Two or Three
Two or Three
I've been giving alot of thought to my quest for knowledge, my want for a right relationship with God, a solid understanding of Messiah, and more depth to the idea of salvation. Some will say that my questioning every tid-bit of faith is wrong, that i test God by doing so. This is not at all accurate. I question my faith to test myself, not God. When I decided to do away with the title of Christian in my life, it was not because I had rejected my faith, but what the title of Christian in western society had become. It had become a self serving greedy corporate entity with rock bands and rap videos to keep people from falling asleep because they had no real interest in learning about the spiritual things. Churches to me are cookie-cutter enterprises, from Baptist to Pentecostal they all seem to use the same formula. One speaker may be better than another, but the services and messages are usually all the same. There is rarely a new view on something, and when it is it's taken so far out of context that the meaning of the chapter is lost to a verse that becomes the sounding board for the next few years of 'enlightened speakers'. Judaism is way different I've found, in that for the crowd I've hung around with, Shul is very cut and dry - ritualistic in nature, and even though it's different - it's the same in that it's done the same way, every weekend, 52 weeks a year. I guess I try to go to these places because we're taught 'don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together' (for worship purposes by the way, lest we lose the idea of that verse too) But Jesus said something that always strikes home for me, "wherever two or three of you are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of you." And He also said that when we pray, we're not to boast of it on street corners but we're supposed to be quiet and keep our prayer life between ourselves and God. "Enter into your closet". Prayer, like our relationship with our Creator, is an inward thing, it's an event that happens in our spirit. Church is a 'Christian' concept which stemmed from the Jewish concept of 'Synagogue' which means 'place of assembly'. And I can see the importance of doing so on occassion, but the real test of our faith comes not in study and worship and knees bent in prayer and looking nice for the congregation - but in the times in between when real life smacks you in the face, and how we react to it. I'm not talking about 'WWJD', I'm talking about what do we do? I think if we talk the game we should play it too. Talk the talk, walk the walk so-to-speak. But it's important that we question ourselves, look inward. Like the Army's slogan 'Army of One'. We are like that in the spritual realm, and in the end, we're judged alone - not with a party of our closest friends and church buddies. When God asks, 'What do you have to say for yourself?' What will we answer?
It wont be the good deeds done in the name of First Assembly, or Holy Cross, or First Baptist with signs following free-church, or even a synagogue, but the show of faith we've refined through meeting life head on, letting the Holy Spirit work through us. Look inside, question your own authority, realize your humble position with God and grow from it.
Peace,
Chris
I've been giving alot of thought to my quest for knowledge, my want for a right relationship with God, a solid understanding of Messiah, and more depth to the idea of salvation. Some will say that my questioning every tid-bit of faith is wrong, that i test God by doing so. This is not at all accurate. I question my faith to test myself, not God. When I decided to do away with the title of Christian in my life, it was not because I had rejected my faith, but what the title of Christian in western society had become. It had become a self serving greedy corporate entity with rock bands and rap videos to keep people from falling asleep because they had no real interest in learning about the spiritual things. Churches to me are cookie-cutter enterprises, from Baptist to Pentecostal they all seem to use the same formula. One speaker may be better than another, but the services and messages are usually all the same. There is rarely a new view on something, and when it is it's taken so far out of context that the meaning of the chapter is lost to a verse that becomes the sounding board for the next few years of 'enlightened speakers'. Judaism is way different I've found, in that for the crowd I've hung around with, Shul is very cut and dry - ritualistic in nature, and even though it's different - it's the same in that it's done the same way, every weekend, 52 weeks a year. I guess I try to go to these places because we're taught 'don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together' (for worship purposes by the way, lest we lose the idea of that verse too) But Jesus said something that always strikes home for me, "wherever two or three of you are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of you." And He also said that when we pray, we're not to boast of it on street corners but we're supposed to be quiet and keep our prayer life between ourselves and God. "Enter into your closet". Prayer, like our relationship with our Creator, is an inward thing, it's an event that happens in our spirit. Church is a 'Christian' concept which stemmed from the Jewish concept of 'Synagogue' which means 'place of assembly'. And I can see the importance of doing so on occassion, but the real test of our faith comes not in study and worship and knees bent in prayer and looking nice for the congregation - but in the times in between when real life smacks you in the face, and how we react to it. I'm not talking about 'WWJD', I'm talking about what do we do? I think if we talk the game we should play it too. Talk the talk, walk the walk so-to-speak. But it's important that we question ourselves, look inward. Like the Army's slogan 'Army of One'. We are like that in the spritual realm, and in the end, we're judged alone - not with a party of our closest friends and church buddies. When God asks, 'What do you have to say for yourself?' What will we answer?
It wont be the good deeds done in the name of First Assembly, or Holy Cross, or First Baptist with signs following free-church, or even a synagogue, but the show of faith we've refined through meeting life head on, letting the Holy Spirit work through us. Look inside, question your own authority, realize your humble position with God and grow from it.
Peace,
Chris
posted by Chris at
12:22 PM
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