"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." I can not say how thankful I am to God for all that He has given me. There is so much to be thankful for, and yet I find myself on a daily basis becoming discontent with my life circumstances. I have been reminded repeatedly this past month or so of God's grace to me. His grace does not make my life easy, but it gives me an eternal hope.
Last night at Bible study, Tim Willard came and we discussed his article "Mimicking the Mainstream". I can say that it was one of the best, if not the best Bible study I have been to. It was real, down to earth. No hypothetical and lofty questions, but questions that cut right to the core of life. We compared the mega-churches with the high churches and observed how each church movement reacts off of the last. It's not a matter of what church you go to, necessarily, but a question of the reality of your relationship with Christ. Yes, you should try and find a good Bible-believing church, but the church is not your relationship. It's hard not to be reactionary to the super strictness of a high church's legalism or the mega church's faux-finished faith. Our faith is simple, but not easy. We are called to worship God even in His death. Is death an easy thing? No, our relationship with the Lord is a hard and often painful experience. In order to die to self, there is pain involved. The flesh does not die easily. It all comes down to dying to self, not a reaction to a church movement.
As I finish this blog, I wanted to leave a few quotes from the article.
"Making a disciple of Christ takes time. It is hard. It is not something that takes place at a huge conference or outreach event. It is life on life."
"The fruit of discipleship surfaces a few years down the line when those young people in the youth group have graduated and come back to the church not to be entertained but to plug into someone."
"I work witha group of young adults who are thirsty for an authentic Christian experience. They want to grow in their spiritual lives. They desire what Paul desired more than anything: to know God."
"The Christian landscape heaves with shallow people, content to live out their faith in the plush sanctuaries of the American church."
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