Not a Feel-Good Jesus

I have been reading After I Believe: Experiencing Authentic Christian Living by Mark D. Roberts. It was a book I received in college, yet never read. In the first chapter, Roberts describes the four basic ideas about the Christian life. My favorite of these sections is "Idea #2: The Christian Life is Feeling Joy and Peace in the Lord."

Roberts talks about the "initial blush of emoition" a new Christian sometimes feels. Jesus promises us joy. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says "Be happy and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually." The is an emotional side of Christianity, but Roberts warns that "we must beware of the tendancy to reduce Christianity to feelings alone."

When we reduce Christianity to emotions, we are left with a feel-good Jesus who makes us happy and rich. Many churches have fallen into the feel-good Jesus theology and forgotten about the Jesus who died and suffered for our sins.

As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
— Colossians 3:12 (NIV)



The definition of compassion is "a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering." How aware are we of the people around us? Do we notice when they are in pain? Do we notice when they need someone to talk to?

The definition of kindness is "the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic." Are you a kind person? When someone you do not particularly like comes around, are you kind to them? Do you treat them with consideration or do you just hope they leave as soon as they can.

The definition of gentleness is "politeness of the heart." The definition of patience is "good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence." If you struggle with patience, be careful with asking God for more patience. The saying "Be careful what you wish for" applies here. Recently, I prayed for God to help me with my patience. His response has been to make me wait, to give me a week of subing my most challenging class for another teacher, and, most recently, giving me the nasty stomach bug that has come around.

What We Learn from Barabbas...

What can we learn from this bandit? I know what you are thinking. He's a robber! He's a criminal! What you do not understand is that we have a lot in common with this rogue.

For those of you who do not recognize the name, Barabbas was the criminal who the crowd demanded to be set free. You see, it was a tradition during the Passover festival that Pilot release one prisoner. He gave them a choice to set Jesus free, but the crowd cried out that they wanted Barabbas. You see, if Barabbas had not been set free, he would have died on the cross. Pilot found that Jesus had done no wrong. Barabbas was a convicted felon.

I don’t know what happened to Barabbas. But I know something: the next time that I will read the crucifixion passages or see them played, I will know that I was like him, dead in trespasses and sins, destined for the cross, and exactly as him I was released and set free by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who took not only Barabbas’ place in the cross but also ours.

On the Waiting Road

Recently, Ryan and I have learned the hard way what it means to wait. Waiting on God is becoming easier and easier. I have to admit, I feel like a child. Wanting something so bad it is all I focus on. I can't eat, sleep, or do any other thing without thinking about what I want.

I am reminded of the commercial on TV for J. G. Wentworth. "It's my money and I need it now!" It seems that society today is teaching us that it is our right to get what we want and when we want it. That we are entitled to it. This is so directly against what God's Word teaches.

My new verse that I have stuck on my mirror in the bathroom is Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." How hard waiting seems to be for us, specifically my generation and younger.

Waiting... it is the most challenging command to follow. Love your enemies is nothing compared to the waiting.

Blessings from the Wrights as we are currently in a wait and see period in our lives...

Oh Where Can He Be?

I have a directional handicap friend who left for Oklahoma over twenty days ago and haven't heard from him since...I wonder if I should call China to find him...

Tim Hawkins Concert!!!

Ok, so most of you who know me well know I LOVE Tim Hawkins! He is my favorite comedian! I love his parodies and his jokes about the south! He's ten times better than Larry the Cable Guy, Ron White, or Jeff Dunham!

So for a very late Valentines Day gift, my hubby and I bought tickets to see him in Aiken, SC for May 22nd! I am sooo stoked!

For those who want a taste of Tim Hawkin's (family friendly and Christian clean) material. Go to www.timhawkins.net

What Would You Do For Your Treasure?

For today's post, I feel like going back to my sermon notes in my Kindle from Ryan's lesson last night. God really used my husband's message to the youth to open my eyes last night.

The main passage he read from was Matthew 13:44-46:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

The first question Ryan asked was "What is the Kingdom of God?" On earth, it is the Body of Christ - the Church. We are God's Kingdom here on earth. When we are born again, we enter into this earthly Kingdom of God. In Eternity, the Kingdom of God is Heaven. Everything else will be destroyed. It is only those who enter into the Kingdom of God on Earth, that will join in with the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Jesus says “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). What he is saying is that may God's earthly kingdom (the church) reflect God's heavenly kingdom.

The second question Ryan asked the youth was "What are we willing to give up to get that?" Simple enough, he explained that none of us in the room have every truly been asked to give up everything like the two men in the parable. We cannot comprehend the choice of being asked to give up everything like they did. Ryan then pointed out Romans 12: 1 -2:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

You see, we ARE called to give up everthing. We are called to become living sacrifices. To give up our lives. To die in our sin, and be raise as a new creation in Jesus Christ. It is not we who live these lives now. It is Christ who lives in us. Our lives are not our own. It now belongs to Christ. A living sacrifice is what we english teachers call an oxymoron. That is, the words "living" and "sacrifice" should be contradictory. They are, indeed, opposites. For in the Old Testament, when something was sacrificed, it was killed. Death was the outcome of a sacrifice. Whether it was an animal or a crop offering. The crops were cut from their lifeforce, the roots.

Ryan ended the same way I ended my last post. As Christians, we are just like the two men in the parable above. We have found a treasure of great value - Christ. We should not only give up everything to get this treasure, we should tell everyone we know about the treasure we have found! If you were to wake up tomorrow and find out you have become a millionaire overnight, you wouldn't keep it quiet! You would want to scream and shout about it! I know I would. We are called in the Great Commission to go and tell! Baptise and make disciples!

What will you do with YOUR treasure?