Rosario Butterfield shares an English professor’s journey into faith and it will change your thinking. What people politely call conversion is a train wreck and it’s too refined to capture what happened to her. She loved her life but found Christianity problematic. She wrote a letter against the Promise Keeper’s movement and received hate mail and fan mail but one letter stood out and she didn’t know what to do with it. This letter came from a pastor who invited her into his home and lived out the gospel.
The problem with Christianity is that they are threatened by questions, proclaiming all you have to know is Jesus and that’s enough. Often we hide behind cross necklaces and bumper stickers, agreeing but never thinking. We need to know the hard answers about Christianity and have compassion and patience for those who do not know God.
Christianity can be frightening when we identify with a certain life style and claim God is on our side. Instead of inviting her to church, this pastor brought church to her and accepted her and listened to her.
Sharing the gospel and making disciples is different from imposing a certain moral standard. That is spiritual pride. Good teachers make it possible for people to change their position without shame.
Repentance requires greater intimacy with God than with our own sin. Our feelings won’t change until we obey Him and that comes from knowing His word. But often we don’t want to let go of our sin, life styles or habits. We must will to do His will. Pray for your will to submit to His, that is the cost of discipleship.
The Lord is more grieved over the sins of his people than the worldliness of the world. We overcome sin when the word of God is bigger than us.
Crisis transforms our character when God strips us of everything and gives us Himself. Conversion is a complete overhaul, not an easy believism. Instead in our culture we say, “Sorry for my mistakes, thanks for the salvation,” and go on our way.
Betrayal deepens our love for Jesus, our knowledge of Jesus and our Christian walk. The cross is a rugged place, not for the squeamish or self-righteous,
Make disciples instead of converts. Invest your pricey time, not your leftovers.
CLICK HERE to listen to this episode!
The problem with Christianity #TheHeartoftheAuthor #Podcast Click To TweetTo receive weekly emails, sign up here