The Christian Bubble....

Reading Francis Chan's "Forgotten God" this morning and this passage made me go "Whoa"...

     "The Bible is meant to be interpreted within the context and accountability of faithful community.  Yet even with that qualification, there is still a need for those of us nestled deep within the Christian bubble to look beyond the status quo and critically assess the degree to which we are really living biblically.

    Most of us assume that what we believe is right (of course we do -- it is why we believe what we believe) but have never really studied for ourselves.  We were simply told, "This is the way it is," and didn't question it.  The problem is much of what we believe is often based more on comfort or our culture's tradition than on the Bible." 

Yeah... that quote hit me in the gut this morning.... I'm guilty of that one, but I'm working on it.

One of my dearest friends came to know Christ in her adult life.  She didn't grow up in the church or even around many Christians.  She doesn't have the "pre-programmed" beliefs about how Christians are supposed to act like many of us who grew up sitting on those pews every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and for me, on Wednesday nights as well.     What's so cool and fresh about being around her is that she is totally lead in her faith by the Holy Spirit and NOT by the rules of some religion that have been pounded into her head.   I will admit that sometimes I find myself being frustrated by her lack of structure in her approach to following Christ.  But that's just because I'M still being affected by "the rules" that I was taught as a child.  

What about you guys?  Have you found that when you dig in and study God's word, some of the things that you were "taught" in church aren't quite making sense now?   Are your beliefs based more on your  comfort or your culture's tradition than on the Bible?  

*-Italics directly from "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan

"I've got Jesus, why do I need the Holy Spirit?"

I've always known about the Trinity.  There's God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit, right?

Ok. I pray to God. I follow the teachings of Jesus (or at least try my best to!).... and then I....I.... uh... now what's the purpose of the Holy Spirit again??   

When I saw the title of the Frances Chan book "Forgotten God: Reversing our tragic neglect of The Holy Spirit", I immediately knew I wanted to read it.   I'll openly admit that I have neglected/ignored The Holy Spirit.  And not just recently.... all my life!   Why?   I honestly don't know.   I guess my best answer is just plain ignorance.  Seriously.  I just haven't taken the time to study about The Holy Spirit and what his part in the trinity is.  However, I desperately want to change all that.

I always try to have my God/bible study/prayer time every morning.  But something I started doing lately is BEFORE I open my bible, I pray to The Holy Spirit to help interpret the words I'm about to read in a way I've never experienced before.  The Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible, so who better to help us as we seek to understand it?   I'm telling you, that prayer was ANSWERED immediately!!  And what's even weirder, is that I was seeing verses about The Holy Spirit that I never remember reading before... I mean, I've read them many times, I just didn't realize they were talking about the Holy Spirit.  But now verses telling me how COOL The Holy Spirit is are jumping out at me left and right!!   He's everywhere, He's everywhere!!!   How did I miss him before???

John 16:7 - "It is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."  

John 16: 13 - "But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." 

I've often wished that Jesus could be physically here with me to talk with and guide me through this world.  But he is here, in the form of the Counselor.  The Holy Spirit.  

Personally, I love the term "Counselor".   Especially in today's culture when "Who's your therapist?" seems to be one of the most common questions being tossed around.   It seems everyone is into counseling... therapy.... bettering themselves somehow.   What does a good therapist do for us?   They help us wade through our issues that may be clouding our judgement about certain situations and help us get to the truth of it all.  We all could use some good counsel these days, right?  I love that Jesus promised he would send us THE Counselor to speak truth to us.  God's truth.  

"I am convinced there is a desperate need in the church for the Holy Spirit of God to be given room to have His way.  I think we can agree that there is a problem in our churches today, that something is wrong. Most people do not connect what is missing or wrong with a particular need for the Holy Spirit." - Chan

How about you guys?   Have you neglected The Holy Spirit in your lives too?   Like me, have you also ignored the counsel of the Spirit?  If so, pick up a copy of "Forgotten God" and read with me.   I'm excited to see what power and truth the Holy Spirit will bring into my life... and yours too.  :-)