Rants on Issues that MATTER!!!
(to me)Archive for evangelical
.a radical life.
Maybe you grew up in a church that was like the one that I grew up in. Maybe you knew or know a Christian that went to a church like the one that I grew up in. People came on Sunday and most on Wednesday, some even to a Bible study on another day. Here is the thing, most of them if you would have seen them outside of church, you might never have known that they were a follower of Jesus. The thing about that church is that Christianity was taught as something that you lived when you were at church and that was it. Maybe you have come across Christians like that or have experienced church in that way. The truth is, that is not what being a follower Jesus is at all.
Truly being a follower of Jesus is something totally different. If one reads through the Bible to see what it looks like to follow Jesus, they would find out that following Jesus is something that requires one to give up their life. The big myth in Christianity is that we can live the way we want to 6 days a week and then once a week we come to church and get fixed and then go back out and live another 6 days for ourselves. When a person truly declares that “Jesus is Lord” then their life will be changed. Now this doesn’t mean that followers of Jesus will be perfect, yet they will be different, be changed, and live their life serving Jesus. You see, following Jesus involves giving up what we want for what Jesus wants us to do. It includes but is not limited to where we live, how we spend our money, how we do our job, how we treat people that we meet, telling people about Jesus even though they might think that we are crazy, it includes how we use our time, it includes who we hang out with and so much more. It also means that we want to learn more about Jesus, we read the Bible, pray, fast, go to church, we live our lives with other Christians to help us grow, and ultimately we strive to live all of life for the glory of Jesus. This is what being a follower of Jesus is about.
This is a radical idea, isn’t it? The truth this is what is going to change the world. Jesus didn’t call us to a life that doesn’t have meaning, rather he came to offer life, true life. I wonder what the majority of people who go to church are going to choose, a fake and unsatisfying version of Christianity or the real thing of following Jesus.
.the better way.
So I guess that post title is not completely accurate- it should in fact read the ‘the best way’… or better yet ‘the only way’. One might be thinking “The only way, for what…?” Well let me tell you. The only way to live.
For the past 50 years many in Christianity have told and believed many things about the way to live- from the staunch fundamental and legalistic Christians to the Emergent Christians and the ones in between them. For the most part they have all lied and really are founded in moralism. Now the good news is that there are some churches out there that get the ‘only way’. There have many people who have covered this topic and I have talked about this in previous posts. My point here is not to belabor the wrong message that has been proclaimed, rather it is to say there is a better way and really there is only one way.
Are you ready for it?
It is to live for the glory of God in all things. How can we do this one may ask? My the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. We will never truly have life unless we life for the glory of Jesus- our sole purpose in life is to glorify Jesus with every aspect of our lives. The thing is we can not do this on our own. By our own accord we are completely separated from God and therefore can not live to glorify Him. It is only when we are reconciled to Jesus by His grace that we are able to truly live.
This message is for everyone, myself included. If you are not a Christian this message is for you. If you grew up in a fundamental legalistic church, an emergent church, a pentecostal church, a baptist church, a reformed church, or some other religion this message is for you.
The only way to live is to live for the glory of God and we can only do that through Jesus.
So as one beggar to another… I found the source of life, come and see Christ Jesus.
.human will?.
“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:15-16)
How often have we tried to be better people?
How often have we failed at being better people?
How often have we heard a sermon about being a better person?
How often have we as teachers of the Bible taught people how to be a better person?
How often is the answer Jesus?
I ask these questions because in my life I have tried to become a “better” person. I have tried to be a person that is more like what I read about in the Bible. I have heard so many sermons, it doesn’t matter from what kind of church, about being a better person. Not often was Jesus the answer from conservative churches to emergent churches the answer was the same, human will and strength.
When I look back on some of the lessons I taught, they were about doing things. Doing things under our own effort. Some were about relying on Jesus for the power and guidance to change and be transformed. However not as much as I would like. I only hope that the ones about relying totally on Christ Jesus sunk in. So I hope when I am in a teaching position again the message that the students hear is Jesus, Jesus and Jesus. I want to be a one song band.
So have you found a place where Jesus is the hero?
Have you found a place where you are taught to seek Jesus?
Have you found a place where you are taught to rely on Jesus?
Have you found a place where Jesus is the answer?
I have and I plan on someday soon being that place for students. A place where they can come and fall more in love with Jesus and learn to humbly follow and rely on Him. I hope that we all learn and live out that Jesus is Lord and Savior.
