One of my favorite things I do once a year is watch reruns of the Rocky movies
Not that I am a huge fan of boxing -but I love the thought of the ordinary guy overcoming the odds and becoming a champion .One of my favorite quotes of Rocky 3 is
Today I want to explore this very topic in what I have titled "Is Our God to Safe"
This comes from an except from a book I am reading called "The Barbarian Way" by author Erwin Mcmanus
"You cannot meet the creator of the universe and remain the same .If God who is all powerful ,all knowing and all present comes to dwell within your soul,you would expect at least some minor disruption.
I think there is a problem when people talk about meeting God or knowing God and yet remain unchanged by God .When the creator chooses to dwell within his creation,there is transformation.If Jesus has come to dwell within you, you are no longer suited to a normal life.
To have the Spirit of God dwelling within the heart of someone who chooses a domesticated faith is like having a tiger trapped within a cage.You are not intended to be a spiritual zoo where people can look at God in you from a safe distance. You are a jungle where the Spirit roams wild and free in your life.You are the recipient of the God who cannot be tamed and of a faith that must not be tamed .
You are no longer a prisoner of time and space ,but a citizen of the kingdom of God -whose kingdom suffers violence and the violent take it by force .
God is not a sedative that keeps you calm and under control by dulling your senses .He does quite the opposite .He awakens your spirit to be truly alive".
I am interested in your comments about this.
Catch you tommorow
Jeremy
Not that I am a huge fan of boxing -but I love the thought of the ordinary guy overcoming the odds and becoming a champion .One of my favorite quotes of Rocky 3 is
"But then the worst thing happened that could happen to any fighter,you got civilised"-Mick to Rocky
Today I want to explore this very topic in what I have titled "Is Our God to Safe"
This comes from an except from a book I am reading called "The Barbarian Way" by author Erwin Mcmanus
"You cannot meet the creator of the universe and remain the same .If God who is all powerful ,all knowing and all present comes to dwell within your soul,you would expect at least some minor disruption.
I think there is a problem when people talk about meeting God or knowing God and yet remain unchanged by God .When the creator chooses to dwell within his creation,there is transformation.If Jesus has come to dwell within you, you are no longer suited to a normal life.
To have the Spirit of God dwelling within the heart of someone who chooses a domesticated faith is like having a tiger trapped within a cage.You are not intended to be a spiritual zoo where people can look at God in you from a safe distance. You are a jungle where the Spirit roams wild and free in your life.You are the recipient of the God who cannot be tamed and of a faith that must not be tamed .
You are no longer a prisoner of time and space ,but a citizen of the kingdom of God -whose kingdom suffers violence and the violent take it by force .
God is not a sedative that keeps you calm and under control by dulling your senses .He does quite the opposite .He awakens your spirit to be truly alive".
I am interested in your comments about this.
Catch you tommorow
Jeremy
4 comments:
Hey Jeremy,
Welcome to the world of blogging!
I love the last line that quote.
He awakens your spirit to be truly alive.
At my cell group last night we watched a nooma dvd called 'breathe'. In this Rob Bell talks about the way in hebrew the word used for spirit is the same word as 'breathe'. Just like we connect our emotions and feelings with our heart, the Hebrew suggests connecting our spirit with the very act of breathing, the 'spark' of life inside of us. No wonder we come alive when the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us!
What do you think the need for a transformation when we meet with Jesus means for someone like me who has been a Christian for basically his whole life?
I often feel unchanged by God, yet I also think I would be a very different person if I didn't have the Holy Spirit living inside of me. It is just hard not having a clear reference point to compare 'before and after' on...
I think the book you quote makes an interesting point about not taming your faith, yet I'm not sure what the means practically. I believe that the Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman, He doesn't run wild in our hearts. Even as we give him control of our lives, he still allows us to take back control at any stage.
We can't cage up God, we can merely limit how much influence he has over our lives. Some people claim that the only true faith is one that boldly states God's message on street corners, others that we must deny ourselves worldly possessions to remove distractions from God, and still others that through faith we should receive financial blessing from God. It sounds rather pluralistic but maybe God does call people to these (and many other) things. Just because someone expresses their faith in a different way doesn't necessarily mean it is any less real or important. I wouldn't be surprised if 'The Barbarian Way' is a calling for some but not all Christians.
Note:
1. For future reference when I comment of blogs I generally aren't putting forward well reasoned arguments. Just what I thought about in response to the post. So I could easily be wrong, mistaken or completely off track... I'm aiming to engage with the conversation not to put forward my view or try to change yours.
2. I haven't read the barbarian way so I'm really in no place to comment on it :)
Hi James ,thanks for your comments they make a lot of sense.
in answer to your question
What do you think the need for a transformation when we meet with Jesus means for someone like me who has been a Christian for basically his whole life?
yes from non christian to christian for myslf change was from night to day in 24 hrs!
But over the last 14 years actually being in the faithpersoanally I know I am changing if I am hating more what God hates and loving more what he loves
Regarding the "trapped in the cage part" totally agree with your comment -
We can't cage up God, we can merely limit how much influence he has over our lives.After all we still have our free will
Reading the whole book ceratinly puts everything in context
Thanks for your input James
Jeremy
hey nice work jeremy, this blogging thing is awesome aye. I am gonna read yours and clives blogs when i can.
the thing about the spirit being in a jungle and roaming around is awesome... yours or taken from a book. i posted another tonight, its a goodey.
peace
RiCO
Thanks for the reply Jeremy,
Some time s I forget about the 'being continually transformed' aspect of being a christian.
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." - 2 Cor 3:18
We are being transformed, not 'have been transformed'. It is a process and it is ongoing. Thanks for the reminder!
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