Try Jesus

__________________________________________________
......if you don't like Him the devil will always take you back!

We've probably all seen the bumper sticker. I saw it again the other dayand, for some reason, this time it almost offended me. I was so frustrated at its message that I almost got out at stop light and conversed with the driver of the car about it. The attitude of many Christians simply bothers me.

Obviously if a person has a bumper sticker like this they consider themself a 'Christian'. Also, this is probably considered by them to be 'witnessing', and that is why I'm so angry at the whole situation. It's not consistent with the scriptures. Maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe the first time it was ever stated it wasn't stated with intention of being contrary to scripture. Maybe it was even 'cute' and 'catchy' to those who initially heard it. However, we cannot use principles which are inconsistent with scripture to further the kingdom of God. Can we?

Try Jesus. Where does this thought come from? I find quite the opposite message in scripture. I don't find a casual approach to the Savior taught. I find things like Luke 14:28-33 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be my disciples who does not give up all his possessions.

That doesn't sound like a 'give it a try what do you have to lose attitude', does it? Rather, it sounds like an intentional, pre-consideration realizing that once committed its all or nothing. Jesus hasn't called us to 'give him a try'. He's called us to radical discipleship. No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God, He said (John 9:62) Try Jesus? Hardly the message of scripture.
Our churches are full of people who are trying Jesus, and our collective witness is weak because of it. We have been called, challenged, commanded to 'Follow Me'. That means 'forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. If we aren't 'sold out', completely convinced, radical in our 'following' Christ, never will we 'witness' with any power.

So, Try Jesus.....if that's all you're doing, the devil still has you. __________________________________________________

General Update

__________________________________________________
I read the book of Nahum this morning. As I was reading there were two phrases that jumped out at me. Before I give you the phrases, let me remind you of the setting of the book of Nahum. Nahum is written about/to Nineveh. Nahum is full of warning, judgement and destruction. However, in the midst of all that God's goodness and favor are still seen. Nahum 1:7 says, The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him. Grace. Favor. Mercy. Nahum 2:2 says For the Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, even though the devastators have devastated them... Grace. Favor. Mercy. _________________________
We went to Mechanicsburg Christian Fellowship yesterday. The service was uniquely interesting. I have never experienced a 'collective worship' service like it before. Early in the service the Spirit prompted different ones to openly confess sin issues in their life. As this happened others spoke truth and life to the issue while still others prayed. We sang, we danced, we cried, we laughed, we prayed, we worshipped, we clapped, we shouted, we wept, we experienced God's body drawing closer to one another through Him.
_________________________
Greenville Fellowship had a vision meeting Friday night. Where there is no vision the people perish, and since we don't desire that we came together to again state our vision. The format was more of an open forum. Each person present was given opportunity to share their 'vision'. There was much discussion on celebrating and embracing diversity. Diversity of gifts. Diversity of talents. Diversity of style. Diversity of presentation. Diversity of personality. Diversity of conviction. Diversity of preference. However, as acculturated American anabaptists, I'm afraid (for us) it's easier said than done. As I stated on Rich's site, 'I think it's possible to mistake the ability to articulate a 'vision' for the ability to perform it. Once articulated, a vision must be prayerfully and humbly pursued. NEVER should we rest simply because of our ability to describe a vision in human terms.' Another thought I had during our discussion Friday evening (and Brian eluded to it, but never specifically stated it), 'we absolutely MUST arrest any critical spirit within our hearts if we have any hope of enjoying the blessing of diversity'.
_________________________
I can't decide whether God is trying to 'shake up' my dogma (as one brother suggested) or if the devil is trying to hi-jack God's work. Last Thursday nite I began a series on the parables of Jesus at NCCF. The intent was to record each message and make them available through the chapel so those who missed some of them could stay sequentially with the text. After the service we discovered that the recording was empty. 52 minutes of.......................nothing. So we go Saturday with intentions to move to parable #2 and hopes of capturing a recording this time. Saturday we discover that the problem Thursday nite was the mic jack in the new recorder is broken. Also Saturday, we lose over 1/2 of our service time because of an unscheduled 'housing move' and the subsequent security count. This left me in a bit of a lurch. Since I didn't feel like I had time to give the next parable sufficient examination, and due to the recorder issues, I reached way back into the archives and preached a message entitled, 'Will The Worshippers Arise', with a basic call to genuinity of Christian experience. The 22 (as opposed to 122) men who showed up responded favorably.

I suppose I'm just learning what it means to relinquish control to the One who IS in control.
__________________________________________________

It's Me, O Lord....Standin In The Need of Prayer

__________________________________________________
I am saved by grace, apart from works. I am born-again. I am a child of God. I am 'in the kingdom'. I am saved forever because Jesus lives and is making intercession on my behalf. No one can pluck me out of His hand.

I am spiritually arrogant.

Since all of the above quoted verses are true, I find my flesh becoming bolder and bolder in its cries for attention. What does it matter? Oh, sure, I shouldn't 'continue in sin so that grace can be seen in abundance' but grace will abound if need be.

Simply put, I have become calloused toward the depraved, sinful nature of my heart.

I beg each of you to pray that God will, by His Spirit, break my heart over the exceeding sinfulness of my own heart.
__________________________________________________

Attn: Church

__________________________________________________
I ran across this post in another blog. I think it's our wake-up call. Remember what Nathan told David after his sin with Bathsheba? Wake up, church, sure we're 'saved by grace apart from works', but our neighbors/friends/acquaintances/co-workers/enemies are watching how we live. They are looking for a 'religion' which will positively affect those areas in their life in which they recognize genuine struggles. Read.

How I Stopped Being a Christian
from tolerance_for_all

I was raised a Christian and up until the age of 15 was definitely a strong believer. Church, youth group, mission trips, you name it, I was there. My youth pastor, a man I'll call Jeff, was a trusted mentor and someone that really gave me a lot of my ideas and beliefs about God and following Jesus.
Imagine how surprised I was when I get a phone call saying that Jeff had resigned and was being investigated by the FBI. It turns out that pastor had been involved in recieving and distributing child porn for a long time. As you can imagine, all my ideas about Christianity were sort of blown out of the water. How can I follow the teachings of a man who can't practice what he preaches? At that point, I didn't turn my back on God but I did decide I needed to step away from the church. After having someone else tell me what to believe my whole life, it was time for me to start figuring it out for myself.
During the following years, I went to church occasionally and had nothing against those that did, but I knew that I really needed to find my own faith. I needed to question to be able to grow. So upon entering college, I did not join a church. The hypocrisy and intolerance were things I really didn't want to be around, and I saw no problem with taking a little time to do some soul-searching.
Well, I met a Christian boy at school, and even though I consider myself agnostic I didn't think it mattered. Let me just say that I do not drink, I do not do drugs, I do not sleep around, and I am headed toward medical school so that I can become involved in Doctors Without Borders. He, on the other hand, drank, smoked pot, and was with many girls. But he informed me, often, that I was headed straight for Hell.
When I saw that those who I was learning from weren't exactly taking me down a path that made sense, I started to study things for myself. I studied the Bible in depth, as well as the Koran and Torah, and I am still learning. So these inconsistent men didn't necessarily drive me away from Christianity, but they did cause me to take a deeper look, and I didn't like what I found.
You can question how strong my faith was in the first place since I fell away, but I can honestly say that I hope to never have a "strong" enough faith that I continue to blindly follow, even when things are clearly not as they should be.
So those were the two main situations that made me step back and say 'Wait a second, this religion isn't making a whole lot of sense'. I think that too often, people use religion as a reason to persecute other people and preach lives they aren't living. I don't want to be told that I need church in my life, or told what to believe - nobody has the moral authority to decide what is right for anyone else. Maybe, just maybe, it's time for the Christians to step back, and examine how they are living their lives before they condemn someone else.
__________________________________________________