Joshua 1:8
"...[B]ut you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8).
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39).
"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13).
This Chapter, though written about the Jews, ought to convict us all. In a country so saturated with christianity, many don't know what true christianity is. And how can they know if they don't hear? And how can they hear if we don't tell them? I must say this Chapter has greatly convicted me. As christians are we truly hearing and obeying? Are we speaking of our faith? Do we truly beleive that Jesus is who He says He is? These are very significant questions to ponder...
ReplyDeleteWhat is "true Christianity"?
ReplyDeleteJoel, I hope you're feeling better. To clarify, I was referring to what we spoke about Monday in regards to many people claiming to be Christian but don't live it - rarely go to church, never read their bibles, couldn't really tell you what being a Christian is, and most definitely don't know Jesus. "True Christianity" should be the antithesis of this as well as bringing the Gospel to the entire world - being a missionary. Our last chapter in Radical emphasised this last point and Paul does a good job of it as well. I can personally claim that I've fallen flat on my face when it comes to sharing Christ with others.
ReplyDeleteThanks Josh. I'm going to push this a little further. :). Where in the bible does it say "go to church, read your bible and define Christianity and thou shalt be saved."? Weren't the Pharisees sticklers about attending church and tithing, etc.? They definately new their Torah frontward and backwards.
ReplyDeleteI may be wrong, but it feels like this book is causing more guilt and condemnation than it is telling people about God's love. I think we need to focus on the good news of just believing in Jesus and that's it. The rest will fall into place over time. Don't be too hard on yourself. Share Jesus with your family and friends and whoever else you may run into when you get the chance. But remember to simply rest in Jesus. The thief on the cross didn't get "radcial", he simply asked Jesus to remember him. Its all real simple.
Living out your Christianity has nothing to do with your salvation. Remember we do works not to be saved but because we already have been saved. And yes, I understand what you're saying about the Pharisees but Jesus did not condemn them for keeping the Law but rather for being hypocrites and missing the whole point of the Law. The Bible does in fact tell us to gather together (church), lean not on our own understanding (read the word), condemns ignorance of God (depart from me, I never knew you), and commands us to "go into the world" or define Christianity to those around us if you will. None of these things are the basis of our salvation but a reflection of our salvation.
ReplyDeleteAs for the guilt and condemnation, that's not at all what I was trying to convey. However, if the Bible doesn't regularly convict you, then something is wrong. Resting in Jesus is a must but that doesn't mean Jesus pulls out a Lazy-boy for us to sit in. He still requires us to get up, "deny ourselves" daily, pick up our cross and live outside our comfort zone. This is the point of being saved in the first place - God changing us into the likeness of His Son. While this starts on the inside, if it doesn't spill out into the external than something is wrong - we're not truly living by faith. Faith is an action word and this is where I'm currently struggling in my walk - the "doing" aspect. That was what Paul was challenging us on, and what Radical is addressing, and what I was trying to explain. Sorry if I did a poor job doing so and I hope this novel I just wrote does a better job explaining that. :)
Oh, and by the way, if you or Karyn (or anyone for that matter) want to post, don't feel as though Mary or myself have to post first. Please feel free to post whenever you'd like. There are some days when we simply can't get to it til later in the day, if at all. So please don't wait on us!
ReplyDeleteGood points and you are right. I have the impression that this book is ONLY emphasizing the external, however. And the external, while the fruits of the spirit should be evident, will look different with each one of us. We all live in different circumstances and have different personalities. Here is an article that I found interesting and agree with:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.internetmonk.com/archive/matthew-b-redmond-the-god-of-the-mundane
If I may add one more thing... I confess I haven't read too much of this book. I just don't like the term "radical". Yes, I have prejudged it and for that I'm probably going to hell. :p. I hope you guys have the chance to read the link I posted because I really identify with this guy. Theere isn't a thing you said above that I disagree with. Its just that I know people are different. especially me. This probably shouldn't be the case, but I get depressed sometimes. I struggle with social anxiety so I could never go to church again and be fine with it. I smoke and take effexor. I don't even like small group sometimes. Pastor Fusco annoys me sometimes, as do other "outgoing" people in our church. I hate the fact that Crossroads has a "core group" meeting. What the heck does that mean? I pondering going to a different church. I struggle talking to people alone, never mind talking about Jesus. But believe it or not I do love Jesus and am just hoping for a crumb from God's table...never mind a crown.
ReplyDeleteI wish more people from the small group would contribute to this blog because I think its a better venue to express ourselves.
IJoel, thank you for sharing that. Believe it or not I can relate. Let's talk more about this in the near future. I'll check out that link tonight. Don't get discouraged. What you said is more powerful than I think you realize... Keep reading your bible and let me encourage you to step outside your comfort zone (denying yourself) and continue reading "Radical" despite your hesitancy and continue attending church and small group in spite of your fears. I'm reminded by what Paul said, "when I am weak, He is strong". I know this is easier said than done but start facing your fears and rely on God and He will honor you for that and see you throught it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Josh. Your a good man and I know God's working in both of your lives. And thanks for letting me use your blog for a soap box for my pet peeves and issues. :). Thanks for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Joel. Thanks again for sharing. By the way, I for some reason don't have your email on file. Can you email me at joshuagalka@gmail.com. And if you'd like to join us this Sunday, we go to early service and usually sit halfway up on the right - if you're up to it...
ReplyDeleteI will email you. Thanks for the invite. We usually go to second service because our daughter's middle school group only meets then. I couldn't sit halfway up anyway. I'm a back-bencher.
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ReplyDeleteHere is my 2 cents...(this is Karyn) I hope that Joel's opinions and feelings were not off putting. (I noticed Mary removed her post:)I just think that everyone has different issues and struggles in life. What may be easy for some may be the hardest, but God loves us all for who we are, for we are created His image. I know that being married to someone who is so opposite of me has taught me so many things. It is difficult sometimes to try and understand Joel's heart sometimes because he does struggle with his anxiety and whether he is doing "enough" for God. I think when you are an introvert it so much harder because you are constantly comparing yourself to the extroverts and feeling badly because you are not like them. What we all need to realize is that being a Christian is showing and telling people about Jesus, for some it may be being a pastor, for others missions, for others this or that, but as long as each of our hearts is doing it in Christs name that is what God cares about, not the where or the who or the how. Anyways, Josh your words of encouragement to Joel were well received and I am thankful once again that we have met you and Mary. Again, I hope Joel's soapbox stance did not scare you all away!! We have enjoyed interacting with you both and hope to continue.
ReplyDeleteHey Karyn- totally not scared away at all, but I may have scare you away if I left it! I wrote a novel (trumping Josh's novel by length but definitely not by quality). But I have been struggling with a lot of Radical. I'm studying for the MCAT right now. Which means I have to somehow find a way to be a Wife and Mom and also be completely absorbed in O-chem and physics. But this book has sent me in a whirlwind almost into a depression/guilty place. I enjoy the challenges it is presenting me, but I'm feeling grossly unworthy in what it states. I have not served anywhere internationally - I want to but it hasn't been an opportunity presented to me. I don't hand out bibles or talk about Jesus hardly at all (although I invited a friend to church this Sunday for the first time since 7th grade and it was actually easy to do!). But anyhow - I've always had the attitude of living by example rather than really preaching. Probably a cop-out? But that is what I can do. I suppose this book challenging me to do otherwise isn't a bad thing. But it's making me feel terrible about how I'm prioritizing. I need to spend about 300+ hours in the next 4 months studying the MCAT, and I have never poured myself into reading the bible like that, which end result: guilty feeling.
ReplyDeleteKaryn - I feel the same way about being married to someone so opposite! Josh challenges me every day to step out of my comfort zone. I finally got baptized this last year (which induced my Grandmother to pray harder for me) and I have taken baby steps. I weakly tithed. Still do. Very weakly. But before this book I felt like God watched me (like I do Liam throwing a tantrum) and coached me along the way (laughing at me often), and most certainly loved me. Now I'm feeling like I'm coming up WAY short.
And that's about as long as the last one, so my goal of commenting without rambling = failed.
ReplyDelete"But before this book I felt like God watched me (like I do Liam throwing a tantrum) and coached me along the way (laughing at me often), and most certainly loved me. Now I'm feeling like I'm coming up WAY short."
ReplyDeleteMary we're on the same page here (this is Joel). You're more qualified to comment on the book as you are actually reading it. I KNOW the first sentence of what you say here IS the way it really is. God does love you and is coaching you along and it's going to be a life long process. He is your Heavenly Father and loves you. Phillipias 1:6 - "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."
No guilt needed about studying for your career. God gives us these opportunities and we shouldn't feel guilty about it. We just have to remember everything we do, whether studying for a test or working on the job we should do as unto God (Eph 6:6-7).
I know I posted this earlier, but when you get a chance between studying and reading the bible, read this:
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/matthew-b-redmond-the-god-of-the-mundane
Its another perspective on the whole "radical" thing.
Thank you! I did cut out some time and read the article - and so glad I did. What a great perspective.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm not going to belabor this any further, but I want to make one point. The fact that we're all feeling guilty about what we're reading is a GOOD THING. As I stated earlier, if your reading your bible regularly and not being convicted, something is wrong. The mere fact that we feel this way should be ENCOURAGING. We will always come up WAY short as long as we're on this earth and that's the point - otherwise none of us would have any need for Jesus. I like what Karyn said about baby steps. Regardless of where we are in our walk, we must at the very least be willing to take baby steps outide of our comfort zones and allow God to radically change us for the better. And He absolutely will see us through to the end.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Mary's comment about living by example rather than preaching, you should absolutely do both. However, how is anyone going to know by what example you live if you never make any mention of your faith? Believe me, I struggle with this as much as anyone but I think to be most effective is to simply live honestly and intentionally. I like to use Tim Tebow as an example for this. Regardless of how you feel about the guy, no one can deny his faith. Yet, he doesn't "preach" at anyone - he simply lives out his faith and gives God the credit for EVERYTHING. And think of all the oppportunity to share Jesus Christ that has come because of that. To make it more personal, all Mary had to say to her friend is she goes to church - that's all it took! Remember God does not need us to convert others. That's His job. He just asks us to live honestly and intentionally - which means giving Him the glory as we live out our faith.
Once again, great points Josh. Thats great about Mary inviting her friend to church. I think we're getting somewhere here. Baby steps...out of our comfort zone...live out faith....give God/Jesus/Holy Spirit glory
ReplyDelete