Content with your spiritual life? If not, the Lord is ready to answer your prayer to go deeper.

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

I am convinced that a major reason for the sad state of our nation is the fact that too many Christians are serving a God of their own making. They have taken their extremely small notion of God, placed Him in an equally small box, and lived their lives according to the very low standards of their tiny God. They have yet to taste and see His incomparable majesty and His exceeding goodness.

wise, they have yet to bow before the God of all creation and submit themselves to the transforming power of His Word. They may have had slight tastes of God’s majestic sweetness, but it’s by no means a steady diet. They have yet to believe that this Word is indeed “living and active” and able to reap beauty from ashes, life from death.

What gives me the right to make such a claim? I believe this is true because once you have had a real encounter with the real God through His Word, you emerge with a much larger view of God, with the bar raised, and with a greater love for Him. You can’t help but want more. You eagerly search for more life-changing nuggets that are worth more than any amount of gold or silver or any other endeavor, regardless of how noble or “God-serving” it may be.

 AS I SEE IT

I see this played out in our Bible studies. When a group has gone through a book of the Bible, most in the group seem to have the feeling of “wow, we made it through. We’re done.” I’ve been guilty of this more often than I care to admit. In the past few years, however, God has graciously changed my attitude. As I am writing this, I am three sessions away from finishing a group study of Ephesians. Once we’re finished and I have a grasp of the ideas and concepts Paul has introduced, I feel like it’s time to really dig in and apply some of these principles, not moving on until I have made them mine.

Our church culture seems to be ruled be the principle of “cover the material.” The real goal is to cover the material regardless of whether it has produced any change in our lives. We have a schedule to keep and it’s etched in stone, so when we finish something, we must move on. Consequently, we become convinced that all we’re called to do is to “be there.” Somehow, by osmosis, something will sink in and we might even be changed, whether that change is visible or not.

This is not what God has called us to do. We are to be transformed by the renewing of the mind so that we can discern God’s perfect will for our lives (see Romans 12:2). Faith comes by hearing, but simply hearing isn’t good enough. We must put feet on our faith and walk it out in real life. We must be transformed in a way that is impossible for others to miss.

The sad commentary on today’s church is that, by and large, most church goers no longer even feel a need to “be there” except on Sunday morning. They have no interest in seriously studying the Bible. They see no value in it. It’s the same select few who attend the “going deeper” studies. The rest are too busy with other things.

We’re not saved by our works, but seriously studying the Bible is the kind of hard work that reveals how genuine our faith really is. Our attitude toward the Word is, perhaps, the greatest example of “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). I fear that America’s churches are full of people Jesus described in Matthew 7:13-4, 21

“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it…Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

I urge you to stand out from “the rest.” Don’t be like those who are simply “hangin’ around and waiting for the rapture.” Seek and you shall find. Ask God to give you a heart that hungers for His Word. Ask Him to show you just how transforming His Word is. Ask Him to make you the catalyst that changes those around you. Come before Him pleading, “Lord change me.” You can be sure that this is a prayer He is eager to answer.

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 ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

My therapist said that my narcissism causes me to misread social situations.  I’m pretty sure she was hitting on me.

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