Encounters with God: Michael Head

Today's second encounter comes from Michael Head, a youth pastor in Houston.  You can visit Michael's blog (and catch the rest of this series) at http://michaelhead.org  and follow him on Twitter @mycoolhead.  Thanks for being willing to share with us today, Michael!

So many people have a desire to “Encounter God” but the things that slow them down are deadly relationships.  This is 1 in a 4 part series on what is slowing you down…

Too many people are in a relationship that are seriously killing them. I am not just talking about dating or marriage I am talking about relationships, all of them. We have people in our life that do not match what we believe or want. Am I saying that you don't need to hang out with them NO! But if they are bringing you down or causing you to do things that you would not normally do, then yes! If they are causing you to bring up old dark things in your past that you have let go of and given to God, then YES!! That shows that you are not strong enough to shine Christ in those areas. The people you hang out with will define you! Those people say who you are and what you believe in. You have to be wise in your relationships. People will come and say, "I don't know what happened? I am just so different now." I will say, well look at the people you are hanging out with! That is almost always the problem. Don't be the next person who had it all going for them and then over time they have eaten them away to be a totally different person. Then they say, "I just can't leave them, I want to show them Christ." I will say, you haven't done it now and you probably won't later. Let God be God and you back off, you work on you... He has been doing plenty without you since the beginning of time. End deadly relationships now, it will be so worth it!

~ Michael Head