God Bless America and God Bless Ben Stein.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Reflection
A milestone has been reached. We get so few as adults, so it is nice when they happen. Paradox, the church Ruth and I have dedicated our time and money to, has reached its first birthday. It was a success, not only in numbers but we as a church had accomplished some of what we sought to do. So with the celebration still fresh on my mind I took the opportunity to reflect upon where my family and I were, not only spiritually, but emotionally, and relationally as well.
This past year has been a blessing, I am not going to ignore the hard times, we have had plenty. But our relationship, between Ruth and I, has grown stronger. We have have grown closer to God, and Kirsten is starting to learn who God is. My personal journey has me looking more deeply at this God/man we call Jesus. I am studying not only Jesus and his teachings but the culture in which he chose to live in. In my opinion, we can not know what Jesus is truly saying at times if we do not know who he was speaking to. I grew up in a church where I was told what to believe, and that it was ok to just come on Sundays and Wednesdays, get lectured to and go home with warm fuzzy feelings. I was also told that if I ran into hard times it was because I did something wrong and God was punishing me. What a crock of bull. Jesus told his disciples, including you and me, to follow him, but where did Christ go? To the cross. To his death. What makes us think that if we follow him we will not face the same. Every disciple met some grisly end. When Jesus predicted Peter's death he didn't want to accept it. As with most churches, that is too much, God is asking too much. I do my time. I witness. I sing in the choir. I read my Bible. Is that not enough. No. That is not what Jesus has called for us.
There is a movement, it has been around for a very long time, and not to many people walk it. Some call it the "Barbarian Way," others, "The Third Way." I call it simply "Jesus' Way." My trials exist cause I choose to walk this path. No more will I or my family sit in a pew and thank God for our "Fire Insurance" and go home feeling everything is good. To call myself a Christian yet not do what Jesus taught or said to do. Nor will you ever see me judge someone for their lifestyle or choices. We are here to serve, to love God, to love people. To walk the narrow path, the road less traveled.
God is moving and I am following as closely as I possibly can.
This past year has been a blessing, I am not going to ignore the hard times, we have had plenty. But our relationship, between Ruth and I, has grown stronger. We have have grown closer to God, and Kirsten is starting to learn who God is. My personal journey has me looking more deeply at this God/man we call Jesus. I am studying not only Jesus and his teachings but the culture in which he chose to live in. In my opinion, we can not know what Jesus is truly saying at times if we do not know who he was speaking to. I grew up in a church where I was told what to believe, and that it was ok to just come on Sundays and Wednesdays, get lectured to and go home with warm fuzzy feelings. I was also told that if I ran into hard times it was because I did something wrong and God was punishing me. What a crock of bull. Jesus told his disciples, including you and me, to follow him, but where did Christ go? To the cross. To his death. What makes us think that if we follow him we will not face the same. Every disciple met some grisly end. When Jesus predicted Peter's death he didn't want to accept it. As with most churches, that is too much, God is asking too much. I do my time. I witness. I sing in the choir. I read my Bible. Is that not enough. No. That is not what Jesus has called for us.
There is a movement, it has been around for a very long time, and not to many people walk it. Some call it the "Barbarian Way," others, "The Third Way." I call it simply "Jesus' Way." My trials exist cause I choose to walk this path. No more will I or my family sit in a pew and thank God for our "Fire Insurance" and go home feeling everything is good. To call myself a Christian yet not do what Jesus taught or said to do. Nor will you ever see me judge someone for their lifestyle or choices. We are here to serve, to love God, to love people. To walk the narrow path, the road less traveled.
God is moving and I am following as closely as I possibly can.
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