But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
1 Corinthians 15:10 KJV
The Irresistible Revolution
"While the voices of blockbuster movies and pop culture cry out for a life outside the matrix of numb efficiency, Christianity often has offered little to the world, other than the hope that things will be better in heaven."
"Sometimes we speak out to change the world, and other times we speak to try to keep the world from changing us."
"In our culture of "seeker sensitivity" and radical inclusivity, the great temptation is to compromise the cost of discipleship in order to draw a larger crowd. With the most sincere hearts, we do not want to see anyone walk away from Jesus because of the discomfort of his cross, so we clip the claws on the Lion a little, we clean up a bit the bloody Passion we are called to follow."
"We would like to include people like the rich ruler and Ananias and Sapphira, but we would end up with the sort of Christianity that arose after Constantine, in which everyone can be a Christian but no one knows what a Christian is anymore."
"For us, belief is only the beginning. What really matters is how we live, how what we believe gets fleshed out, so we also have a statement of orthopraxis (meaning, "right living, right practices"). And this is where most belief-oriented faith communities fall short. They tell us only what they believe, but they do not tell us how their beliefs affect their lifestyles."
"We live in an age in which people, when they hear the word Christian, are much more likely to think of people who hate gays than people who love outcasts, and that is a dangerous thing."
"The world has seen Christian extremists who will blow up abortion clinics and dance on doctors' graves. We have seen Christian extremists who hold signs that say, "God hates fags." The world has seen Christian extremists who declare war in the name of the Lamb. But where are the Christian extremists for love and grace?"
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Non traditional thoughts about life, the world, and God from a Christian's perspective.
"I am seized with fear that my own will will be given place, and I will thus ruin my usableness for God. It would be easy to follow my feelings...to interfere with the voice of the Lord when He says, 'This is the way, walk ye in it.' "
Elisabeth Elliott
Monday, August 21, 2006
Silence is not an optionI was reading through some old posts from my old xanga blog. I found one that I think is particularly relevant to the recent events I've blogged about.
Reposted from December 1, 2005:
One thing I've learned recently is that most people have such a poor view of Christianity. The world is bent to think one way, when in reality, Christianity--not the religion, but the lifestyle of living with and like Christ--is something completely different. And I seem to be content with staying silent. It's not my problem. Let God handle it. Let the preachers deal with it. And I am wrong. I read this tonight*:
Words have power. So does silence. Words can be used for good or evil. So can silence. And we are responsible for how we use both. In this great country of ours we have been given many rights, including the right of free speech. To say what we think and believe. But we don't often talk about the fact that exercising that right has consequences. And how we respond--or don't respond--to those exercising that right also has consequences. ...if I don't correct wrong assumptions, they become bigger than life and actually become true. Because silence speaks. There's an old saying...If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem. I didn't want to believe that. Because it demands that I stand up and be counted for what I believe. Just like many brave men and women who have shown us the path to brotherhood against the forces of prejudice and fear. And many paid for courage with their lives. I don't know if I'm that brave. But there is no middle ground. Silence is not an option, because the voices of hate and division and violence are growing stronger.
When I read those words, God pierced me. Silence is not an option. And I have no idea what to do about it. How do I reach people? How do I love people? How do I learn to truly live for God and leave my own selfish pursuits behind? Will I ever measure up? Not without the Holy Spirit, that's for sure!!
I'm not sure where God is taking me with this one, but I'm asking you to join me in prayer. Pray that Christians remain silent no longer. Pray that we can stand in unity and fight for Christ. Pray that we can prevail over the gates of hell by loving everyone who crosses our paths.
* The italicized quote is from Neta Jackson's The Yada-Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough
Tags: Christianity, Silence, God
Posted by Amanda at 8/21/2006 04:05:00 PM
1 Comments
ontheedgeofmyseat posted at 8/22/2006 11:03:00 AM
Great post. We also need to pray and let the Spirit lead us because one person can't speak out about every important subject. But the global body of Christ can. If Christians would begin to be led by the Holy Spirit, than we would have a Christian advocate for every injustice. (Did that make sense?)