Okay I'm pretty angry. I decided to read *my former church's daily devotional* that I get by email. They list Hebrews 10:23-25. Verse 25 states, "Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing but let us encourage one another. . ." and *my former church* says "difficulties should never be excuses for missing church services. Rather as difficulties arise we should make an even greater effort to be faithful in attendance" . . . I'm mad. The early christians met together. They didn't sit and listen to someone preach to them in silence and be led by a worship team. Christ was the center and leader. *my former church* completely took this out of context. Our church services today are the product of reformed catholicism NOT early christianity.
It also makes me mad because this forms a mindset of idolizing church services. So if I miss attendance of a particular service or a number of services,I'm apparently not as "spiritual" or well grounded in Christ as the "church attenders" because I'm not being judged by where my heart is in Christ but in my outward attendance of the "status quo" aka, attending church services.
"It's just so sad that's what they have drawn from that package, so shallow and belittling of Scripture. I agree with you. Gosh I've never interpreted that as a direct line to church attendance. I'm so thankful to be part of a church that seeks Christ first and what it means to follow him and how we relate to others in the church. We do much more than attendance!! We are alive completely and made a unified whole righteous church washed in Christ's blood! That's why we don't give up meeting together encouraging, rebuking, and growing with one another to know our beautiful Savior and the hope we have in him! Nothing is better than him."
":) God is good all the time"
I know what you mean I love how *friend's church* describes themselves on their website. No church actually says "we are led by Christ" not even the pentecostals since they like to believe they are led by the Holy Spirit.
"I never realized that before about most churches. Who do they say leads them?"
They don't say, they imply it but really it's more like "We live out Jesus" or "our mission is to make Christ known" but how can you if you're not led by Him?
"I looked up Hebrews and its so blatantly obvious that the larger picture is about persevering in the faith. Holding unswervingly to Jesus, again being led by Him! And meeting together to build our faith. The goal is Christ! Not church attendance. It's important to be with other Christians but what gain is it if you are not persevering in your faith"
Exactly. The church should not be our crutch. It's like when Israel wanted a king so Christians want an organization. They haven't rejected someone earthly as God explained to Samuel, it was God they rejected. It's makes me angry and sad.
"Oh wow. That comparison is so close it's scary. Wow you're right. And to think how we point to that story all the time of how the Israelites were seeking something other than God."
"It's just like marriage. If Christ is not the one leading the relationship if he is not the goal it becomes shallow and is in terrible trouble"
Monday, October 22, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Passion
Colossians 3:4-6 "When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming."
In the last couple of weeks when I would open my Bible I would come across this verse in Colossians. I would sit there and just contemplate one thing that I never realized before. A possible reason why I never caught this before was because I grew up studying out of the NIV which doesn't properly translate the description here. The word I'm looking at that hit me is passion.
Passion. I've hung on that word contemplating it for a couple weeks in Paul's context. The NIV usually translates this word as "lust" but that doesn't do it justice. The word used for passion here in the Greek that Paul uses is "pathos" which can mean good or evil pathos.
That got me thinking about what I was surrounded with growing up in the church and going to a university where Christians were "on fire" for God. I would in a way idolize the people who have such a "passion" for the Gospel. Who seem to live off this passion and I think I'm not as good as a Christian as they are because they seem so "passionate" about God. I would envy that and wonder why I didn't have that same "feeling" or desire. Somedays I did try to live in it but that usually came as a result of allowing my emotions to be manipulated by a great weeklong conference.
Looking back, and comparing to what Paul is saying, the passion I desired wasn't Spirit led for the fruit of the Spirit does not list "passion" or a word anywhere near to this to describe the working of God in the life of a repentant sinner. In fact, he uses passion whether good or bad as what is earthly and should be put to death. Why? Because it is idolatry. I continued to think about how I envied fellow repentant sinners for their "passion" and realizing now that in their and my own ignorance we justified living in an earthly desire that we should put to death, to "serve God" and therefore we were idolizing the desire more than loving Christ.
I then start to think about the pastors that I had heard in the past, who seem to speak about the "passion" of believers serving Christ to in a way sell Jesus to the listeners or to motivate evangelism within their church. Thinking on that, I'm realizing this was all wrong. I then start to relate to Adam Marshall's quote:
"The Gospel is not a victory-drunk invading army, bent on conquering no matter the cost. It is a whisper in the enchanted beauty of the night that calls one to peace and love, insisting, but never tyrannical in its persuasion. It allows itself to be ignored, and in doing so, showcases the glory of God by its thriving in meekness."
It's understandable when new to the faith like being new to a marriage to be caught up in the "moment" of passion with the spouse. As you grow older though you realize that love is more than just that moment or passion. That growth comes through the hardships that you work through with the spouse, testing your love and loyalty to the person you swore into a covenant with. For this reason Paul describes Christ as the groom and the Church as the bride. We each grow in our love for the Creator and we shouldn't envy the passion of others but instead realize that you're goal is to put to death the old self in order to put on the new, which is of course the image and holiness of Christ.
In the last couple of weeks when I would open my Bible I would come across this verse in Colossians. I would sit there and just contemplate one thing that I never realized before. A possible reason why I never caught this before was because I grew up studying out of the NIV which doesn't properly translate the description here. The word I'm looking at that hit me is passion.
Passion. I've hung on that word contemplating it for a couple weeks in Paul's context. The NIV usually translates this word as "lust" but that doesn't do it justice. The word used for passion here in the Greek that Paul uses is "pathos" which can mean good or evil pathos.
That got me thinking about what I was surrounded with growing up in the church and going to a university where Christians were "on fire" for God. I would in a way idolize the people who have such a "passion" for the Gospel. Who seem to live off this passion and I think I'm not as good as a Christian as they are because they seem so "passionate" about God. I would envy that and wonder why I didn't have that same "feeling" or desire. Somedays I did try to live in it but that usually came as a result of allowing my emotions to be manipulated by a great weeklong conference.
Looking back, and comparing to what Paul is saying, the passion I desired wasn't Spirit led for the fruit of the Spirit does not list "passion" or a word anywhere near to this to describe the working of God in the life of a repentant sinner. In fact, he uses passion whether good or bad as what is earthly and should be put to death. Why? Because it is idolatry. I continued to think about how I envied fellow repentant sinners for their "passion" and realizing now that in their and my own ignorance we justified living in an earthly desire that we should put to death, to "serve God" and therefore we were idolizing the desire more than loving Christ.
I then start to think about the pastors that I had heard in the past, who seem to speak about the "passion" of believers serving Christ to in a way sell Jesus to the listeners or to motivate evangelism within their church. Thinking on that, I'm realizing this was all wrong. I then start to relate to Adam Marshall's quote:
"The Gospel is not a victory-drunk invading army, bent on conquering no matter the cost. It is a whisper in the enchanted beauty of the night that calls one to peace and love, insisting, but never tyrannical in its persuasion. It allows itself to be ignored, and in doing so, showcases the glory of God by its thriving in meekness."
It's understandable when new to the faith like being new to a marriage to be caught up in the "moment" of passion with the spouse. As you grow older though you realize that love is more than just that moment or passion. That growth comes through the hardships that you work through with the spouse, testing your love and loyalty to the person you swore into a covenant with. For this reason Paul describes Christ as the groom and the Church as the bride. We each grow in our love for the Creator and we shouldn't envy the passion of others but instead realize that you're goal is to put to death the old self in order to put on the new, which is of course the image and holiness of Christ.
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