VirtuaLife

I recall these words from the song prelude to What If, by Christian Band DC Talk:

" The greatest single cause of athiesm today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out of the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable."

That is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable

One of the things that has been firmly impressed upon my heart is this notion of a 'sovereign' God. Let me say to the Christians among you that understanding the sovereignity of God is ABSOLUTELY AND UNCOMPROMISINGLY FOUNDATIONAL in understanding His character. However, the problem with many Christians is that they only want God to be in control to the extent that there is some advantage conferred to themselves. Let me phrase it another way... many Christians want God to be in control of their own lives, but not so much that they don't lose control of their lives, themselves.

Sounds familiar?

Without proper grounding in understanding the scope of sovereignity, the Word (or Bible) as it relates to God becomes essentially meaningless. Do you get what I"m saying? To ignore/disregard/miscomprehend His sovereignity is to undermine the very fabric of what makes us Christian. Or should I say, what really entitles us to be call ourselves Christian?

And for those who understand sovereignity, do you speak with CONVICTION over it? I talk to alot of people - socialising is something that has been built into my daily lifestyle. And that exposes me over and over again to people's convictions. Conviction comes in many flavours... the loud trumpet it, the quiet show determination, the bimboey show unerring focus... many, many permutations. But if there is one universal component of conviction, I believe it is intensity. You can't be intense if you don't have conviction.

Guesswork does not constitute conviction. Academic thought does not constitute conviction. Acceptance and belief are components of, but not the whole substance of conviction. So why, when I hear my Christian friends speaking, do they say 'I think this what God wants me to do' ... or 'I guess God wants me to do this,' .... or ' I believe God wants to show us his love' ... repeat. ad nauseum. I've listened to many good speakers, some great ones, and many funny ones and guess what? 'I think' is not in their vocabulary. It just doesn't cut the mustard.

When involved in a mildly spiritual discussion with some friends a week or two ago, I counted the number of topic sentences that started with 'I think'. There were nine of them. Out of ten topics. For those of you who find an 'I think' hard to visualise', there's normally quite alot of hesitation accompanying the sentence. I don't really want to ask WHY, because I"m scared of the conclusions I might reach.

Therefore I would like to make a pretty, decently desperate plea to anyone who reads this. CHANGE. Acknowledgement is the first step towards change. I know, because I've been through it before, and I am STILL going through it. But if you fail to change, or don't see the need, remember...

That is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable

Find the song with its opening monologue here on youtube if you haven't heard it before. Disregard the video that goes with it - i'm not sure how it relates.

In Faith, Hope and Love!