#LoveWins

It is the not content of the book that I am frustrated about (I haven't read it).

I have a problem with all these thousands of individuals who claim to be CHRISTIANS but yet there is NO evidence of love in their comments against a person who wrote a book that is not even out yet! Incidentally, the book came out today but I am referring to those who commented before it came out.

Whatever happened to PRIVATELY confronting a person (Matthew 18: 15)?

To love somebody is not to condemn them on twitter.

The western church has become one of the most hostile environment for people who may have found new perspectives on scripture. Instead of listening and comparing it with the Bible before we make judgment, we bash new ideas and cast them off as heresy because we think we have all the answers while conveniently dismissing the fact that many of our doctrines today were once new ideas. If it is wrong, take the appropriate disciplinary actions and then HELP, not condemn. If he resist, then we keep contending for our faith. But let's be careful not to skip important steps before we pass judgment!

"This is why people hate us. There is no meaner, more hateful person on Earth than a Christian who suspects you have gotten your theology wrong. Labeling that mean-ness as "being faithful" to the Gospel doesn't make it less hateful. Rob Bell got skewered in the comments, on twitter, and in other blog posts." - Jason Boyett

Is this how Christians treat one another? We are such sorry examples for non-believers... We can do much better.

PRAY

If you were condemning Rob Bell before his book came out and it turns out that it IS theologically unsound, you may be right now, BUT you were not right all along. In fact, I believe that you were wrong to condemn because there was no legitimate grounds for such action.

So... yeah, that's all. I was quite annoyed by GENERAL remarks concerning Rob Bell and his new book. No one in particular, just remarks as a whole.

I am hungry... Must go eat. Until next time.

I should be studying...

But instead, I shall blog for there are thoughts in my head that I need to get out. Here goes:

1) Bible reading plan is going very well! I feel like I am now more in love with God's word than I was a few months ago. That makes me quite excited! I was speaking to at a youth rally in Hope this past Saturday and I realized that I accidentally left my Bible at the church before heading back to Conway. I was pretty frustrated about it and when I did find my Bible, I almost cried. Now this is a huge step for me because I used to not bother me when I leave my Bible somewhere. I used to not turn around and drive back home to get my Bible if I forgot to bring it. I sense progress! We will be done with the book of Numbers this Thursday! #IlovethewordofGod

2) There are some things in the Bible that doesn't make sense to me. God seems like a jerk sometimes and I think some of the punishments that he gives are way too harsh. I know that God is holy and just and I admit that I do not factor in my thoughts how serious the magnitude of sin is but nonetheless, those are my honest thoughts and I hope that God will help me understand why he was like that in the Old Testament. It seems to me that God is so much more patient now than he was back then... #Notaheretic #justbeinghonest.

3)I hate it when I see a friend (who I genuinely care about) living in sin and realize that there is nothing that I can do to change that. I guess it is my tendency to try to fix things and I really do need to trust that God love them and desires for them to come to him infinitely more than I do. But I am having a difficult time wondering why hasn't God done it yet? I want more than anything for my friends to fall in love with my God but they don't want to listen to me. Isn't there something more I can do besides pray about it? #Ifeelhelpless

4) I have always heard that relationships are hard work but I really didn't believe it till now. I hope Whitney doesn't mind me talking about this but we have had many conversions about what our boundaries should be, whether or not we have crossed any lines, how we are feeling about this relationship, what we need to stop doing, what we need to get better at, etc... We have to constantly remind each other to follow and trust God wherever he leads us. I never had a friend who is an introvert like Whitney before and sometimes I have a difficult time trying to understand her. There are some things that I always do that she doesn't like and I want to find out what they are so I can be more careful around her. Sometimes when I think I am being helpful, I am being a jerk… I speak my mind (which is mostly not a good thing) and Whitney is quieter than I am. Awkward conversations abound. #Butitisworthit

5) I must confess that I have trouble submitting to authority. It is even more frustrating when I feel like the reasons behind these restrictions are not good enough. I was convicted about this area in my life when Shawn talked to the guys about it a few weeks ago. I am trying to be really vague about this because I am not complaining about a specific thing; I am just expressing my flaws and will hopefully be able to encourage somebody indirectly. I guess it is part of my depravity to hate being treated like a child especially when I know that I can take care of myself and not do anything stupid. My frustration increased when I was reading the book of Leviticus because page after page, God tells the people to follow these extremely inconvenient rules with no real reason other than to remind these people that he was “the LORD their God who delivered them out of Israel.” I guess the “reasonable” thing to do is to obey God even if his laws seem unreasonable. But a Christian life is so much more than just obeying God; it is to fall in love with him and glorifying him with our lives. What about the authorities in our lives? There is no question that I will do my best to abide in these rules, but do I have to like these rules and restrictions that make no sense to me? If so, #Ineedhelp

6) I digress. Thunderstorms make me smile and sleep well. I haven’t had much sleep lately and perhaps this is precisely the reason why I am so grumpy… So Dad, I pray: bring me joy, bring me peace, bring the chance to be free, bring me anything that brings you glory. I know there’ll be days when this life brings me pain but if that’s what it takes to praise you, Jesus bring the rain!! Metaphorically and literally please… #SoIcansleep

7) I am a hypocrite. I tell people to do things that I myself don’t do. In theory, my ideas are great and my intentions are good, but in practicality, I am not walking the talk. I must confess that being judgmental is one of my biggest struggles. Though I don’t usually vocalize it, I think about it all the time. I have a bad habit to gauge other people spiritual maturity on what I think they should be doing and I am so often quick to label somebody as an infant all the while oblivious to the fact that I have never in my life practice the things I am telling people to do. Sadly I find this playing out within my closest relationships. By God’s grace, he has revealed this flaw in me and with his help I will overcome it. #Pressingon

8) Last thing before I quit procrastinating… God loves me. I don’t think I have actually just been quiet and meditate on the fact that God, the creator of the universe, loves me. “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him (Psalm 8: 3,4)” I don’t think we can ever fully understand the weight of this truth. My God invaded my life to pull me out of death and put me where his love is most potent; in Jesus Christ. The everything became nothing so that nothing can become everything. You have made a way, the great divide you heal. For when our hearts were far away, your love went further still! #Nogreaterlovethanthis

Now back to accounting…

Idk

So this has been a long week! I am quite ready for spring break... I am currently watching a documentary on who Jesus really is and they are asking some really interesting questions:

Where was Jesus really born? A manger? A house? Are they the same thing? Did Jesus have older siblings? Was Jesus rich?

I can't say that I know the answers for these questions and I am quite ashamed of it because I realized that I know pretty much nothing about my Savior... I also realized that I don't really know anything about who God is. So many questions that I don't have an answer to and to simply say that God cannot be comprehend is too easy of a way out. I know that there are going to be mysteries, but I want to know as much of God as he has reveal to us. So, here's to finding out more and more about my God! At least now I am excited about learning more!

What questions about God or Jesus do you have?