A Rant...Kind Of...
10.15.2011
It strikes me how some people can think they know it all. There are a lot of people that just sort of think that they are the end all, know all, discussion closed.
I wonder what Jesus thinks of these kind of people? I mean, it is good to know where you stand. It is good to know what is right and what is wrong and where the line is. There are non-negotiables. But some people are just unreal in their arrogance.
Maybe I should let you in on what I'm upset about. Three days ago a book came out called "Beautiful Outlaw". It is a book and a ministry that I have been praying specifically about for a long time now. The aim of the book is to cut through the "religious" fog surrounding Jesus and to begin to experience Him as He really is. To discover His personality, for to know Jesus is to love Him.
Already, there is a host of blogs and facebook messages shooting down this book and calling the author a heretic. The book is only three days old! To me this is evidence that satan is trying to discredit this work of God right from the get go. And it is sad that there are many "christians" standing in line willing to be satan's voice on this.
And they think they know everything. They think that if, in their "superior" experience, they have never personally understood or met Jesus in the same way the author of the book has, well then their must be something wrong with the author. He must be a heretic. This doesn't line up with my theology so it must be blasphemy.
Friends, theology is man made. I used to get a kick out of my theology professors in college. You couldn't get three of them to totally agree on any of the doctrines they were teaching. And they just loved to throw other denominations of christianity under the bus and say that we are better because we believe in such and such. I never understood how that lined up to Jesus' prayer in John 17 where over and over he prays for the unity of his people.
Here is the couple of points I want to make.
1. None of us are the know all end all when it comes to Jesus. There is so much more that Jesus has in store for us. You cannot master Jesus or the christian life. You never arrive until you are home. What I am trying to say is that THERE IS ALWAYS MORE. Jesus will reveal himself differently to me as I continue to grow in Him and walk with Him. That should be exciting! It is an adventure. Just as I discover more about my wife as our relationship continues. How boring it would be if we just knew Jesus and that was it. There is so much more!
2. Matthew 7:15-17 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
You will know them by their fruit. I can't see how a book aimed at turning people on to the playful, disruptive, extravagant, and very real personality of Jesus is producing bad fruit. I'm reading the book and discovering that Jesus was even better than I had originally thought. I am falling in love Him more and more. The fruit of my reading has been a closer walk with Jesus.
A bad tree cannot produce good fruit, right?
However, discrediting such a work and turning people away from it based on your staunch, religious ideals and arrogance could be seen as producing bad fruit...couldn't it?
The biggest enemy of Jesus has always been religion by the way. This is not new news.
Here is what we need whether you read the book or not. We all need Jesus. Jesus, we ask for you. For the real you. Lead us to discover you as you really are.
Amen!
-Scott
5 comments:
"The biggest enemy of Jesus has always been religion by the way. This is not new news."
AMEN! The most judgmental people on the face of this earth are fellow Christians. Thanks for writing your post! I'll have to check out the book.
Jerry
Jeremiah 17:9
Mark 7:20-23
Anonymous, while those are common verses believed to tell us our hearts are wicked, Jeremiah 17 refers to those who are far from God, not Christians. And in Mark 7, Jesus is speaking to "pharisees and teachers of religious law" (vs 1) who are "hypocrites who honor me with their lips, but whose hearts are far from me" (vs 6).
A few verses relating to the heart of a believer would be:
Isaiah 61:1 prophesies that Christ will "heal the brokenhearted and set the captive free." And in Luke 4 (4:21) Christ references this scripture and declares himself the fulfillment of the prophecy.
Ezekiel 36:26, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you." This scripture looks forward to the new covenant that God will make with His people, fulfilled in the New Testament by the shed blood of Christ, referencing the cleansing of our heart upon accepting Him.
Romans 6:17-18, "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."
Psalm 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
Galatians 4:6, "God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts."
1 Peter 1:22 tells us to "love one another deeply, from our heart."
Romans 10:10, for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified."
Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding."
There is so much more...
I completely agree. I got the book last week and have been reading it. To many people judge others for there relationship with God because it does not meet what theirs is. Jesus was human and had emotions and feelings like us, thats why we were made in the image of God. This book quotes bible verses that show his feelings and his personality. I am only a quarter way through and I too can relate to Jesus better knowing he is more of a person than I thought, because he had laughter, sorrow, joy, anger he was human. He wasnt the pale ghostly figure you see in books and pictures. Everyones relationship with the lord is different, so for others to say John is wrong bothers me too. The book is a resource for us to grow our relationship and better understand Jesus. Which I am whether someone thinks its wrong or not. This book is a must read.
Jeff Mack
PS had to sendthis anonymous because I am not smart enough to remember how otherwise)
This is the most eye-opening book about Jesus that I ever read, never has anyone put a human twist into the story of Him. Everyone needs to read this at least twice to get all that John is saying.
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