Psalm 91: You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow, say this: "God you're my refuge. I trust in you and I'm safe!"....His huge outstretched arms protect you -- under them you're perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. (the Message)
I have always turned to this Psalm, no matter what condition my life has been in at the time. My mother suggested I read it when I was very young. I grew up terribly afraid and confused by religion, yet I kept returning to this. I quoted it in my senior year book in high school. In times of rebellion and anger, I have still turned to this Psalm. As a new mother, terrified of the job of protecting my baby, I turned to this Psalm.
However, I actually remained afraid of God, which may sound crazy but deep down I think alot of people who call themselves Christians feel this way . I have only recently gotten a vice grip on the fact that HE IS LOVE and in His presence is where I want to be, always! His spirit lives in me, so we are never separated. I am learning to abide -- JUST BE--complete in Him.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Revolution?

I just started George Barna's book Revolution. I had very high hopes going in, but already in chapter 3 I feel dragged down. Am I missing something? He is talking about being a revolutionary Christ follower not confined by the walls, but I still sense a lot of legalism in what he's saying. And works. He says we must "do whatever you have to do to prove that you fear God, you love Him, and you serve Him -- yes, that you live only for Him." (pg.27) He talks about what God expects from us, mentions accountability and what is required, etc. I don't want to get all loosy goosy or into sloppy agape but just when I thought I might actually be understanding what it really means to love God, I feel a new straight jacket being put on me. There is that word "fear" again -- how can it co-exist with love?

I will keep reading, I know the book has a lot of good in it and I will just have to put some things to the side for now. As I've said before, no-one has the perfect perspective on any of this. "We see through a glass dimly..." Boy, ain't that the trueth!

I've just finished reading Pagan Christianity which Barna collaborated on with Frank Viola. I got a lot out of that book, which I believe was written more recently.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)