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Words of Life from John 7

First, some not-words of life from Jesus' brothers: "No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.  Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."

______________________________________________________

Jesus:

"The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil."

"If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."

"He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the One who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false in him."

"Stop judging by mere appearance, and make a right judgement."

"Yes, you know Me, and you know where I am from.  I am not here on My own, but He who sent Me is true."

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

John 8

"Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin."


"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."


"The One who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him."


"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."


"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."


"He who belongs to God hears what God says."


"I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."


"I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!"



All words of life from John 8.

idols....idols...idols...i'm in the church and i'm surrounded by idols.

This pastor? An idol?? check.  instead of having to deepen my personal relationship with God on Sundays, all i have to do is listen to this guy in a suit tell me stuff i've already hear a thousand times before about his personal portrait of god.

This worship music I'm listening to?  An idol??  check!  Instead of having to personally engage in heart-worship of the King on a daily basis, most of the time i'm content to mentally check out and just listen to other people worship.

The Christian books i'm reading?  An idol??  check!  instead of spiritually engaging the Unknown God and 'reasoning together' with Him, lettting Him challenge me to my spiritual core, letting Him give me fresh perspective on life, i'll have God "use" the books i'm reading to "speak to me".  nah, i don't actually expect personal interaction and revelation from my relationship with God.  it's good enough for me to let other people do that messy part of waiting and listening to God.  i'll just read what they write.  i'll just substitute their relationship with God for my own.

Those Christian friends?  idols??  check!!  being a Christian means getting to hang out with people exactly like me, right?  spending time with other Christians is just as good as spending time with GodIsLove.  i mean - it's the same thing, getting lifeblood from other branches on the Vine as getting lifeblood from the Vine itself, right?  there's certainly no problem with spending 20 minutes a day in my quiet time and 3 hours at a youth group!

so who is this God exactly? Is He the God-people?  is He the sermons and CD's that have God-labels on them?  is He the music that has God-lyrics?  and who do I exactly have a relationship with when I talk about a relationship with God?  books and songs? friends and preachers?  sermons?  i'm scared to even begin to compare the amount of time I spend on my little Christian idols with the time I spend actually seeking Him.  and the worst of it is, I think that because these idols have Jesus-labels on them, my worship of them is the same as worshipping the Lover of my soul.

God!  Did You die so we could have a relationship with a book?  You died so You could spend time with me!  Blow our minds about who you really are.  Don't let us paint a portrait of you and then worship the painting.  i don't want to stare at a replica.  i wanna see the original.

i wanna see God

"Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent..."  - Jesus

new fronts

I had the strangest urge today.  I had met with God - sought Him out and pursued His presence until I was sure He was with me.  What a relief it was that He had come to my heart again!

Then a friend came to visit, and after he left, I suddenly felt a strange urge to vomit.  I wanted to vomit up everything I knew and had experienced of modern Christianity.  It was a strange sensation, and I ran upstairs to my room and laid in bed.  I was cold inside.  What was this?  I was at the epitome of modern Christianity - full of books and music, Christian radio and teachings.  Heck - I was going to be a missionary!  I was going to give my life away serving God!  But suddenly I wanted to throw it all out.  To be free of all of it.  Either I had ingested too much of a good thing, or I finally felt the effects of the poison.  I wanted out.  I wanted nothing to do with Modern Christianity.  I felt so burdened, twisted, used and confused by it all.  I wanted to walk away.

Walk away from

 the Christian books,

 the Christian music,

 the Christian talk-shows,

 the Christian radio stations,

 the Christian TV channels,

 the Christian political view point,

 the Christian preaching, 

 the Christian teaching,

 the Christian doctrines,

 the Christian theologies,

 the Christian philosophies,

 the Christian liturgies,

 the Christian traditions,

 the Christian incense and candles and robes and wafers and wine and holy water,

 the Christian Left and the Christian Right and the Christian Center,

 the Christian arguments and controversies and debates and hot-topics,

 the Christian factions and sects and diocese and denominations (over 9000 and counting!),

 the Christian pleasantries (God bless you too!)

 the Christian advice columns,

 the Christian websites,

 the Christian magazines,

 the Christian missionaries,

 the Christian organizations,

 the Christian movies,

 the Christian science,

 the Christian contemporary music and the music videos and the CD labels and the artists and the songs and the verse and the chorus and the bridge and the chords and the lyrics,

 the Christian homeschooling,

 the Christian conferences,

 the Christian bumper stickers,

 the Christian fears and prejudices,

 the Christian set of hatreds (collect all seven!),

 the Christian t-shirts,

 the Christian retreats,

 the Christian emotionalism,

 the Christian rock bands,

 the Christian friends,

 the Christian girls,

 the Christian famous people,

 the Christian megastars,

 the Christian moneymakers,

 the Christian charities,

 the Christian crusades,

 the Christian preachers and pastors and ministers and priests and bishops and popes and laymen and elders and archbishops and vicars and pontiffs and various other holy men,

 the Christian Zionism.

 the Christian revivals,

 the Christian jargon,

 the Christian board meetings and councils and leadership sessions,

 the Christian boycotts,

 the Christian seminaries,

 the Christian colleges and universities and degrees,

 the Christian cliques and clubs and inner-circles and families and cults and communes,

 the Christian seminars,

 the Christian crosses and bracelets and necklaces and rings and chastity belts,

 the Christian modern-day prophets and motivational speakers and megachurch preachers,

 the Christian culture,

 the Christian Sunday morning.

 the Christian Bible studies,

 the Christian college ministries,

 the Christian youth groups,

 the Christian prayer meetings,

 and the church and church worship and church services and church buildings and church preachers and church membership rolls and church bulletins and church announcements and church pews and church clothes and church sermons and church lunches and church choirs and church communions and church ladies and church bells and church organs and church steeples and stained glass windows.

Over.  Done.  Gone.  Clean.  Free.

What's left?

Me.

(& God)