Day 169 - I Love Quotes

I just love quotes. I think people can say it better than I can.

Paul Trip, whom I follow on Twitter just tweeted::: Self-righteousness: I am constantly aware of the need for change in others in the very same places where I am blind to needs in myself. Good stuff.

I find myself writing out quotes when I'm listening to sermons. Sometimes I need to write it out so I can read it over and over. One in particular is from David Platt. He's the guy that wrote the book Radical that everyone needs to read. Here it is:::

We do not have time to play games on our lives. And we don't have time to play games in the church. We do not have time to waste our lives on a nice comfortable Christian spin on the American dream. We have a Master who demands radical sacrifice. A mission that warrants radical urgency.

We take Jesus and we twist Him into a nice, middle class American. A Jesus who looks like us and talks like us and here's the danger: As we take Jesus and we craft Him into our own image, then the reality is when we gather together in our churches to sing our songs and lift our hands, we are not lifting up our hands to and worshipping the Jesus of the Bible. We are lifting up our hands to and worshiping ourselves.

We were talking about this yesterday in Sunday School (ABF - whatever, it's the class you go to before service!). We make Jesus into who we want and what we want and we make him very appealing to the masses when in fact, Jesus was hated by the majority when they realized what He was about. "What? You aren't going to FIX my life with the Romans? You want to reveal my heart and sin that is in it?" Those were the thoughts that sent Him to the cross. This is a big part of what the book Radical is about (I'm plugging the poor book everywhere I can!).

I was also reminded yesterday that we should never pass up the opportunity to share the TRUE, unadulterated message of the Gospel. There were people in our class that truly didn't understand the Gospel. I forget that. I used to think that it was overkill to share the Gospel every chance we had. But as God continues to change my view, I see that presenting who we are (sinful humans, thinking we are doing good, infected with the curse of sin, running from God), presenting who Jesus is (God in flesh sent to give His life, which was sinless, as a sacrifice for ours), presenting why God allowed this (because He loves us that much and wants a relationship with us so He sent His innocent Son to die a painful death and raised Him up, so we don't have to die and be separated from Him because of our sin).

I guess it has hit home for me more lately because I was 21 years old when God opened my heart to hear the Gospel. I've struggled lately with the timing. Getting upset with myself and others at the timing of my salvation. Why did I close my heart all those years? Why did I waste so much time? But I am reminded that it was God who opened my heart at a time He saw fit. I lived in a great Christian home where the Christian life was lived out Supernaturally every day by my parents. I probably heard the Gospel over a million times (seriously - I lived in the south people) but it was God who opened my heart when He did.

I was thankful the women spoke up with their questions yesterday. An open atmosphere is exactly what church should be, where we can ask the questions that are stirring in our heart and not feel attacked.