Freedom!

My small group is piloting a "focused verse a day" growth tool that was designed by one of our own.  Today's focus was "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (NIV)  When read in context the message to me becomes even more clear.  Only through believing and receiving the Spirit do we gain freedom from death.  More reinforcement that grace is a gift that cannot be earned by deeds.

Christianity's Greatest Imposter

The message shared this weekend at Hosanna! was very thought provoking and related to my previous posts of this week.  Pastor Ryan spoke on why moralism makes a terrible substitute for Christianity.  He made the following points that I think are great discussion points.

1. Moralism puts rules over relationships - we are saved by a relationship not by deeds.
2. Moralism cleans the outside while God cares about our hearts.
3. Moralism doesn't work.  Look at how Jesus viewed and interacted with the Pharisees.
4. Moralism sabotages our mission..we shouldn't be making coming to faith so difficult!
5. "Instead of obeying to make God indebted to them, Christians obey because the are indebted to God." - Timothy Keller

Pastor Ryan's most profound statement might have been "The greatest threat to Christianity is internal, not external."

Redefining Sin

In his book "The Jesus I Never Knew", Phillip Yancy wrote "Nowadays many of the same Christians who hotly condemn homosexuality, which Jesus did not mention, disregard His straight forward commands against divorce. We keep redefining sin and changing the emphasis".

This post is not intended to spark a debate on homosexuality or divorce but to reflect on Yancy's last sentence.  Do we as Christians keep redefining sin to meet our needs? If true, how does this make us look to a seeker or an unbeliever?

Welcome

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8 NIV) Ever wonder why many people who call themselves Christians and claim to know God are intolerant, exclusive, judgmental, and just plain unloving?  The same descriptors could apply to many churches including the one I attended while growing up.  For many years, the same religion that was supposed to save me created a barrier that kept me from knowing God; at least the way that He intended us to know Him.

This blog is dedicated to honest and straight forward discussion about God and His mission to save His people.  This is all about the relationship that He desires, and that we can have, and nothing about religion.

Join me in exploring, asking, and discussing Christianity from a relationship and not a religious perspective.