it's what He's called us to be.Thanks for joining us today! For more information and resources, visit www.crosstownechurch.com or download our free app! Search "Crosstowne" in your app store.