We are running with Kenny's thought this week, there is no where to hide! 

The Poser attaches importance where there is none and puts glitter on what's least substantial to distract us from what's real and true. He feeds us reasons for not doing the right thing and a million excuses when we do wrong. If we believe The Poser's lies, it's just a matter of time till we can no longer remember the truth about our own hollowness. As John put it: "If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense(bullcrap)."

One of my most epic battles in life is the battle for me! I have been the biggest liar to myself, and have convinced ME of a lot of things that weren't true. I struggled a lot in my college days with failure, and I was convinced back then that I couldn't do much. My reaction to all that dishonesty and failure was that, I never lived for today, I was always in the mode of some other time and space, sort of like a black hole. The battle for my soul was being won by sin, because I didn't live my life one day at a time. I was the Poser of Posers!

Rachel's question: "Sometimes it just seems like being a poser is not something that we are able to overcome. I know I am always going to sin and fall short. But does that mean I will forever be a poser?"

What do you think? Is there hope? We talked some about grace last week, and hopefully you looked in to the story of the Prodigal Son. Do you have some days where you fall in that pit, do unspeakable things, and feel like a fake? Depressed yet? Know that the battle for your soul is raging right now, and you may read this and say, big deal. I pray, and so should you, that you listen to only one voice, His!

To get in to a discussion about being a poser, one must also talk about grace. Let me illustrate that with this quote -
"Instead of being stunned by the extravagance of God's love, many days I just expect it. In place of heartfelt gratitude for the sheer, unearned abundance of God's gifts, I'm often gripped by an arrogant satisfaction in my accomplishments and the false security of spiritual superiority." Brennan Manning

Nothing matters, but God. Without Him, there is no love, and there is no us, because nothing matters if there is no God. So if you are convinced, that He is real, then you must also be convinced that your life is not your own. We are posers, because we think we deserve God and all His goodness, and we move on trying to look good at being the 'blessed'. Posers are the one's God despises, because we try to look like the very thing God created us not to be, unhumble nonservants.

Revelation 3:16 But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth.

be Rare

Andy

Since we didn't really get in to anything last night, I thought I would post some things that we could start digging in to.

Does everyone know what a Poser is? It's basically someone who pretends to be something they are not. (all the time!) Do you know any poser Christians out there? Those who are trying to look and sound like faithful followers, but you know that that isn't who they really are?

Well like a lot of our discussions in the past, we have been looking outward at things that bother us about Christianity, the Church, and even more so Church people. This is NOT going to be one of those discussions! When I ask the question 'Do you know any poser Christians out there?' Your answer should be yes, ME! We are in a constant battle for who we really are, who God created us to be, and we let pride, habitual sin, envy, the kitchen sink push us farther away from who we really are. We all have a fake self that the world gets to see more than the real. The reason we show our fake selves is because we want people to like us.

I will stop there, but this is where you start. What are your Poser thoughts? Do you agree? Would you like to put in your 2 cents?

The U.S. two dollar bill ($2) is a denomination of U.S. currency. The two dollar banknote is still one of the least-common denominations of U.S. currency. Because of its rarity, Americans remain remarkably superstitious about spending it, which further decreases its circulation. It is in fact so rare that cash registers and other money-handling machinery (such as vending machines) do not accommodate it at all. Many Americans have never held or spent one.

What we are trying to do on Thurday nights, is to be uncommon as the $2 dollar bill. Many of our peers are looking for something authentic, and we want to offer them something real, and let them know that the grace of our Heavenly Father is cheap,(cheaper than $2 dollars) it is free. We want to put superstitions to rest, and increase the circulation of sold out warriors.

It is rare, to come across a $2 dollar bill, but it is even more rare to find a true disciple of Christ. Are you looking for something real? You've heard of this God, but you just don't know, don't understand, don't have the time, don't want to go there(again!?) Are you tired of people being something that they are not! So is God, but He still wants to hear from you, He still wants your heart, and He knows you aren't perfect.

Join us on Thurday nights, 6PM for a $2dollar Bible Study