Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word

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Marcella had an enviable life as the daughter of a prominent Roman family who married a wealthy man. But less than a year after her wedding, her husband died. She was given a chance to continue living in wealth when she was proposed to by the wealthy consul Cerealis. She chose instead to convert her mansion into one of the earliest communities of women, where she and other noblewomen formed a group known as the "Brown Dress Society" and used their riches to help the poor. Marcella said she preferred to, “store her money in the stomachs of the needy than hide it in a purse.” In 410, when the Goths invaded Rome, they broke into Marcella’s home. When they demanded money, she calmly responded that she had no riches because she had given all to the poor. Though she was an elderly woman, they beat and tortured her mercilessly. Her attackers were eventually shamed by her piety and she was released.

The following video contains a creative and interesting illustration about evangelism for modern Christians.  I definitely believe that it's worth viewing and thinking about as a follower of Christ integrated as a member of society and that it does speak a lot of truth in regard to the current state of the Church and how the Christian community (in general) views evangelism and sharing their faith.  I hope that you find it equally as thought provoking, creative, and entertaining.



 

Tim Tebow Praying - Photo Credit

In a recent article on Fox Sports Exclusive, Jen Engel chooses to examine the constant scrutiny and ridicule that Tim Tebow, starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, has been subjected to lately.  The source of such insults and slander span from private to public sectors - from national television, to casual conversations between friends. All of these confrontations and comments have created a growing "debate" and argument in the sports community, which actually encompasses the United States and beyond in this case.  As of late, it has provided constant fuel for the conversation regarding religion, faith, and the constrictions (or lack there of) that should be placed on such 'aspects' of life. 

         "The human mind, being created, has an understandable uneasiness about the Uncreated.  We do not find it comfortable to allow for the presence of One who is wholly outside of the circle of our familiar knowledge. We tend to be disquieted by the thought of One who does not account to us for His being, who is responsible to no one, who is self-existent, self-dependent and self-sufficient."

The list for each of us could go on and on....  But when people ask me what I am thankful for, the most prevalent and important thing that comes to my mind to be thankful for is God's Grace.  What he has provided me through Jesus Christ is beyond all compare, far above the measure and influence of anything else in my life. It is this grace that gives peace, satisfaction, joy, meaning, and purpose to all other areas of my life. 

Earlier this year, Cranial Collision featured a post authored by Nick Roen titled "Worship: Are We Worshiping Music Instead of God?"  I would like to highlight this post again, continuing our topic from last week on how to keep worship authentic. 

A psychiatrist working at Yale University, George Mahl, counted and examined ten speech disfluencies (including the infamous "uh" and "um") with the purpose of measuring a person's anxiety level.  He calculated that, on average, during every 4.4 seconds of spontaneous speech, one disfluency occurs in a person's speaking.   (Source)

With every week that passes by, 
I seem to realize more and more just how short life really is.

The changing of the seasons, illness, cancer, death, accidents, age, time-usage, friendships growing deeper, and friendships becoming forgotten, natural disasters, war, evil, the weakness and fragility of my own body...

My life has been transformed.  
A formerly hateful, abusive, and angry individual, I have now been reconciled to God through the blood of Christ.  This reconciliation, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, has impacted my life in intensely vivid ways.  



Relationships with several of my family members and friends, once bruised and crushed, have been completely restored and rectified - Something that I had previously thought to be impossible.  Destructive habits and attitudes that were once a significant part of my life - such as struggles with self-worth, pornography, lust, and envy - have been eliminated and defeated.  I have gained a sense of purpose and passion in my life that I could not achieve on my own. 

   
Personal Preparation
1. Be Sure That You Are a Christian
2. Have No Unconfessed Sin in Your Life
3. Be Filled With the Holy Spirit
4. Be Prepared to Communicate Your Faith in Christ


Taking the Initiative

So many people that call themselves "Christian" are anything but the radical type of Christians that Jesus told to "take up your cross and follow me."

I know that personally I'm not nearly as radical of a Christian as I should be. For some reason, there sometimes is a disconnect between how I actually live my life and what I read in the Bible about how I should be living it. It might not be that I'm sinning outright, but more that I'm just not obeying some of the commands that I read to the fullest.

I'm writing today to share with you an experience I had that gave me a glimpse of how radically we should live the Christian life.

The following post is an exegesis (critical interpretation and explanation) of a section of scripture in Daniel chapter 1. 


Bryce Zeigle authored this as a paper in 2010 for his Old Testament class at Wheaton College in Illinois and he has now offered to have it posted here for others to read and reflect upon. Selections have been edited and formatted with his permission to improve readability and overall quality.

Creative Commons Photo Credit

No one is perfect, and that includes the Church. Sometimes it is important to take the time to look at what we are doing wrong, and what we can do better... even if it hurts.

From what I've observed, there are two major problems that I see in the Church today, and I'm not sure which one of them is more detrimental to the progression of Christ's Kingdom.

Witnessing - Photo Credit