Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never looked for Him to come?
“Always be in a state of expectancy, and see that
you leave room for God to come in as He likes” – Chambers Jan. 25
Who do I
think Jesus is? What do I expect Him to do? Have I pigeon-holed Him into a
religious icon forever stuck to a cross that adorns the front of a church? How
has my belief about Jesus affected how the world sees Him? How does scripture
reveal this God-man? And who does He
say He is?
John Eldredge in Beautiful
Outlaw:
“What enormous good would it do in the world if
churches were known as playful, witty, fierce, humble, generous, honest,
cunning, beautiful, and true? When we hold fast to a bland Jesus, we get a
bland church. A two-dimensional Jesus equals two-dimensional Christians…that is
the tragic effect of the religious Jesus…”
“The secret of Christianity is something else
altogether-the life of Christ in you. Allowing his life to become your life.
His revolution is not self-transformation, but his transformation of us, from the inside out, as we receive his
life and allow him to live through us. Vine, branch. Anything else is madness.”
Father-God, as You reveal Yourself through Your word
and Your Spirit, may we all lay down our preconceived religious notions and
agendas to receive You – the real You.
Hey sister! Preach it! I love your passion & zeal! I am eager daily to see how my Father will make the adventure of that day unfold! Do I know Him? Closer and closer...but no. I haven't even scratched the surface. LOVE your quotes. Who is the para. under Eldridge? Or is it him too? Thought I'd add one: In her book, Teaching A Stone To Talk (pp. 40-41), Annie Dillard says, “I do not find Christians…sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it?...It is madness to wear ladies’…hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping God may wake some day and take offense, or the waking God may draw us out to where we can never return.”
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