Christianity

I want to start out with a few selections from the book we are reading this summer by one of my all-time favorite pastors David Platt. It's called Radical and it's basically in pursuit of taking back the Christian faith from the American Dream. It explores the ways in which our American culture creates idealogies within us that are enemy to God. Some things are really hard to accept because they are so foreign to the way I think, but the more I study scripture, the less my lifestyle seems to line up. This book has been helpful in pointing out the areas in my life that disprove my love for God.

"The first [question] was simple. Was I going to believe Jesus? Was I going to embrace Jesus even though he said radical things that drove crowds away? The second question was more challenging. Was I going to obey Jesus? My biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus' words and walk away, content, to settle for less than radical obedience to Him."

"If Jesus is who he said he is, and if his promises are as rewarding as the Bible claims they are, then we may discover that satisfaction in our lives and success in the church are not found in what our culture deems most important but in radical abandonment to Jesus."

"Ultimately, Jesus was calling them [the disciples] to abandon themselves. They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation. In a world that prizes promoting oneself, they were following a teacher who told them to crucify themselves. And history tells us the result. Almost all of them would lose their lives because they responded to his invitation."

"We are afraid that if we stop and really look at the God in his word, we might discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give him"

"...we are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream. But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves."

That last one especially kicks my butt. In examining my motives and the depth in which I follow Christ, I have to wonder how much of this is true for me. The more I dive into the Word the more I feel that the Jesus I serve looks less like the Jesus from the Bible and more like me. Am I a devoutly seeking the God of the Bible or too afraid to because of what He may call me to give up? I think about all the justification that takes place in my heart every time I feel God calling me to surrender an idol in my life. Jesus + ____ = satisfaction? I long for the day that I don't fill in that blank. We learned today in our rally that we are innately rebellious from birth because of the fall of man. Thus, it is my curse to fill in the blank. I long to look more like God. I fear that means changing almost everything about myself. But I really feel the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart strings to pursue something more radical than what I know. To give up the idealogies the world would have me believe and follow and seek out God's will for my life. The biggest of these so far have been marriage and money. Oddly enough between the two of these, marriage was the easy one. God truly changed my heart and made it my desire to pursue a life of singleness. The money thing I'm still struggling to be faithful. He really wants me to trust Him in that area. and I really want to.